Thanksgiving is a great time of year to teach children gratitude.

Learning to have a grateful heart takes practice, but it’s something most kids are usually pretty good at. It’s the adults that need to remember the little things and how great a red leaf or toasted marshmallows really are.
 
A great way to incorporate a spirit of thanks—and giving—is to make a gratitude tree at your next playgroup.

-Get a large branch (2-3 feet tall) that has lots of smaller limbs coming off of it. “Plant” it in a ceramic or clay pot.

-Purchase a small bag of Quikrete or some other setting product such as Plaster of Paris. 

-Give each child a leaf to write on—you can use a real leaf, a construction paper leaf, or a store bought-already cut leaf. Use sharpies and write on the leaves what you’re thankful for.

-If the kids are too young to write, then write for them.

-Use a stamp pad and let them sign with their thumb prints (you can even write their name within the swirls) 

You can even make smaller gratitude trees by cutting smaller branches and using small clay pots—so that each child can take home their tree.

It’s a great coffee table or thanksgiving table decoration and family members can add their leaves of thanks.