after school gratitude

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, gratitude is the solution to pretty much any problem! It’s become such an integral part of my happiness and outlook on life so when I see my kids being ungrateful it really makes me panic! I know they’re young, but I always want it to be a tool and skill they can call on to help them in good and hard times! Today I teamed up with Mott’s Sensibles to create an after school activity where we can enjoy some healthy snacks, too!

after school gratitudeThe new Mott’s Sensible juice from Walmart is 100% juice with 30% less sugar than the apple juice that i typically buy for my family. Because It’s 100% juice its sweetened only natural fruit. It’s also made with coconut water and a splash vegetable juice and my kids LOVE it!) and my kids love it — especially the Apple Raspberry flavor! You guys know, I am all about easy upgrades!I decided to try out my gratitude wall idea during meal times and right next to the kitchen table. Breakfast and dinner are some of the only times we’re all together and conversation can flow. We’ve done named the “Best and Hardest off the day” for years now, but I wanted to also add things we’re grateful for!  I’ve heard both my kids say defeatist things like “Why does this always happen to me?” I really want my kids to know that no matter what kind of day they have, it’s all in how you look at it!after school gratitudeSo as we’re sitting down and snacking I have a pad of post-its and a pen. The boys can jot down things that happened that day and stick them on the wall. Its been especially sweet as Russ has been working long after they go to bed and he can get a feel for their day even though they’re already asleep!after school gratitude Cal is getting pretty good at writing and sounding things out, but any young kids can draw pictures or you can scribe for them, too!after school gratitudeIs anyone surprised that we spilled no less than three times our activity together?If you need to kickstart a new tradition or reset family goals, I find that making an activity a friendly competition or having an incentive seems to help us. Like: whoever writes 5 post-its gets a treat after dinner. Or, getting them all their own color pad of notes and whoever has the most at the end of the week picks where you go to dinner, or a new, fun family activity. Just something to entice them to give it a try, right?After School Gratitude Do you guys have any other tips for helping kids start to think gratefully on their own? Here are a few of my favorite post-it notes from this week: #1 — Good friends #2 Cars & Trucks (written by Cal for Raleigh, because he knows how much Raleigh loves them!) #3 Apple Juice With Mom <3

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12 Comments

  • Suzanne Pagan
    May 7, 2018 at 8:17 am

    Honestly, I took my kids with me to serve under privileged children and I saw a difference in them immediately and they were 4 and 7 at the time. Oh and ❤️❤️❤️ For you 😍

    Reply
  • Megan
    May 7, 2018 at 8:32 am

    Gratitude journals. We got one gifted to us as a newly married couple and we alternated turns writing down one thing from the day we were grateful to our spouse for. It was a wonderful way to learn each other’s love language and recognize the good in each other. I just got journals for my boys (9 and 5) and ask them to write or draw one thing each night that they were thankful for or that was a bright spot oinbtheir day. Gratitude and positive attitudes are a HUGE thing I’m trying to teach them, especially since I find so many of their peers show zero gratitude or appreciation for what is good in life and complain and tantrum over things that are actually pretty trivial and temporal. Trying to break the cycle at home anyway I can. ✊🏼

    Reply
  • Cara
    May 7, 2018 at 9:09 am

    I have always believed that positive energy feeds positive energy. Parents play a key role to set the tone in the home, and how children react to situations. So, be a thankful parent and express gratitude often for your blessings! One thing that has helped me when something goes wrong is to think about what I learned from the situation and how I can improve next time. We are all learning and growing together, and it starts in the home! 🍎

    Reply
  • Whitney
    May 7, 2018 at 9:10 am

    I feel you. We can spend a whole day somewhere like an amusement park and they’ll get mad about one thing and say it was the worst day ever. It drives me batty. I love this idea! We’ll have to give it a try. 🎒

    Reply
  • Cali Rutter
    May 7, 2018 at 11:08 am

    So First is all I think this is super important to teach kids. Mine are similar ages as yours and it’s hard. They don’t see the perspective we do. My five year old tends to say “well it was fun BUT I wish we could have done this too” so when she says things like that I try to have her name the good things in the day or the parts that made her the happiest. And say that today was good and we can make tomorrow good when we do other things and try to explain that our attitude is what helps us to be happpy and we can choose to be happy about what we have. We definitely have to talk about this stuff all the time. It’s a repetitive thing. It’s the same thing we have to do as adults. We get in slumps or being “ungrateful” and have to remind our selfs of all the good in our lives. So making it a family habit is a good thing. And if everyday is hard then maybe once a week during family council or a family evening. Also ❤️❤️❤️ 🎒🎒🎒❤️❤️❤️😜

    Reply
  • Meagan Jones
    May 7, 2018 at 11:45 am

    Dinner time table talk going around telling something you are grateful for that day. The conversation usually spills more than just one grateful thing! 🎒🍎

    Reply
  • Natalie Neville
    May 7, 2018 at 12:23 pm

    Our kids have to tell us one high and one low point of their day. We all have bad/good days so this has helped our kids understand between a bad moment and bad day and a good moment and a good day! We write them all down and pick one out at the end of he week and they are the person who gets to choose what our family does for Friday family night!

    Reply
  • Natalie Neville
    May 7, 2018 at 12:24 pm

    Our kids have to tell us one high and one low point of their day. We all have bad/good days so this has helped our kids understand between a bad moment and bad day and a good moment and a good day! We write them all down and pick one out at the end of he week and they are the person who gets to choose what our family does for Friday family night! 🎒🎒

    Reply
  • Emily Wirth
    May 7, 2018 at 12:31 pm

    As a teacher, I liked asking my middle school students to reflect on “How were you a good friend today?” We talked about simple things like listening to a friend or helping with a task, or simply encouraging others to make good choices.
    With a toddler of my own, we’re working on lots of patience but also saying thank you. She picked up a few signs and I’m so happy that she uses the “Thank you sign” on her own occasionally! #thelittlethings🍎

    Reply
  • Emily M
    May 7, 2018 at 3:14 pm

    As a new mom this is really helpful to read everyone’s perspectives! Thank you 🍎

    Reply
  • Lindsey Hawes
    May 7, 2018 at 3:21 pm

    One thing that has really helped my kids was we made a “suggestion” (read rule) that before ending any prayer they thank Heavenly Father for at least three things. This has led to some awesome prayers and really sweet moments (thank you for letting me find a turtle, thank you for helping me remember to make my bed this morning, thank you for no rain so I could play outside, etc). As a parent it’s been a huge blessing to listen to their gentle reminders that the small things matter too. 🍎

    Reply
  • Karen
    May 7, 2018 at 5:26 pm

    One of the best ways I like to recognize gratitude is to think of all the things I did in one day and realize how many of those things other people had to help me. Sometimes it’s hard to recognize all the small things people do!🍎

    Reply

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