Our Peace Classes in Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade this week have been focused on the words gratitude, feeling grateful and being thankful. While many children know what it means to be thankful, less have been familiar with the word grateful. Even less have recognized the word gratitude. At this age, it's a perfect time to have this important vocabulary lesson. But moving beyond vocabulary, we've read stories and had discussions around these words and how to live them. The kids have made gratitude leaf garlands (kindergarten), thankful picture frames (pre-k), and written in their Peace Journals about feeling grateful (first grade). In each class we have talked about how these feelings are so important to have each day. We've talked a bit about another gr- word that we DON'T want to be: greedy.
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, this holiday is a good reminder for us of all we have to be thankful for. As parents, we can help our children in this regard by having regular discussions of all that we are thankful for. Do you regularly model an attitude of gratitude for your little ones? Do your children write thank-you notes to others? Do your kids understand that other children, even in this very same city, do not live the lives we do? The more we can remind our children of their good fortune, show them examples of helping others less fortunate, and talk about our gratitude, the more they will develop their own attitudes of gratitude and the less greedy they will become.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with your families!
-Jillian
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