With Thanksgiving season upon us, dads and their young learners across the state are learning about gratitude and respect with the Good Dads Strong Schools program.
The message in these lessons is clear: Showing gratitude shouldn’t just happen once a year. Being grateful should happen every day!
Schools across Missouri use the Good Dads Strong Schools program once a month, usually before school, as an opportunity to help fathers and father-figures feel welcome in the school environment. Research shows that, when dads are involved in their children’s education, grades improve, attendance increases and behavior problems decrease. That’s why we at Good Dads see it as so important that schools take responsible fatherhood seriously. Students, schools and our whole community are better off when dads play an active role in their children’s lives!
Gratitude and generosity are not concepts that children automatically know and demonstrate to families and friends. Gratitude must be learned in an age-appropriate way, and dads play an important role in teaching this lesson. When children see others being grateful or generous, they will often want to replicate that behavior. Plus, gratitude is healthy! Being grateful is often associated with strong emotions, positive relationships and more enjoyable experiences.
So, dads, as you shepherd your family through these last two eventful months of the year, we hope you’ll implement one or more of these learning opportunities and help your kiddos adopt an Attitude of Gratitude!
Discussion Starters for Children
If you’ve ever attended a Good Dads Strong Schools breakfast, you’ll know that we love to start each lesson with a Discussion Starter. It sets the tone for the rest of the lesson, and it’s a low-risk opportunity for dads and kids to learn, share and make memories together. During our Strong Schools lessons about gratitude, we have a few go-to conversation starters. Feel free to use these around the dinner table, on the drive to soccer practice or while tucking your youngster into bed.
- What does it mean to be appreciative of someone or something?
- What were you grateful for today?
- When’s the last time you told someone you were grateful for them?
- When’s the last time someone told you they were grateful for something you did?
- How does it feel when someone says “thank you” to you?
- Who are some folks who don’t often hear the words “I appreciate you”?
- What are some ways we can show others our gratitude?
Gratitude Bingo
Get your youngsters thinking about the good fortunes in their lives by playing Gratitude Bingo. All you need is a piece of paper, colored pencils, pens or markers, and a pair of dice.
Draw a 5×6 grid on the piece of paper and use the top row to write the Gratitude Categories. Feel free to use what makes the most sense for your family. In Good Dads Strong Schools, we use categories like Food, People & Pets, Places and Activities.
Then, write relevant items in the rows under each category. For example, under Places, you might write:
- Favorite place to eat
- Favorite place to play
- Favorite room in the house
- Favorite park
- Favorite vacation
Now you’re ready to play Gratitude Bingo! Roll the dice to determine which column to answer, (e.g., if you roll a 2–3, write something you’re grateful for in the Food category; if you roll a 4–5, write something you’re grateful for in the People & Pets category, and so on).
Play this game with your children and encourage them to think deeply about the things for which they are grateful. This activity also works perfectly in a large group setting, like at a family reunion.
Write Thank-You Notes
Thanking someone for a gift or for doing a favor is an important habit/skill for children (and grown-ups) to learn. Saying thank you and writing a note of thanks instills an “attitude of gratitude” in children, while promoting writing skills at the same time. It also demonstrates that the giver is important to the child.
Allow your children to express their creativity in a thank-you letter while teaching proper manners and etiquette. It’s never a mistake to write a thank-you note: Write them after receiving a gift, having a play date, when someone has done something nice for you, or just because you appreciate them.
Say Appreciations Out Loud
Long-time participants in Good Dads Strong Schools have consistently told us that their favorite part of the lesson is the Appreciation time. During this time, dads share one thing that they appreciate about their children, and kids share one thing they appreciate about the adult in their life. It’s that simple, but it’s so powerful.
Children, like anyone, enjoy being recognized for the efforts they make. As adults, it’s important to teach children to recognize what others have done for them and to be appreciative of what they have. Showing gratitude as children will help them grow up to be grateful adults.
Take time throughout the Thanksgiving season to share why you are grateful for your family. And take that habit into the rest of the year, too!
Quick and Easy Gratitude Ideas
We’re all busy, and sometimes it feels like there’s no way to fit just one more thing into the schedule. That’s why we prioritize low-cost, easy ideas for parents to keep the lesson going beyond the Good Dads Strong Schools event. Some of these ideas can also be executed while multi-tasking, like during the drive to school or while cooking dinner:
- Take time each day to talk about things for which you are grateful.
- Start a gratitude journal or a gratitude jar. Throughout the day, write down things, people or moments that make you happy. Then, at the end of the day, week or month, open the jar and read all the things that made you happy! It’ll foster a sense of gratitude and help you pinpoint the reasons that make you happy.
- Send a postcard to someone and let them know you are thankful for them. By doing so, you’re helping your youngsters increase their writing and communication skills. Plus, it’s a great way to teach young ones about the mail system.
- All family members assist with household chores. Helping with chores can create an appreciation for others and their roles in the family. Choose age-appropriate chores that are challenging but not impossible for young children. Children with developed senses of responsibility are more likely to succeed in adulthood.
- Make a list of community service people whom you would like to thank.
Children’s Books about Gratitude
- The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Liu
- The Thank You Book by Mo Willems
- Llama Llama Gives Thanks by Anna Dewdney
- Thanks From the Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
- Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco
- When Stars are Scattered by Omar Mohamed and Victoria Jamieson
- The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Feeling FOMO?
Bringing the Good Dads Strong Schools course to your neighborhood school is easier than you might think. The curriculum, developed locally by educators on the Good Dads team, is a fun, low-tech, and low-risk way to get fathers more involved in their students’ school. Join the nearly 50 schools who have already adopted the program—find out more on our Strong Schools page.
