This is the beginning of a season in which giving thanks must GROW and GROW. Much of our culture goes full speed ahead now from giving thanks to giving stuff, thereby -- at best!-- compelling more thanks. We will see gratitude challenged by greed and giving challenged by getting. The commercialism of the holiday season will likely be challenging for our children -- and for all of us.
Each day at school we are practicing and modeling this notion of THANKS. THANKFULNESS.
Our snack preparations include the "thanks poem" which you can find at the end of this blog. Then, often at snack we have a whole conversation about thankfulness. I see how abstract this concept is for our 3's, and how much practice it takes to work it out. I believe it is a practice (or even a game!) we can't possibly repeat enough. Expressions of gratitude cultivate feelings of gratitude -- and vise versa as the wheel begins to spin within: feelings of gratitude compel (and with practice, have built up the tools for...) expressions of gratitude! This is so crucial in the values-teaching of young children within a culture that takes so much for granted. Dare I remind us all, by example, we teach. Make your daily gratitude visible to your children.
As gift-giving begins to flood the cultural agenda, I wanted to open up the topic with you all and invite sharing. It is so such a tricky time, and easily can trigger intensified emotions in all. I think it is worth sharing strategies and ideas about how to face the highly commercial season with sanity and our children's learning experience as our guiding goals.
How to make GIVING a thrilling and involved experience -- instead of just putting children in the role of "wanting" and "receiving" gifts -- is one challenge worth much collaborative thinking. Along this line, I'd like to invite you all to consider (and even propose) some "community service projects" that we could focus on together as a learning experience and curriculum focus.
Each day at school we are practicing and modeling this notion of THANKS. THANKFULNESS.
Our snack preparations include the "thanks poem" which you can find at the end of this blog. Then, often at snack we have a whole conversation about thankfulness. I see how abstract this concept is for our 3's, and how much practice it takes to work it out. I believe it is a practice (or even a game!) we can't possibly repeat enough. Expressions of gratitude cultivate feelings of gratitude -- and vise versa as the wheel begins to spin within: feelings of gratitude compel (and with practice, have built up the tools for...) expressions of gratitude! This is so crucial in the values-teaching of young children within a culture that takes so much for granted. Dare I remind us all, by example, we teach. Make your daily gratitude visible to your children.
As gift-giving begins to flood the cultural agenda, I wanted to open up the topic with you all and invite sharing. It is so such a tricky time, and easily can trigger intensified emotions in all. I think it is worth sharing strategies and ideas about how to face the highly commercial season with sanity and our children's learning experience as our guiding goals.
How to make GIVING a thrilling and involved experience -- instead of just putting children in the role of "wanting" and "receiving" gifts -- is one challenge worth much collaborative thinking. Along this line, I'd like to invite you all to consider (and even propose) some "community service projects" that we could focus on together as a learning experience and curriculum focus.
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