Gratitude Journal

Gratitude journal help students to foster their ability to focus, plan, and organize their goals. The quality of life and positive thoughts in students is improved with gratitude prompts and writing. Parents and teachers always question what and how to improve the environment and culture at home and schools. Gratitude journals are a powerful tool that empowers elementary students to learn, grow, and appreciate the life lessons. Moreover, the students can model the appropriate behaviors and positive attitude towards the aspects of life and situations. Why should Elementary Children make a Gratitude Journal? Gratitude journal for kids guides the elementary students to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, self-exploration, and express joy. Children learn to recognize and admire the people and things in their lives and understand their feelings and emotions. When students focus and acknowledge their relationships intentionally, either daily or weekly, they experience positive affirmations. They learn to see the good and positive aspects of loving them for kindness, and qualities lead to improved relationships. Moreover, the students are provided with a purpose and opportunity that helps them academically to improve sentences, spelling, and writing. As a parent and teacher, you can help the child seek positive things to make gratitude a habit that makes them hopeful for another day. The parents and teachers can guide the students to make a simple list of three things they like for a start. Family member, favorite toy and teacher, and their book or subject that they enjoy reading, or a family trip they enjoyed. Starting a Gratitude Journal for Elementary Students 1. Share Stories Read stories to elementary students before bedtime and find suitable and appropriate books that teach gratitude expression. For instance, you can tell the story of the young child traveling with grandmother in San Francisco. The child talks about the things that are missing in his life. Later, his grandmother helps to see and recognize the characteristics and beauties of life, and the child eventually starts to love the experience and relationships around him. (The Last Stop on Market Street). 2. Select Gratitude Journal The elementary students are young, and the gratitude journal for them is pretty basic, that you can make with colored papers stapled together. Design and color them with the help of your child. Moreover, they can make shapes and spiral lines to make it look artistic and attractive to eyes. 3. Gratitude Journal Prompts Younger children have different and straightforward approach than adults, so the gratitude journal prompts are best to help them reflect. The gratitude prompts that elementary students can have in their journal are: I am thankful for _____________I appreciate ____________Thank you to __________ for ____________I am grateful to have _____________ in my life because _____________ It requires time for an elementary student to develop a habit, and as children are easily distracted, they need motivation. You can act as a guide and behavior model to help them live a long life to practice gratitude. 4. Watch Videos and Short Movies Challenge children's attitude and behavior by watching videos and movies that are inspirational and focus on gratitude expression. The children at an early age are fond of cartoons and animated films, the model and follow their behaviors, attitudes, and actions in life. They can learn and get inspiration from these interactive and learning videos to express gratitude to focus on happiness. Moreover, It serves as stimulation for their physical, emotional, and personality growth that leads towards a joyful life. 5. Accept Differences in Students At last, Consider an essential factor that in your neighborhood, school, and the peer group of students are different. They have differences in race, culture, religion, and socioeconomic background. The verbal, non-verbal language, expressions, actions, and gestures vary across cultures and religions. Therefore, they express gratitude according to their unique personalities and ideologies. It is an essential and healthy aspect to accept every human the way he/ she is rather than making them conform or behave in the way you like. Accept and recognize the challenges in a student's life related to community, system inequalities, and differences. On the other hand, It is recommended to make elementary students' express gratitude for having a cultivating and flexible approach that plants the seeds of hope and self-compassion in students.