No, it's not Thanksgiving here in our country. I'm not even sure if we have such a holiday in our country. I only learned about thanksgiving when I started working in the contact center industry, and what I knew about it back then was that it's either queue empty or low call volume day. My daughter's school had a monthly online gathering for their students and the theme last month was "Gratefulness".
We were asked to make the Gratefulness Jar in advance so that during the online discussion, they could all go ahead and discuss the topic. It so happened that I am an avid collector of jars, bottles, or anything that doesn't decompose easily. Our undersink cabinets contain mostly used bottles and jars so this project was something up in my alley.
I took this an opportunity to teach my kids how to use the scissors. She's 5 years old and can read and write fluently but she still has to work on her other motor skills. I must admit I'm a bit overprotective of her that's why I don't allow her to hold sharp objects like scissors just yet. But I figured this is the best time to teach her how to cut papers. I'll be needing her to cut tons of papers on our next projects anyways.
It's a simple DIY project that can easily be done by a kindergartener. The materials can easily be found in any kids' arsenal.
pair of scissors
tissue paper
glue (mixed with water)
water color and paint brush
used peanut butter jar
The procedure is simple.
Have the kid use the scissor to cut the tissue paper. Have a mini heart attack while seeing the kid struggle with the scissors. Have the strength to not intervene unless you see the possibility of the tissue paper changing color from white to blood red. Guide the kid, but let them experience the joy of destroying papers through cutting with scissors.
Once the kid has had enough with cutting the tissue paper, and once you recovered from several mini heart attacks, have the kid wet the tissue paper with the glue and water mixture. Let them have fun. Don't mind the mess. Actually, do mind the mess. Have them work on a mat so it won't be hard for the clean up afterwards.
Ask the kid to stick the wet tissue paper to the outside surface of the jar. Just let them go crazy about it. It doesn't matter if the papers are aligned or one is on top of another. It doesn't matter if they use up all the tissue paper or not. The goal here is to have them use up all the papers they cut because there's nothing else for you to do with those cut out tissue papers anyways.
Using water color, have the kid paint each piece of tissue paper they stuck on the jar. More colorful, more fun. Again, use a mat or tons of rugs to make sure it's not too messy. Or not. Kids most often love it when they're surrounded with mess. It doesn't matter. At least to them. They're having fun. And that's the most important part of this project.
If you're into calligraphy (which I'm not) you can create an artistically created writing of the word "Be Thankful". I just printed out those words, then had my kid color the letters and paste it into the face of the jar.
et voila! You now have a Gratefulness Jar.
But that's not the end of it. On the day of the online gathering, each kid was asked to write three things they are thankful for. Before my kid could write down all three that she was thankful for, we had quite a discussion. She said she couldn't narrow down all the things she's thankful for. She said she's thankful for our house, for our food, for our water. She's thankful that her father has a job that provides for everything we need. She's thankful that we are all together. Thankful that she has toys, and books, and that she has her Bunny to cuddle every night. I told her that she can narrow it down to the three most important things that you think you are most thankful for. According to her, she is most thankful of her books, Nanay, and Tatay. In that order.
I'm not complaining though that I came in second and Tatay third. I am actually happy that she loves her books. And almost payday after payday, we are increasing her collection of books.
I, on the other hand am grateful that the school provided an avenue for the kids to develop the attitude of gratitude. There's quite a lot of entitled pricks roaming around the globe, demanding and feeling too entitled, forgetting to be thankful of the things they have.
Of course, one online session could not be enough to develop that attitude of gratitude especially among kids. These tiny humans rely on creating a habit to develop good behavior. So how do we really instill gratefulness in children? I'm not sure how other people do it, these are just a few things me and my husband has done so far that has been proven effective in raising our little one.
Provide only enough of what they need.
As first time parents to an only child, we were mindful of the things we buy her. Toys, books, clothes, crayons, etc. Having just enough gives her the contentment and joy on each things she acquires. Just enough amount of things creates that wow! moment when she receives gifts.Be an example of the attitude of gratitude.
Children copy by example. What they see is what they do. The more they hear that the grownups around them are thankful of even the littlest things, they acquire that same habit. Even thanking the kid for their efforts is a great example of showing gratitude. They experience it firsthand and knows how it feels to be appreciated.Count your blessings.
And count them aloud. Simply because the kid needs to hear it so that they can do it as well. Children don't realize things by themselves just yet. Especially when at their age, they got used to having their food prepared for them, their clothes washed, almost everything done for them. Which leads to the 4th thing.Have them experience chores.
Chose chores that are age appropriate. My kid makes her bed, cleans up her toys and books after use, helps me out in washing the dishes, and also assists me in folding the clothes sometimes. These chores keep her rooted and helps her appreciate the things around the house.
The Gratefulness Jar also proved helpful in developing her attitude for gratitude. In times when we say no to some of her wishes, as a normal kid, her tendency is to feel terrible about it. I use the gratefulness jar to have her write down the thing that made her most thankful for the day. It somehow diverts her from being sad to happy and thankful. That positive shift in emotion helps her realize that waiting a bit more isn't so bad.
And most of all, at the end of each day, we have her pray at night, highlighting the things she's most grateful for. Most of the time, she would just say that she is thankful for the earth and everything in it. A tad too general but still, there's thankfulness in it so I still take that as a win.
What are you thankful for?
