Help kids focus on gratitude with this simple gratitude tree activity for kids.
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Gratitude Tree Activity for Kids with a Free Printable
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Every November, I make some sort of gratitude activity with my kids. past yearss we have made thankful hands, leaf-shaped gratitude chains, a traditional thankful tree, and a more modern-looking simple gratitude tree. I knew they wanted to make a gratitude tree again this year, and initially we were going to create a repeat of the super simple gratitude tree. Then I remembered our Pi Tree, and we decided to repurpose that tree printable for this activity!
We paired this activity with a reading of Bear Says Thanks, which is this week’s Virtual Book Club for Kids pick. I love the way this book teaches about graciously thanking friends, even (or especially) when you have nothing to give in return. Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland and The Thankful Book by Todd Parr are great alternates for this week’s theme. Scroll to the end of this post for more gratitude-themed activities from my co-hosts!
Click to read: More Thanksgiving Stories at Great Family Reads
How to Make a Gratitude Tree: It’s Easy with This Free Printable!
These gratitude trees were super easy to make! First, I printed out five copies of this printable:
I laid them out on our picnic table, along with this awesome Crayola Crayons set and told the kids to draw or write about things they were grateful for.
I enjoyed seeing how the different kids approached this activity differently. 8-year-old Johnny and 10-year-old Emma created increasingly dense word maps as “leaves” on their trees.
Seven-year-old Lily has always been a bit of a minimalist. She started off by decorating her tree, and then wrote about the basics that she is grateful for. Four-year-old Anna colored her tree and wrote her name, but had no interest in drawing or adding words.
We are taping our gratitude trees to the wall, where we will be able to add to them throughout the month.
MORE FUN Gratitude ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS
My co-hosts have a wealth of wonderful owl-themed learning activities for you to enjoy with your kids this week! Here they are, sorted by category. I’ve added a couple of activities that my family has enjoyed that didn’t make it into any of the co-host posts this week.
Gratitude ACTIVITIES That Teach Literacy
- Gratitude Alphabet and Give Thanks Banner from To Be a Kid Again
- Magnetic Thankful Tree from The Educators’ Spin On It
- Gratitude Drawing Prompt with Free Printable from Sunny Day Family
Sensory Gratitude ACTIVITIES
- Easy Gratitude Turkey Pumpkin for Kids from Toddler Approved
Gratitude In the Kitchen: Cooking Activities
- Pumpkin Muffins for Friends from Inspiration Laboratories
- Kid-Friendly Gingerbread Recipe from Rainy Day Mum
Using Gratitude to Learn Colors and Shapes
- The Gratitude Game: Pick-Up Sticks from Teach Beside Me
- “I’m Thankful For You!” Kid-Made Ornament Gifts from Preschool Powol Packets
- Thankful Bear Craft from Books and Giggles
Are you making a gratitude tree with your kids this year? I would love to see photos if you use our printable! Share them on my Facebook page, or tag me on Instagram.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Love these trees. So great that you are intentional about focusing on gratitude with your kids!
That crayon holder is much better designed than the one I have. Mine the crayons get stuck and such. I wish I still had mine from childhood, which was well thought out with individual spots for crayons. Oh well.
I like Johnny’s tree. It amuses me how he did it. It’ll be interesting if his ends up as dense as Emma’s.
Love this as a great reminder of how much we have to be thankful for!
What a great idea – I love the trees and how everyone could get involved.
Oh, I love it! I want to try this with my 10 year old and see what she comes up with!
I love this Thanksgiving tradition! Maybe I will be able to pull it off this year. :)
What a wonderful writing activity! My son would be able to fill the tree with family he loves.