The holiday season is also a great time to teach your child to share. Often young children find it challenging to share. In our home we use the phrase “take turns” instead of “share”. When we tell a child to take turns, we are intentionally telling the child what to do without the need for them to think through a big concept. We teach our children to share by counting to 10 or 20 and passing the toy back to our friends when we are having difficulties sharing. Singing a fun little song to encourage taking turns can also be helpful: “It’s time to share. It’s time to share. Let’s count to 10. Let’s count to 10. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Pass the toy. Pass the toy.” (To the tune of Where is Thumbkin.) It’s important to remember that it is developmentally appropriate for sharing to be challenging for your children and that with patience and time in a supportive environment, most children will learn to share with their friends and family.

Here are 4 activities to help you focus on gratefulness as a family:

1. Our family favorite is creating a grateful turkey and adding a new feather every day during November. We review the meaning of gratefulness daily before our children choose what they are grateful for that day. You can also make a grateful pumpkin by writing all the reasons you are grateful on a pumpkin. 

2. Read a book about gratitude. Here are 3 of our favorite books about being grateful.

-Gratitude Jar by: Katrina Liu 

-The Giving Tree by: Shel Silverstein

-Bear Says Thanks by: Karma Wilson

3. Call or write a letter to someone who has helped or blessed your family. Thank them for all of their support. This teaches your children to remember to thank those who help them throughout life.

4. Create your own Gratitude Jar: Gather a writing utensil, paper, and an empty jar. Each day have each person in your family write one thing they are grateful for on a piece of paper and put it into a designated jar. At the end of the month, or on Thanksgiving, make your favorite family dinner or snack and enjoy reading each piece of paper as a family. This is a great way to remind everyone to be grateful for all of life’s blessings and to bond as a family. 

All of these ideas for teaching and sharing the spirit of giving and gratefulness with family may seem simple, however, your children will remember when you wrote a thank you letter, delivered special treats, and simply said thank you for the little things. I encourage you to use this holiday season to teach your children to be giving and grateful through intentional learning experiences as a family.

About the Author

Kortnee is a military spouse, a yoga teacher, a homeschool mom, and a published author with more than a decade of experience in early and elementary childhood education. Her goal is to take parents on a journey with their children by integrating more opportunities for intentional learning daily through play. If you would like more activity ideas follow us on Instagram @intentionallearning.