Gratitude days – Toddler Tales day 7

I am one of the biggest advocates of teaching gratitude to kids early in their lives. Saying Thank you is just the beginning. It is about helping our kids learn the attitude of gratitude. Always remember toddlers don’t understand gratitude at the first. So you will have to practice it daily and probably all the time.

Here is a post to know about 5 simple tricks to teach gratitude to our kids. It needs absolutely no extra money or time to bring the attitude of gratitude in ours and our toddlers lives. Let’s make gratitude a habit with some amazing diys and activities.

Poems and Rhymes with actions to teach gratitude

These poems are a good background music to play when doing these activities. You can do a slow dance to them with your kids. Few steps that you can teach are – folded hands namaste with tap your feet or break dance waves, open arms shoulder level and twist, circle dance with full family with arms in air.

Gratitude stones

2 ways to use Gratitude stones with children.

1. Children can prepare gratitude stones which can be given to others as an expression of gratitude. Start by setting an example yourself. Make your own gratitude stone and give to friends, family, housemaids, staff, kids.

2. Gratitude stones can be collected for everything we are grateful about in a basket or pot or a box. They can be kept as a souvenir in home too.

I love to paint round thick river rocks or decorative pebbles but in lockdown its best to stay inside so Vaidik and I created our own pieces of rocks using newspaper balls and aluminium foils.

We painted one rock each and now they have become our beautiful gratitude stones. It was gifted to his Grand mom and they have been added to display area.

Make gratitude a habit by Daily Gratitude Chart and Journal

Gratitude is a habit so yeah you have to do it daily. But please make it fun and exciting for your kids rather than just a mundane thank you God for food, mom, dad etc. Let your kids think what was the most beautiful moments of their day and add it to their journal.

Start with basic gratitude journal sheet here and move in to make a journal for your kids.

Gratitude Gifts

Giving gifts is like giving as piece of ourself. For toddlers, their emotions are heightened and sharing is not easy. It is a very sensitive topic. So making gifts for others encourages our kids to overcome these inhibitions and open up to family, friends, teachers and other toddlers. There are a ton of high ideas in my Pinterest page that you can try out. Check out cool craft, diy and hand made gifting ideas from another mom blogger Kinshoo here

Family Gratitude Jar

Consider this a piggy bank of gratitude. Whenever something happens that makes you happy and you would like to share it with your family go ahead celebrate and make sure to write in your journal. Most importantly, put a small note about it in this family gratitude jar too. Once you and your family members fill this jar or at the end of a month or year open it and cherish every happiness you all have had together.

This Jar could be a simple mason jar, the cardboard box, bottle or a piggy bank itself. It is about your intent to be aware of the happiness in your lives as a family and it brings the habit of gratitude in kids too. You don’t have to work separately with them. It’s like you do they do it too.

21 days to gratitude for kids

Here is a small exercise for young toddlers. Take a print or use the picture below and achieve and feel gratitude together as a family. Double click on image to download the printable

Gratitude tree

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Use the free printable and make your own gratitude tree.