Thanksgiving 2018

Teach Children to be Thankful

November is a month about giving thanks. Thanksgiving is a special holiday. It’s not about giving or getting brightly wrapped packages. It’s not about waking up to a basket of candy. There aren’t any fun costumes to go out and trick or treat in. It’s not about spending a lot of money. Yes, we do make it a lot about food and that’s okay. But even in that, we need to focus on being thankful that we are well fed. So many are not. We are thankful for the food but there is so much more to be thankful for. Look for ways to teach the children to be thankful and things to teach them to be thankful for.

So how do we teach the children in our care about being thankful? One of the best ways is to teach them about Thanksgiving is to give to those who don’t have as much to be thankful for. How can we help those they may not be so well fed? What should November be about for early childhood professionals?

All the sweet and cute turkey art is great. Do it! But consider including some projects that will teach them about the “giving” part of Thanksgiving. Make cookies for a local children’s home and talk with your class about children who don’t have families to spend the holidays with. Make cards and send them to military members who can’t make it home for the holidays. Take a field trip to a nursing home to sing songs and pass out art projects for the elderly residents.

Also consider your own classroom. Do you have children who may not have what they need for the holidays? Consider a food drive. Ask everyone who can, to bring in non-perishable food items and make baskets to give the families that may need them. (Give them to the families very privately to preserve their dignity.)

Whatever you choose to do, center the theme around thankfulness. Teach the children to be thankful for you and for each other. Teach them to be thankful for the things they play with, the food they eat, the clothes they wear and the shoes on their feet. Most of all, remember that the best way to teach something like thankfulness is to demonstrate it.

Teach Children to be Thankful

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