I love gratitude activities at any time, but they're especially wonderful in the fall. We're having a whole gratitude unit this fall with activities that can be used year round. I've added a lot of free gratitude printables and activities along with a free gratitude pack (subscriber freebie at LivingMontessoriNow.com)!
You'll find many activities for preschoolers through first graders throughout the year along with presentation ideas in my previous posts at PreK + K Sharing. You'll also find ideas for using free printables to create activity trays here: How to Use Printables to Create Montessori-Inspired Activities.
At Living Montessori Now, I have a post with resource links of Free Printables for Montessori Homeschools and Preschools.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links (at no cost to you).
Montessori Shelves with Gratitude-Themed Activities
You’ll find Montessori-inspired gratitude numbers, letters, and and more (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)
I always have related books available throughout a unit. On the top shelf, I have some books showing gratitude from individuals in other cultures. Gracias/Thanks is written in both Spanish and English. Giving Thanks focuses on gratitude expressed by the Iroquois people and We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga focuses on gratitude expressed by the Cherokee people. I added the Montessori continents globe to show where the people in the books would live.
In front of the books on the shelf are free gratitude conversation starters by teachingwithsteph at Teachers Pay Teachers. I printed them out four to a page and am rotating three at a time to use for gratitude discussions. I'm displaying them on a small wooden display stand from Montessori Services.
You could mix your gratitude-themed activities among your shelves according to curriculum area. Or you could have a special gratitude-themed area something like the one pictured. My shelves this month have a mixture of skill levels mainly from preschooler through early elementary. Many of the activities can be adapted for a variety of levels. If you’re a homeschooler, just choose the activities that work for your child’s interests and ability levels. If you don’t have room for all the activities you’d like to do, simply rotate them.
Continents Globe with Gracias/Thanks and Giving Thanks Books
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga Book with Gratitude Jar and Cards
Free Printables: Thankful jar and cards from Mama Miss
There are many nice gratitude jars for November. I especially like this printable set because it's lovely and can be used year-round. I like the idea of having "I am thankful for" cards available throughout the year. I divided mine by color and put them in a Montessori cards display box.
Seed Bead Writing Tray with G for Grateful Font Cards
Free Printables: Grateful letter g font cards for a seed bead writing tray (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)
For the writing tray, I used the wooden tray from the Melissa & Doug Lace and Trace Shapes. You can use whatever tray or container work best for you, though. I used tiny seed beads, which have a fun texture and work quite well for writing!
If you would like help with introducing phonetic sounds, introducing objects with sounds, or beginning phonics in general, check out my DIY Beginning Montessori Phonics with Preschoolers.
Matching Cursive Gratitude Alphabet Cards to Manuscript Gratitude Alphabet Cards
Free Printable: Gratitude movable alphabet cards in manuscript and cursive (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)
My almost-6-year-old granddaughter, Zoey, really enjoys this activity. I use it with a cursive tracing board. I got the 2-sided version (with capital letters on one side and lowercase on the other), since capital cursive letters aren’t commonly seen on written materials. After tracing the letters on the tracing board, Zoey places the manuscript letters in alphabetical order. Then she matches each of the cursive letters to the manuscript letters.
Th Phonogram Card and Booklet
Free Printables: Th phonogram card (showing "thank you" in sign language) with word "thankful" (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber)
Free Printable: Th Phonogram Picture and Letter Cards from MontessoriSoul
These activities are very simple to prepare. I just print out the materials and make them into little booklets. I have a post and video on how to introduce words starting with phonograms, even with very young children (although I don’t introduce phonograms to very young children except in a word like “shark” that can’t be explained as starting with /s/).
DIY Gratitude Cards and Counters with Odd and Even Labels
Free Printables: Gratitude Numbers and Odd and Even Labels (part of my subscriber freebie pack, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password … or check the bottom of your latest newsletter if you’re already a subscriber) I love making DIY themed cards and counters to introduce odd and even and add interest and variety to cards and counters. I used acrylic hearts. You need exactly 55 acrylic hearts if you want to do the numbers and counters 1-10. These are the same hearts I used for our heart activities last winter.
For Zoey and other kids who are already comfortable with symbol and quantity, I’ll typically use the cards and counters for hands-on addition, subtraction, and other mathematical operations. (See some of my other themed posts for ideas.) But sometimes, I like to use the odd and even labels.
The odd and even labels can be used with the cards and counters to reinforce the actual words “odd” and “even.” It’s a great way to be sure readers understand the concept of odd and even.
Gratitude Scavenger Hunt for Fall
I just printed the scavenger hunt out at 60% and added it to a small tabletop easel on the shelf. Even my toddler grandkids will be able to have fun with some of the scavenger hunt ideas!
Fingerprint or Handprint Gratitude Cards and "Giving Back the Gratitude" Thank You Tray
Free Printable: Thank you cards from Picklebums Free Printable: Fingerprint inspiration such as the fingerprint bugs from Rays of Bliss for older preschoolers on up. Free Printable: Giving Back the Gratitude Cards by Cathy Ruth at Teachers Pay Teachers I added the Giving Back the Gratitude Cards as inspiration for a giving back tray (seen on the bottom right shelf).Free Gratitude Printables for Preschoolers-First Graders
Montessori-Inspired Gratitude Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
For more free gratitude printables, see my post at Living Montessori Now with Free Gratitude Printables and Montessori-Inspired Gratitude Activities.
More Gratitude Resources
- Montessori-Inspired Gratitude Activities
- How to Help Your Kids Have an Attitude of Gratitude
- How to Help Your Kids Have an Attitude of Gratitude, Part 2 (November Gratitude Activities)
- November Gratitude Inspiration and Activities
- 20+ Family Gratitude Activities
- Free Gratitude Songs and Rhymes for Home or School
- 30+ Free Thanksgiving Gratitude Printables for Kids
- 20+ Free Year-Round Gratitude Printables for Kids
- Free Guided Gratitude Meditations for Kids {Mindfulness Resources}
- Free Guided Gratitude Meditations {Mindfulness Resources for Teens and Adults}
Have a happy and grateful autumn!
Deb Chitwood is a certified Montessori teacher with a master’s degree in Early Childhood Studies from Sheffield Hallam University in Sheffield, England. Deb taught in Montessori schools in Iowa and Arizona before becoming owner/director/teacher of her own Montessori school in South Dakota. Later, she homeschooled her two children through high school. Deb is now a Montessori writer who lives in San Diego with her husband of 43 years (and lives in the city where her kids, kids-in-law, and grandkids live). She blogs at Living Montessori Now.
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