Photo by Tlindenbaum
Our family decided last year that October would be our family’s Thankfulness Month. We’re in Canada and Thanksgiving falls in October for us. The timing is perfect. Thankfulness is something that we believe is imperative to cultivate from tiny tot to great grandparent. Life is amazingly different when viewed through the eyes of someone who is truly thankful. I want to be someone who is truly thankful. I’m a thankful person; but I know I could be more thankful!
I imagine that our “Thankfulness Month” will evolve as the littles get older to include more history about Thanksgiving itself, the pilgrims and more. But for now, with tots 2 and 3, we keep it fairly simple.
- We’ve spent some extra time talking about thankfulness and looking for real life examples, opportunities to practice and express it.
- We’ve been reading stories that have a thankfulness theme in them {or one where we can incorporate one}.
- We’ve been focusing on all our blessings and talking about people who have very little in order to put it in perspective.
- We purchased and wrapped gifts for the orphan children in the Bayanihan Orphanage which opened up all sorts of opportunities to talk.
- We also do a Steady Blessings worksheet throughout the month. I enjoy Jamie’s blog Steady Mom and was super excited when her book Steady Days came out and I bought it almost immediately. It’s been a while since I read it but I remember enjoying it and the practical ideas it contained. Something we’ve taken advantage of are the additional free resources that accompanies Steady Days. My favorite one is the Steady Blessings page. While I initially wanted us to do one each day, I find that in reality we do one a few times a week and that’s OK. I pre-printed off several copies, double sided, and keep them in a binder. We take turns talking about things we are thankful for and the littles generally draw a picture of things they are thankful for. {I can’t always figure out what the picture is but they are happy to tell me all about it and so I can write a description of it}. Sometimes even daddy gets involved.
- Daddy and I try to really focus on limiting our spending during this month and really be thankful for the things we have. We’ve decided that at the end of the month, we’ll have a Family Celebration and go away for a night or two as a family.
- We finish up the month with a family overnight getaway. It may seem like a splurge but we’ve planned ahead for it. Last year it was an overnight getaway, close to home. This year it’s a days drive and 4 nights away. Time spent swimming, munching pizza poolside and playing games curled up in our room, with sweets and treats; memories in the making. Whether short or long, close or far, the object is to focus on each other – on family. Aside from the Lord, family is what we should be most thankful for isn’t it?
Family Thankfulness month also gives us something special to focus on during October when many others are focused on Halloween. Wondering Why We Don’t Do Halloween? We’re happy to share.
So I’d love to hear your ideas for activities or crafts and thoughts and on cultivating thankfulness in ourselves and our littles!
