Encourage gratitude with a Thankful Jar that kids can make. Includes free printables!
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As Thanksgiving approaches it's time for our family to pause and think about the things that we are grateful for. Since we host a big family Thanksgiving dinner at our house every year, we love to create special Thanksgiving table decorations that celebrate our gratitude. This year we are making a Thankful Jar as part of this month's Family Dinner Book Club project, and it will work as the perfect Thanksgiving centerpiece too!
Family Dinner Book Club: Gratitude
This month's Family Dinner Book Club theme is Gratitude, and our featured book is When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Diane Goode.
When I Was Young in the Mountains is a lovely book about growing up in Appalachia and being grateful for the simple things in life. As our kids are growing up with so much technology and "stuff" around them, it's a wonderful reminder of what really matters.
Visit my Family Dinner Book Club co-host Jodie for more books on gratitude and appreciation, then head over to Sarah for a delicious book themed menu.
Make a Thankful Jar
For our Gratitude themed activity, we decided to create a Thankful Jar. It's a super easy craft to make, looks great as a Thanksgiving table decoration, and is a perfect exercise in gratitude too. Here's what you need to make your own:
- Mason Jar
- Free printable leaves (or create your own)
- Jumbo craft sticks
- Glue sticks
- Markers
- Pine cones, acorns, dried corn or other jar filler
Start by downloading and printing your leaves, or feel free to create your own. I recommend printing on card stock for best results. Then cut them out using scissors, or use your Cricut machine (that's what I do).
Not sure how to print and cut with a Cricut? Here are directions.
Once you've cut out your leaves, use a glue stick to glue them to the top of your craft sticks. You can make as many as you'd like - we found that 6 was a good number to fill our jar.
While the glue is drying, you can fill your mason jar. You'll need something to fill the jar about halfway in order for your leaves to fit properly. We used pine cones that we collected at the park, but acorns, dried corn, or rocks would work well too.
Once the glue is dried, you can encourage your kids to write things that they are thankful for on each craft stick before placing it in the jar.
Or, if you'd prefer to use this as a conversation starter, you can simply write things like "grateful" and "give thanks" on each stick. Then, around the dinner table, have each person choose a leaf and say what they are thankful for. This is a great activity for Family Dinner Book Club night or Thanksgiving!
Once your sticks are finished simply arrange them in the mason jar and you have a lovely Thankful Jar for your home and family to enjoy.
Add these free printable Thanksgiving activity pages to your table, and find more printables to encourage gratitude here!
You can pair this activity with Family Service Projects centered around gratitude, such as:
You can pair this activity with Family Service Projects centered around gratitude, such as:
- Collecting for a food bank and volunteering to serve food for Thanksgiving.
- Bringing Thanksgiving dessert to those working on the holiday, such a fire fighters or nurses.
- Participating in a holiday toy drive.
- Adopting a family to purchase holiday gifts for.
Complete Your Family Dinner Book Club Experience
Make the most of your Family Dinner Book Club experience with a gratitude themed menu from Sarah of Chef Sarah Elizabeth, and a list of books about gratitude and appreciation from Growing Book by Book.
And be sure to share your Family Dinner Book Club pictures with us on Facebook!
Click here to see all our Family Dinner Book Club projects.
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