Happy Thanksgiving. I was going to send our gratitude trees home for thanksgiving, but I loved having them in the class, and want to give students a chance to read what others wrote.

This morning, there was a segment on the news about gratitude. They listed some of the benefits in children of recognizing what they are grateful for. Those benefits include improved happiness, increased life satisfaction, improved sleep, increased motivation to improve relationships, and generally able to focus on the positive instead of the negative.

If you're looking for ideas to focus more on gratitude at home, a candid approach is best. Let your children hear you talking to others about what you're grateful for, or try keeping a gratitude journal. I personally keep a gratitude journal and try to write one thing I'm grateful for every night. It's not an easy practice, but it is extremely powerful. It doesn't have to happen every day, and doesn't even have to be formal journaling. When I have done this activity with children in the past, it can be helpful to take a '5 senses' approach. What did you smell today that was nice? Did you taste something yummy today?