“I am thankful for…” Writing Pages

I work very hard – daily – at helping my children develop thankful hearts.  Gratefulness certainly comes much easier to some of my children than others, as I would guess is the case for most families.

The Thanksgiving Season {which is closely upon us!} always brings a fresh renewal to work on thankful hearts here at the Hill House, my own included!

I am a list-maker by nature, so it seems natural to make a list of those things for which we are grateful.

And what better way to keep track of our blessings, than to “name them one by one?”

Note: This post was originally published in Oct 2012.  I’ve given the writing pages a face lift and updated the post with how we’ll use this in our current season of life.  

I left old parts of the post because they reminded me of the old days with my very young kiddos.  I have a nostalgic heart. 🙂

“I am thankful for…” Writing Pages

Teaching my children to have grateful hearts is no small task.

We all have that innate desire to be selfish.

Living in America, we take our surroundings and our possessions for granted on a routine basis.

I don’t want my children to think for one second that we are not abundantly blessed.  Nor do I want them to think their mama takes it for granted that we live in freedom and comfort.

So I’m going to do this activity right along with them!

How We Will Use These Thankful Pages In Our Home

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Once a week during Bible time, I try to have us each list a couple of things for which we are especially thankful.  My Little Ones’ answers range from a great breakfast, to a favorite blanket, to a warm house, to a quiet scream-free morning (the baby is in the throes of the screaming-two-year-old phase and we are all grateful when she chooses to talk rather than scream).

Their answers are so precious to hear, as they almost always list people and/or God first before they list material items.  Melts a Mama’s heart, it does.

Several times throughout this Thanksgiving Season, we’ll list our answers on these printables instead of just saying them out loud.  It’s a great way to keep track of the many blessings we have.

I’ll have my 7 and 5-year-olds write their own answers and I’ll write the 3 year old’s answers as she dictates to me.  My 3 year old will be so thrilled that she has her own Pages to keep!

Since I have a comb binding machine (Best homeschool tool ever!  I purchased that one on a one-day sale on Amazon.), we’ll make a Thankful Book and add our pages each day.  It will be a wonderful keepsake at the end of the season.

Update for November 2015: 

My children are now 10, 8, 6, and almost 5.

My oldest 2 will write their lists in cursive to practice their handwriting.

My 6 year old will need a lot of spelling help, but she’ll write most of her own pages.

My almost 5 year old will dictate her answers to me and I’ll write her list.

We will still make our lists during Bible time in the morning, since that is such a natural time for us to each describe things/people/events for which we are thankful.

And I imagine we will make another book.  They do make such wonderful keepsakes!

How can you use these Thankful Writing Pages in your school?  Other moms love to read new ideas, so leave a comment below!

Click here to download Thankful Writing Pages:

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Lauren Hill

Lauren Hill is a Christian mom to 5, ages 19 to 7. She homeschools her children in the classical education tradition and is currently in her 15th year of homeschool. She creates engaging worksheets and hands-on printable activities for Preschool and Elementary age children to supplement their daily studies.

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