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Learning Together Joyfully: October –  Attitude of Gratitude – Part 2

Welcome back to educators, parents, care-givers and grandparents as you engage with the new blog Attitude of Gratitude – Part 2. No matter how old kids are, it’s important to teach gratitude by acknowledging all that is good in our lives. With Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, it is an obvious time for children to have opportunities at home and in the classroom to reflect on the positive aspects of their lives, their families, and to have opportunities to express their thankfulness. Why is it important to make gratitude a regular practice in our day-to-day lives? Gratitude helps people feel and express positive emotions, relish good experiences, deal better with adversity, and build stronger relationships. When children are thankful, they feel more connected to their schools and teachers. As with everything, modeling is the best way to teach children to be grateful. Be lavish with your thanks, involve children in chores and volunteering so they understand the importance of being a contributing member in their home, classroom and community. At this time of year, we would be remiss not to also acknowledge Halloween – one of children’s favorite times of the year! Both of these October holidays present opportunities for children to give and share with others, and to be thankful for what they have as you play, learn, and grow together joyfully!

Children can identify with stories filled with characters expressing different emotions. When children are encouraged to reflect on these emotions to gain a better understanding of their own feelings, literature can offer opportunities to discuss social-emotional attributes such as kindness, gratitude, compassion, and empathy. Teaching social and emotional skills can improve students’ mental health, reduce anxiety and depression, reduce bullying, and improve academic performance and in-class behavior. Asking SEL-based questions at different stages of the reading process can be an effective and time-efficient strategy for building children’s social and emotional intelligence.

1.  Read and Sing together 📚 

  • The Apple Book by Dawn Casey. In this simple rhyming story, a child says thank you for the gifts nature provides, from hazelnuts in the hedge to apples from the tree, eggs from the hens to milk from the cow. Eventually, the family has enough ingredients to make something special…a delicious apple cake! A recipe for apple cake at the end allows you and your child to share in the joyful gratitude.– the perfect read and baking activity for Thanksgiving. 
  • Thankful by Elaine Vickers. Diorama illustrations enhance this lullaby of a picture book about celebrating everyday things that make life wonderful. When the first snow falls, a little girl writes down the things she’s thankful for on strips of paper and links them together. As one idea leads to another, her chain grows longer. A great read at Thanksgiving.
  • Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks! by Margaret Sutherland is about how being thankful is a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving and to be thankful for family, friends and the holiday that brings them all together.
  • The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood. “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.” The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for. This is a beautiful and lyrical children’s book about gratitude!   
  • Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt. This is a touching story about poverty and hunger. When Sofia discovers that Maddi’s fridge is quite empty, she wants to help her friend. She tries in her own way but recognizes that she needs some adult help. Perfect for introducing secrets, and the topic of poverty and hunger.
  • The Kindness Book by Todd Parr uses his signature blend of playfulness and sensitivity to explore the value and joy in being kind to others. No matter what other people choose to do, you can always choose to be kind — and what a wonderful thing to be! Today’s parents and teachers are looking for ways to instill empathy and kindness in children at a young age — this book is the perfect introduction to a timely and timeless topic.

SPOOKY HALLOWEEN STORIES

  • Creepy Pair of Underwear! by Aaron Reynolds. Jasper Rabbit is NOT a little bunny anymore who’s afraid of the dark, and he’s definitely not afraid of something as silly as underwear. But when the lights go out, suddenly his new big rabbit underwear glows a ghoulish, greenish glow in the dark. Jasper thinks his undies are creepy but he is not scared obviously, he’s just done with creepy underwear. But after trying everything to get rid of them, they keep coming back!
  • Pig the Monster by Aaron Blabey. The world’s greediest Pug returns — and he wants ALL the Halloween treats! Don’t even think about being stingy with the goodies, because this candy-fueled glutton has some terrible tricks up his sleeve. This laugh-out-loud, rhyming story about Halloween is perfect for the haunting season!  
  • The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason. Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can’t whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot. He doesn’t know why he’s a quilt. He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can’t keep up. One Halloween, everything changes as the little ghost has an experience only he could have because he’s a quilt . . . and he realizes that it’s okay to be different.

