Hey teaching friends! I know most of us tend to think about the 12 Days of Christmas when December hits, but I was reflecting on being thankful in November, so I decided to throw a little Organized Classroom twist on the normal tradition.
Introducing the 12 Days of Gratitude Jar!
November is a tough month for teachers. Usually you are coming off the craziness of Halloween and the sugar rush that follows.
Next, it’s election day and Veterans Day, which are both important to mention.
Usually, parent teacher conferences are in that mix as well, which means a couple really late evenings that week too.
Then, it seems as though you have a short week for Thanksgiving Break, but with only a couple days off, you are home and trying to clean, prep, and cook a big meal and host houseguests from out of town. Not to mention the laundry, grocery shopping, and more.
And then it’s suddenly December!
November is one of those months where you NEED to remember the memories and words of love throughout the month because it can spiral out of control very quickly.
Taking a few quiet minutes each school session in the days leading up to your holiday break really give both you and students a chance to pause and reflect on all the good things happening during this time of year as well.
You might want to check out:
Includes 61 ad-free articles from Organized Classroom, including holidays such as:
- Groundhog Day
- Winter
- Black History
- Valentines Day
- St. Patricks Day
- Earth Day
- Spring
- Mothers Day
- Memorial Day
- Summer
- Independence Day
- Fall
- Halloween
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
…and even more, such as a section for student birthday suggestions and indoor recess ideas for when the season turns cold!
Includes 48 additional freebie files! No need to enter in an email address for each one separately – just click and go!
How to Create Your Grateful Jar
How does it work? Simple!
Head below to download the freebie packet which contains both color and grayscale versions of the materials.
Cut the page of sentences into strips and wrap each around a pencil to curl.
Toss into a mason jar and tape the header around the bottom.
You can even get fancy and place fabric or scrapbook paper on the top of the jar if you wish, or you could choose to just leave the jar open with no lid at all. There really are no rules with this project.
Now – count 12 days before your Thanksgiving Break begins and each day for 12 days, pass the jar around for each student to pick a topic to be thankful for and write about it on the worksheet.
After time is up for the activity that day, have students toss their topic back in the jar for the next day to pick again.
It’s fine if they end up picking the same topic on more than one day. Just have the student choose a different item to write about that would fall under the same topic.
Easy peasy!
DIY Gratitude Journal for the Classroom
It is not a huge assessed writing assignment, but rather something to start (or end) the day with a frame of mind that encourages gratitude.
This will be their little version of a gratitude journal.
Should they share their writing with the class?
Personally, I don’t like to share my personal thoughts and gratefulness statements with others, but maybe some students do want to share.
Perhaps a student is thankful for another child who included him or her in an activity at lunch or recess the previous day and wants to make sure that child is recognized.
Having some good examples ready will be important.
Here are a few you could prep:
- Today I am thankful for having a bed to sleep in because I know there are others out there who sleep on the floor or in a car.
- Today I am thankful for wearing a warm coat to school because it is snowing outside.
- Today I am thankful for recess because I am able to play with Tyrone, Destiny, and Kim. They make me smile.
That is something that should happen all year long, but November is a particularly great month to focus on it. 🙂
And just for the record, I am super thankful for each of you! #soblessed
Enjoy!
~Charity
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What a great idea! We have Thanksgiving in Canada in October so I think I will wait till December to do this one, but totally love the idea! Thanks!
Awesome resource! Thanks for sharing.
This project is AWESOME, Charity. Thank you for focusing children on the power of gratitude to create their lives with more peace and happiness.
Gratitude is my forever word. I love this writing activity! Thank you for coming up with it and sharing it. I can’t wait to do it with my 4th grade ESE students. We all have something to be thankful for.
So glad you like it Nancy and thanks for stopping by to say hello. 🙂
Thanks, I am in the Hurricane Michael red zone. My county was hit hard and my students will hopefully be able to return to school on Monday, Nov 5. Many have been displaced and without power so this will be a great activity for us!!
Thinking of you and your students Alecia! So glad this might help a little to focus on something more positive.
Thank you sooooo much!! What a lovely idea. We start the school year at the beginning of February, here in Perth. I’m going to use this for the start of the year, a wonderful way to set the tone for our classroom.
Have wonderful Christmas. 🙂
Awwww – how awesome Catherine. Merry Christmas to you as well!
I was sent the email for the printables but when I click on the link nothing pulls up but blank page. Any chance you can help with this?
Hi Jennifer! Either your system is blocking the site from the download or there was a tech blip. I would say try again and if you still get the white screen, just email me at the Contact tab and I will send it manually to you. 🙂