In the bustle of daily life, it’s easy to forget to count our blessings.
We move quickly from one thing to the next, without stopping to remember that every breath is a gift, and our lives would be drastically different without the people in them. This is an unfortunate loss, because there is evidence that an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness has a number of health benefits, including: reduced anxiety and depression, better immune function, less stress, and overall a better sense of well-being. It also benefits the people around us.
I created a Thanksgiving tree for my kids, to help them pause and exercise thankfulness before we enter a season that is often plagued by greed.
To make a Thanksgiving Tree, you will need the following items:
* poster board
* brown paper (I used paper from a package we received in the mail, but you could also use brown paper bags or other similar material)
* mod podge
* acrylic paint
*paint brush or sponge
*scissors
*construction paper (various colors)
* pens or markers
*tape
Looking for homeschool support? Check out our online homeschool community!
Begin by creating your desired shape with paper and using the mod podge to glue it into place on the poster board. Let it dry for a minute or two.
Paint your tree as desired, using the acrylic paint and paint brush or sponge, adding a small amount of water to thin out the paint (optional).
Once your tree has the look you want, mod podge over the whole thing. This will create a protective coat so your tree will be more durable.
Once the mod podge is completely dry, you can hang your Thanksgiving tree in a central location of your home. Cut leaves out of construction paper and help your children write things on them that they are thankful for. Create tape rings with the sticky side facing out, and use these to affix the leaves to your Thanksgiving tree.
We like to keep ours up for several weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, and continually add to it until we are ready to move on to our Christmas traditions.
It’s easy to skip from Halloween to Christmas, but Thanksgiving is a good opportunity to pause and be thankful for everything we have, before we start focusing on everything we want. Help your kids get into this habit of thankfulness with a Thanksgiving Tree!