OLD FAVORITES

  • It Could Always Be Worse by Margot Zemach. This Yiddish folk tale is the story of an unfortunate man who lived with his mother, six kids and his wife in a one bedroom hut. When the man seeks advice from a wise rabbi because the home is crowded and the family is bickering, the rabbi tells the man to bring his animals into the hut. What ensues? The man ends up exactly where he started – but now he is so grateful for the serenity!
  • Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky I am? by Dr. Seuss. This classic book provides the perfect antidote for readers of all ages who are feeling a bit down in the dumps. Thanks to Dr. Seuss’s trademark rhymes and signature illustrations, readers will, without a doubt, realize just how lucky they are.                                                                   

INDIGENOUS STORIES

  • Thanku; Poems of Gratitude by Miranda Paul. In this book you will read about many of the things for which the Metis Elders are grateful. Here the poem – Shoes – is read aloud by Lupe Ruiz-Flores. (2:56 mins.)
  • We Greet the Four Seasons by Terri Mack. The Medicine Wheel is a guide to living a healthy life, learning from everything that is around us, and includes four parts that teach many different things. This books shares teachings that begin in the direction that the sun rises and also from the gifts that the four seasons provide.
  • Amik Loves School: A Story of Wisdom by Katherena Vermette. Amik tells Moshoom about his wonderful school. His grandfather then tells him about the residential school he went to which was so different from Amik’s school. This book is one The Seven Teachings Stories series. The following activities found on the Ojibwe website for The Seven Teachings give suggestions of how to use this book in the classroom or at home. 
  • Stolen Words by Melanie Florence. This is the story of a loving relationship between a little girl and her grandfather. When she asks her grandfather how to say something in his language – Cree – he admits that his language was stolen from him when he was a boy. The little girl then sets out to help her grandfather find his language again. This sensitive picture book explores the intergenerational impact of the residential school system that separated young Indigenous children from their families, recognizing the pain of those whose culture and language were taken from them, and how that pain is passed down, but how healing can also be shared.

READ ALOUDS

  • Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena. (6:26 mins.) This award-winning classic, celebrating the special bond between a boy and his grandmother, is an ode to kindness, empathy, gratitude, and finding joy in unexpected places.. As they ride the bus one afternoon, the child asks his grandma about luxuries they don’t have while she helps open the boy’s eyes to all of the ways in which they are rich. When their bus ride ends, the reader learns the two are going to volunteer at a soup kitchen. A surprise ending to a remarkable book. Winner of the Newbery Medal.
  • The Thankful Book by Todd Parr (2:37 mins.) celebrates all the little things children can give thanks for including everyday activities like reading and bath time to big family meals together and special alone time between parent and child. Readers are inspired to remember all of life’s special moments. This is a perfect book to share around the holidays.     
  • The Very Fairy Princess: Attitude of Gratitude by Julie Andrews and E. Walton Hamilton (9:24 mins.) It’s Gratitude Day at school! Gerry is ready to be grateful and kind all day long. She’s excited to give her best compliments, she’s donated a beautiful painting to her class’s art gallery, and she even has the perfect jar contribution ready for the food drive. But when disaster strikes, it’s tough to stay grateful–even on Gratitude Day! Can Gerry prove that a fairy princess always has the right attitude of gratitude?
  • Peppa Pig and the Day of Giving Thanks by Candlewick Press. (4:20 mins.) Peppa Pig and her brother, George, are out for a nature walk with Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. and observe the many things to be thankful for—the blue sky above, the trees full of apples, the pumpkins, the fallen leaves that are so fun to play in. When a rainstorm arrives will it leave a surprise that Peppa might be grateful for after all? 
  • When we are Kind by Monique Gray Smith (4:10 mins.) celebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they feel when they initiate and receive acts of kindness in their lives. 
  • The Little Hummingbird by Michael Yahgulanaas (6:37 mins.) celebrates kindness, doing the best we can and encourages everyone to take responsibility for their home and planet. 
  • Monster Trouble! by Lane Fredrickson.(4:01 mins.) Enjoy this humorous book as Halloween approaches. Nothing frightens Winifred Schnitzel—but she DOES need her sleep, and the neighborhood monsters WON’T let her be! Every night they sneak in, growling and belching and making a ruckus. Winifred constructs clever traps, but nothing stops these crafty creatures. What’s a girl to do? Read and find out!

