This is a guest post from our partners at Better Kids.
Gratitude, or the quality of being thankful, is a practice grounded in feelings of warmth, joy and love. When we practice gratitude, we reflect on the kindness that was shown to us and how it made us feel. This develops our self-awareness because we’re recognizing our emotions and the causes of those emotions.
With the help of parents and educators, kids can learn how to practice gratitude, setting a foundation for a positive mindset. Read on to discover Better Kids’ gratitude activities to help kids develop self-awareness.
Reflect in a gratitude journal.
You can help instill gratitude by encouraging kids to regularly engage in noticing moments and feelings that are associated with gratitude. They can reflect on those moments using Better Kids printables like the Gratitude Journal or Daily 3 Reflection to focus on the positive in their daily lives. Writing or drawing our gratitude can help establish a habit of being thankful for what we have. Journaling and self-reflection is a great way to practice self-awareness!
Write thank-you notes.
When we write thank-you notes, we are reinforcing the importance of expressing gratitude towards others. Kids can complete the Better Kids Gratitude Cards to show appreciation for people in their lives. This develops their self-awareness by identifying something that person did that made them feel a positive emotion. For example, a child might thank a grandparent for building puzzles with them. This can help them recognize that the act of spending quality time together makes them feel happy.
Celebrate friends and family.
Our friends and family are an important part of our support system. Maybe they inspire us, make us laugh, or lend a helping hand when we need it the most. That is something to be thankful for every day! Celebrating everything that makes our friends and family great doesn’t need to wait for a special occasion and reminding them why we love them is a great way for them to feel celebrated! You can use the Better Kids Celebrate a Friend printable or I Love My Neighbor Who activity as opportunities for recognizing the special people in our lives.
Visualize kindness.
Another opportunity for mindful reflection is taking time to visualize kindness. Find a quiet spot and use any of the Better Kids mindfulness activities found in the Better Kids app, Wisdom: The World of Emotions (iOS, Android, Web), such as Smile, Heartbeats, and printables like Visualizing Kindness, and Good Things to help kids reflect on kindness. Afterwards, you can ask guiding questions to help them recognize gratitude in those moments. Kids will develop their self-awareness as they identify the emotions they felt when someone was kind to them.
Gratitude books to explore on Epic!
Now that we’ve gone over gratitude activities that kids can do at home and at school, it’s time to dive into some favorites. These books are a great place to start.
- A Thank You Walk: A Story About Gratitude
- Thanku: Poems of Gratitude
- The Thank You Letter
- We Are Grateful
- Grow Grateful
We hope these tips and ideas help you and your kids (or students!) practice gratitude and develop self-awareness. Want to learn more about Better Kids? Check us out.
More About the Author
Since 2016, Better Kids helps parents and educators support their children’s social emotional growth through play. Our evidence-based social emotional learning app, Wisdom: The World of Emotions (iOS, Android, Web), includes interactive digital games and hands-on activities for children ages 4 to 8, a collection of tips and practice activities for parents, and hundreds of ready-to-use teaching resources for educators, including a free SEL read-aloud program.
