Gratitude (2): Gratitude Tree (Thanksgiving)



Prayer:

Song: "A Song of Thanks" from the Children's Songbook page 20.

Discussion: We talked to my two about how important it is to say "thank you" to people when they do something nice for you. It makes Heavenly Father, Jesus, Mom, Dad and others happy when we express thanks.

Book: We read "Happy Thanksgiving Day!" together. I think this book does a great job of simply explaining things to be thankful for. My two loves when we make the book a part his life. For instance, we named the little boy in the book "Easton" and his dog "Reeks" (Easton's favorite stuffed animal dog.) This book also talks about being thankful to God for things we have. It's a great book for a toddler Family Home Evening.


Gratitude Tree: I heard about a Gratitude Tree from my neighbor and thought it would be a great way to teach my two about gratitude. You can find a free tree and blank leaves printable from Carrie This Home (pictured below) for this activity. I cut out all the leaves and put them into a brown, paper sack. My two drew a blank leaf and I asked him, "What are you thankful for?" For ideas, we looked at the book. "This boy is grateful for his dog. Are you thankful for your dog, Reeks?" My two said, "yes," so I drew a picture of Reeks on a leaf. Then, we stapled the leaf to our tree. I had my tworepeat, "I'm thankful for Reeks" and we moved on to our next leaf. These are the ideas we came up with to draw on our leaves: Reeks (dog), animals, Jesus, body, warm clothes, house, grandparents, family, friends, food, and chocolate milk. I taped our finished tree onto our fridge as a reminder of our lesson and left it up until Thanksgiving.



Testimony:


For other lesson ideas, please visit:

Family Home Evening Index
Christmas: 30+ Ways to Teach Children About Christ at Christmas Time
Gratitude (1): "I Will be Thankful"
I am a Child of God (2): Story (with visuals) & Crowns

Popular posts from this blog

Ocean Foil Painting

Image
We love foil painting. Last year, my three used monster trucks to paint on foil and this year, my three and 21 month old used q-tips to paint an ocean scene. They both really enjoyed painting and using ocean stickers to complete their ocean. You can view our other Letter O Activities  by clicking the link. Here's what you need: Cardboard Poster Board (I bought mine from The Dollar Tree and cut it into fourths) Tinfoil Tape (I used packing tape, but I'm sure any kind would work) Paint (we used dark blue, light blue and white tempera paint) Q-tips Glitter (optional) Ocean Stickers  (or print ocean clipart to glue on) 1) Wrap a piece of tinfoil around your piece of cardboard. Tape the tinfoil (on the back side of the cardboard) into place. 2) Squeeze paint onto the foil and have your child(ren) swirl the paint around with a q-tip. My 21-month old decided to use his hands to paint (top left), which made the paint lift and chip off a bit when the paint dried....
Read more

Family Home Evening Index

Image
Update: Did you know I'm posting weekly COME FOLLOW ME ideas and lessons for young children (ages 3-12)? The lessons are short, interactive and lots of fun. Click the link for more details.  I started doing a weekly Family Home Evening lesson when my oldest child turned 18 months old. These lessons teach our family about Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Restored Gospel - we are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The lessons in BLUE are based on principles from the nursery manual, "Behold Your Little Ones" along with supplementary ideas to teach the same principle. The lessons in PINK are from the Sunbeams Manual - which we used at group family home evening lessons at our home. These lessons are meant for toddlers and young children - they're short, interactive and sweet. Baptism Book of Mormon (1) : "The Book of Mormon Teaches me about Jesus" Book of Mormon (2) : The Story of The Book of Mormon Book of Mormon Her...
Read more

Family Home Evening: Baptism

Image
**Other Baptismal Lessons:  Kit Kat Baptismal Covenants ,  here (includes covenants with pictures) and here (includes baptism jeopardy).  Prayer: Scripture - John 3:5. Explain that Jesus is speaking in this verse and teaching us something we need to do in order to live in heaven again with Heavenly Father and Jesus. Read the verse and explain that "born of water" is referring to baptism. Song: " When Jesus Christ was Baptized " from the Children's Songbook page 102. When Jesus Was Baptized: Use these visuals (shown below) to teach your children about when Jesus was baptized. Each visual has a summary included. I printed the summaries and glued them onto the back of the pictures, so I could show my children the pictures while reading the summary on the back. Point out any additional details you'd like in the pictures. When I Am Baptized: Teach your children that they can be baptized just as Jesus was baptized. Use these visuals (s...
Read more

Obedience (1): The Chocolate Chip Ghost Story

Image
This lesson contains ideas from the current nursery manual, Behold Your Little Ones. Click the link to view the original lesson, " I Will Obey " from LDS.org. Prayer : Scripture : Ephesians 6:1 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." I explained what 'obey' means and told Easton how happy it makes Heavenly Father when he listens to mom and dad. Song : " Quickly I'll Obey ." (Primary Children's Songbook P. 197) We did the actions from the manual as we sang the song: When my mother calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. When my father calls me (cup hands around mouth) Quickly I'll obey (run quietly in place) I want to do just what is best (nod head up and down) Each and every day. Heavenly Father loves me (hug self) Blesses me each day (continue hugging self as you tur...
Read more