Cultivate Gratitude in Your Homeschool

Published:
October 20, 2020

Contributor:
Shannan Swindler

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collage image of children in various autumn activities with text overlay. 8 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude in Your Homeschool

8 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude in Your Homeschool

Practicing gratitude is the most often given advice when someone is looking for a way to make their life more enjoyable. It can be a powerful tool in your homeschool. However, achieving an attitude of gratitude is a little bit harder for some kids. In order to help your family instill gratitude in your homeschool, here are 8 tips to help you cultivate gratitude in your homeschool.

Appreciate Everything: Even the Little Things

Appreciating the big things like family, your job, and your groceries is easy. It is not hard to understand why you should appreciate those things. However, the smaller details of our days are often lost in the negativity. Giving thanks for the sunshine, the sound of a stream, or the eruption of laughter late at night. These are the little things that we can appreciate.

Does hearing a child say they are thankful for the simplest thing warm your heart? Their innate ability to find joy in dandelions and mud puddles makes each of us want to embrace their perspective in our own way. 

Take time to notice some of the little things in your life that you can be grateful for in addition to some of the bigger things. Do you enjoy spring? Wonderful, take notice of all the blooms around you. Like reality TV? Great, thank your spouse for springing for the cable package. Do your kids love cooking? Awesome! Make sure they know how grateful you are even when the recipe doesn’t turn out exactly as pictured.

Teaching the art of observing in your homeschool will help kids learn to notice things they are thankful for. Keeping it fun with a gratitude photo scavenger hunt is an easy way to get exercise, be creative and have fun as a family.

Be Grateful During Challenges

Challenging times are inevitable. They are often the hardest times in which to be grateful. The next time you face a challenge in your homeschool or family, try to remember that you learn a great deal when life throws you a challenge. Reflecting on the past helps us give thanks for the lessons learned during challenging times and provides strength and confidence for the current stressors of life. Family chats can help cultivate an attitude of gratefulness for the growth and the opportunity to learn hard concepts and life lessons. 

Practice Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a simple practice inspired by meditation. Bible study, family worship or simply enjoying creation in a thoughtful, intentional manner are all ways to cultivate gratitude and a thankful heart. When you practice mindfulness, you simply dedicate a few moments of your day to focus your thoughts on what you are grateful for. This practice is known to reduce stress and to help you find ways to be grateful throughout the rest of your day as well. 

Practicing the act of thankfulness, identifying and acknowledging that which one is grateful for are power tools used to lay a solid foundation of thankfulness in your homeschool. These resources are perfect for laying that foundation and cultivating gratitude in your homeschool.

Journal about Your Gratitude

Keeping a gratitude journal is a great way to focus your thoughts on what you are thankful for. Keeping a gratitude journal makes it more likely to look for things to appreciate during the day. Using a gratitude journal in your homeschool is a great way to teach consistency and self-control along with a fun record of goodness we see over time. These free resources will inspire thankfulness and cultivate gratitude in your homeschool.

Volunteer Your Time

Sometimes it helps us to see and experience the lives of others in order to really appreciate what we have. Volunteer as a family with an organization that serves people less fortunate than you. This is a great way to build teamwork, learn to help others, and engage with your community. 

Talk About It

You would be surprised how much talking about your gratitude can help others around you. It is such a good way to model a heart of gratitude. Let your family know how much you appreciate them by expressing how grateful you are for their presence in your life. They may need to hear what you feel about them and it is so encouraging. It’s as simple as starting your evening meal with a prayer of thanksgiving and then asking ‘Who’s got good news?’  Good news is an easy way to find things to be thankful and share how much everyone is appreciated.

Spend Time with Friends and Family

Surrounding yourself with friends and family is a great way to remind yourself of the big things you have to be grateful for. The people you love have a way of making your heart swell with gratitude and giving you a renewed outlook on life in a more positive light. These resources are great family time activities you can pull out anytime and do for an hour or more to create quality time together.

Live in the Present

Let go of the past and do not look too far into the future. Easier said than done, I know. One mistake that many of us make is not focusing on the present. The only part of your life that you can control is the part that you are currently living through. Learning to be intentional in your homeschool and family activities will help you live in the present and enjoy it to the fullest.

Cultivating Gratitude

Cultivating gratitude doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Teaching it to our families is an investment that pays huge dividends in everyone’s future well-being and beyond. Utilizing these 8 simple tips, you can cultivate gratitude and thankfulness in your homeschool and family life. Chances are that once everyone sees how wonderful a life of gratitude can be, everyone will be grateful that you put in the work to make it a priority in your family. 

Grab the fun Thanksgiving Photo Scavenger Hunt & Gratitude Challenge and enjoy ‘giving thanks in all circumstances’.

Image of autumn leaves with text overlay. FREE Gratitude Challenge.Thanksgiving Photo Scavenger Hunt. www.HomeschoolGiveaways.com

 

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