Teaching Kids Thankfulness 
What’s something you’re thankful for today? Today, I’m thankful for [Emily, tell us what you’re thankful for]. God calls us to be a thankful people. Do the kids in your life have thankful hearts? Teaching kids to cultivate thanksgiving is a great lesson, not just for November, but for all year—every year! Today, I’m going to share four great ideas you can use to teach thankfulness to kids. 
First, create a Thank-You Chart for kids to track what they’re thankful for. It can be on poster board or designed on a computer. Add a column for each day of the week, and enough rows for the length that best works for your schedule. Then decorate it as you wish. Each day, help kids write down three things they are thankful to God for. Making a chart like this also creates opportunity to talk about being thankful for the ways God provides. You could ask kids to think about the way each thing they are thankful for was given to them by God. 
For example, over lunch one day my niece asked me where we get chocolate milk. I told her, “God gave us cows that make milk. He also gave us chocolate. And then God gave someone the idea to put them together and now we have chocolate milk. So, we can tell God thank you for chocolate milk.” It was simple conversation, but hopefully it helped her see how God is the one who provides good gifts. Conversations like these remind both the kids—and us—that we can tell God thank you for even the simple joys in life, like chocolate milk. When the chart is full, take time with the kids to look back and admire all the wonderful things God provided. You can keep the filled chart on your classroom, bedroom, or basement wall as a visual reminder to be thankful.
Do your kids enjoy mysteries and puzzles? Use this second idea to teach kids about thankfulness by playing “Crack the Code.” On a dry erase board or piece of paper, write the first letter of each word to 1 Thessalonians 5:18. For example, instead of writing “give thanks in all circumstances…” you would write, “1  T  5  18  G  T  I  A  C ”. You can vary the secret code depending on the age of the kids. A group of kids can race to see who can crack the code first. Give helps as needed, leading them to look in the Bible for the answer. Once they’ve cracked the code, talk about what the verse means. Ask them, “How can you give thanks in all circumstances?” Challenge them to think about ways they can be thankful to God on good days, bad days, and the in-between days. 
Here’s an idea for when you’re waiting or riding in the car with kids. It’s a simple game you can play to encourage thanksgiving called, “I Spy, Thank You Edition.” You can play this with one or more kids. Start by saying something like, “I spy something I’m thankful for that’s big and white.” It has to describe something everyone can clearly see. Kids can take turns guessing. When they figure it out, tell them why you are thankful for it. For example, you can say, “I thank God for clouds because sometimes they have funny shapes that makes me smile.” Give turns for the kids to “spy” something and have them share why they’re thankful.
One way we show we’re thankful is by sending a thank you card. For the fourth idea, you can help kids develop a thankful heart by having them design and write thank you cards to God. Encourage them to be creative and include more than one thing they are thankful for. They can use secret codes, draw pictures, or even write a poem or song to God. You may want to have several sample ideas to spark kids’ creativity and also show them that you like to thank God as well. After they’re finished, take time to pray and thank God together. Having the kids pray out loud with you, not only encourages them to give thanks, but also helps build an openness to praying with others. After you pray, remind the kids that God loves to hear our thankful prayers all year ‘round! 
For these ideas and more on teaching kids biblical truths, visit our articles page at cefonline.com. 

1. Teaching Kids Thankfulness—Thank-You Chart
Teaching kids to cultivate thanksgiving is a great lesson, not just for November, but for all year—every year! You can help kids consider what they’re thankful for by creating a Thank-You Chart. It can be on poster board or designed on a computer. Add a column for each day of the week. Then decorate it as you wish. Each day, help kids write down three things they are thankful to God for. Making a chart like this provides opportunity to talk about being thankful for the ways God provides. When the chart is full, take time to praise God for the wonderful things He provided. For more ideas on how you can help kids develop an attitude of gratitude, read the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
2. Teaching Kids Thankfulness—Chocolate Milk
Over lunch one day my niece asked me where we get chocolate milk. I told her, “God gave us cows that make milk. He also gave us chocolate. And then God gave someone the idea to put them together and now we have chocolate milk. So, we can tell God thank you for chocolate milk.” It was a simple conversation, but hopefully it helped her see how God is the one who provides all good gifts. Conversations like these remind both the kids—and us—that we can tell God thank you for even the simple joys in life, like chocolate milk. You can ask kids to think about one thing they are thankful for and then describe what God did so they can have it. For more ideas, see the article, “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
3.  Teaching Kids Thankfulness—Cracking the Code
Do your kids enjoy mysteries and puzzles? You can teach them about thankfulness by playing “Crack the Code.” Write the first letter of each word to 1 Thessalonians 5:18. For example, instead of writing “give thanks in all circumstances…” you would write, “1  T  5  18  G  T  I  A  C ”. Let kids race to see who can crack the code first. Give helps as needed, leading them to look in the Bible for the answer. Once they’ve cracked the code, talk about what the verse means. Ask them, “How can you give thanks in all circumstances?” Challenge them to think about ways they can be thankful to God on good days, bad days, and the in-between days. For more ideas, see the article, “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
4. Teaching Kids Thankfulness—I Spy Thank You Edition
When you’re waiting or riding in the car with kids, here’s a simple game you can play to encourage thanksgiving. It’s the “I Spy Thank You Edition.” Start by saying something like, “I spy something I’m thankful for that’s big and white.” It has to describe something everyone can clearly see. Kids can take turns guessing. When they figure it out, tell them why you are thankful for it. For example, you can say, “I thank God for clouds because sometimes they have funny shapes that makes me smile.” Give turns for the kids to “spy” something and have them share why they’re thankful. For more ideas to help kids develop an attitude of gratitude, read the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
5. Teaching Kids Thankfulness—Thank You Card
One way we show we’re thankful is by sending a thank you card. You can help kids develop a thankful heart by having them design and write thank you cards to God. Encourage them to be creative and include more than one thing they are thankful for. They can use secret codes, draw pictures, or even write a poem or song to God. You may want to have several sample ideas to spark kids’ creativity and also show them that you like to thank God as well. After they’re finished, take time to pray and thank God together. For more ideas on how you can help children develop an attitude of gratitude, read the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.





You can go to cefonline.com to read the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” which includes more ideas to help children have a thankful heart.
If you want to reference what I talked about today, see the article, ” Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com. 
More ideas are included with the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
To learn more, see the article, ” Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.
Go to cefonline.com to learn more and read the article, ” Teaching Kids Thankfulness.”
You can read the full article “Teaching Kids Thankfulness” at cefonline.com.