by Karen S. Roberts
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. – Psalm 106:1, NIV
Passing Along Gratitude 
We know that God wants us to have an attitude of gratitude. But how can we communicate that to the children in our lives? Children learn more from engaging in activities related to a Bible principle with a parent or teacher than they do from being told about an attitude they should have.
Have fun with these activities that will give your children a better understanding of gratitude.
7 Activities That Help Kids Express Gratitude
Denise had spent the last two weeks talking about gratitude with her five-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son. No matter what she said, they seemed to struggle with the concept.
She wanted to share it with them, but struggled to know what to do. Her friend, a caregiver for preschool children told her to do an activity with her kids on the topic of gratitude. By doing something, her kids would be able to make a connection between gratitude and an action.
So, Denise decided to create a gratitude board with her kids. She bought some poster board and glue sticks. Then she gathered materials like newspapers, magazines, old books, shopping catalogs, and more.
She encouraged her kids to point to items that they liked and were thankful for. When they found an item, she cut it out and they pasted it onto the board. This board became a visual way for her to talk about thanksgiving and what it really means.
When kids are young, it’s difficult for them to understand concepts like having a lifestyle of giving thanks. By engaging in an activity together, you can break down this complex concept and turn it into an experience that will positively influence them.
Here are some other gratitude activities to do with elementary-age children:
- Write each other notes or send texts expressing thanks to each other
- Plan a special occasion to show gratitude as a family to someone else. For instance, you could invite your pastor and family to dinner and use the occasion for family members to express their appreciation to them.
- Make thank-you cards to send to friends and family who have blessed any of you in any way.
- Find ways to serve others together, for in serving others, you show gratitude to God. Perhaps you could clean the church together, run a food drive for your local food pantry, serve a meal at a mission, collect winter coats, hats, gloves, and scarves for the homeless, etc. Working on projects like this together will help you all appreciate the blessings you have more.
- Play a game to help your child learn a Bible verse on giving thanks. It could be as simple as 1 Thessalonians 5:18 In everything give thanks.
Blow up a balloon and tie it. Take turns hitting the balloon back and forth to each other. Whoever has the balloon says the next word of the verse while tapping the balloon to the other person. See if you can make it the whole way through the verse without the balloon falling to the floor. - When telling or reading a Bible story to your children, ask if anyone in the story expressed gratitude or thanks. If not, ask if things would have gone better for the Bible character if he/she had expressed gratefulness. Or, if the character did give thanks, ask them to describe how the person showed gratitude.
Prayer:
God, help me to show the next generation what it means to be thankful. May I always have a grateful spirit, wherever I go.