SONGS

When children are intrinsically motivated, they are moved to act for fun, a challenge, to satisfy their curiosity, or to be kind and empathetic rather than because of external products, pressures, or rewards. Children with intrinsic motivation will engage in activities because they want to, not because adults directed them to do so. Creating an optimal learning environment and providing regular opportunities for choice throughout the school day or at home allows children to work with a sense of competency, autonomy and connection which leads to a feeling of satisfaction. Whether at home or at school, choice helps students practice valuable skills for lifelong learning, such as how to make wise choices, how to follow through on those choices, and how to adjust and adapt as needed. All of these factors together contribute to the development of intrinsic motivation. Learn more about intrinsic motivation for children and how to raise intrinsically motivated kids. Offering some of the following activities will hopefully not only spark children’s imagination but motivate them intrinsically as they create wonderful products to enjoy and share with others.

2. Create together: Puzzles, Crafts, Drawing and Constructing 🧩 

Modelling practices, such as donating and volunteering, show children first-hand how to help others. After a holiday or a birthday, consider involving your child in decisions of what toys or clothes they no longer use and could donate to others. Volunteering as a family is another great way to show that it’s important to make time to help others and for children to see gratitude in action. There are numerous opportunities in every community to volunteer and help others close to home including elder care facilities or food banks. 

3. Explore together 🌍

Gratitude Activities

  • When times permit, consider taking your child or your class to volunteer at your local elder care home. Children can spend time chatting with residents (during COVID this may be over the phone or via video calls) or join them when they are involved in their arts and crafts program. 
  • Perhaps an elderly relative or neighbor could use support whether through visits or assisting them to purchase groceries. Children learn that it feels good to help others. They not only benefit from that feeling but they can also experience the warmth of appreciation.
  • Go on an imaginary journey to the gratitude garden or on a barefoot mindful walk in nature to engage their sense of sight and touch.
  • Organize a Gratitude Scavenger Hunt 

Thanksgiving Activities

  • Take a walk to a nearby park and observe the fall colours and play in the falling leaves.

Halloween Activities in and around the Lower Mainland

  • Interested in Halloween-themed trains? Although the Stanley Park Ghost Train is cancelled this year, check out the Halloween Pumpkin Express  or the Bear Creek Park Train in Surrey loaded with seasonal decor, creepy music, live actors, and lots of spooky special effects 
  • Want to be seriously scared? Visit Reapers – a haunted house attraction open select dates between October 1st and October 31st. It’s open on all Fridays andweekends, plus most weekdays in the second half of the month.
  • Don’t miss Halloween at FlyOver Canada, a family-friendly multi-dimensional film flight-ride experience 
  • Fright Nights The first weekend of this event is often on the Thanksgiving Weekend. (2021 details are to be confirmed.)
  • Check out the Haunted Village in Burnaby and Cougar Creek House of Horrors in Surrey.
  • Enjoy the Vancouver Halloween Parade (October 10th,2021) or the Vancouver Halloween Expo – with Halloween-themed activities at Robson Square(October 8th to 10th in 2021.)

Why is it important to say “Thank-You”?  The gift of gratitude goes two ways! Research shows that gratitude positively affects the “giver” and the “receiver”. People who are thanked are more likely to behave positively towards the person who thanked them and also to pay it forward to others in the future. When children feel and express gratitude, the following positive benefits can result: relationships are stronger; resilience is enhanced; forgiveness is more forthcoming; physical health and sleep improve; positive feelings about school and accomplishing better grades can occur; and most importantly, they are happier and more satisfied with life. 

4. Engage and Interact: 👭

5. Reflect: Thoughts of the Day about An Attitude of Gratitude – Part 2 💭

NEXT BLOG: NOVEMBER: A TIME FOR REMEMBERING