Teaching Children to Write Thank You Notes
Monday, December 12, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | December Tips
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Research documents several benefits from the habit of writing thank you's - and to more people than Grandma!
Even by age five, studies demonstrate that gratitude is linked to children who are happy.
In studies of middle school children, researchers found that those who practiced gratitude were more optimistic, had better social support, and were more satisfied with their schools, friends, families, and themselves.
A third study of high school students showed that teens who embodied gratitude practices were more satisfied with their lives, were more engaged in schoolwork and hobbies, and had better grades. They also were shown to be less depressed and envious of their schoolmates.
Teaching kids how to write a thank you note, and helping them remember to do so, will serve them throughout their lives. The challenge is showing them how. By using a thank you note template for kids or following a sample, children of all ages can not only get started, but can also begin building a very important habit of expressing gratitude before adulthood.
Using Thank You Note Templates:
Using a thank you card template or a gratitude letter template for students is a great way to start building this very important habit, especially for younger kids. Here are some reasons why:
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They have a guide throughout the writing process.
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They are shown what the card should sound like and how it should look.
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With a basic structure given to them, children can feel free to add their unique voice, which will make the thank you card more genuine.
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A template also gives kids ideas of what to say in a thank you card, which helps inspire their own ideas, and helps to make them more personal.
Thank you notes are a great way to help children start expressing gratitude, and using a sample thank you letter for kids is an effective method for getting them started. And, perhaps even more importantly, when children learn to express gratitude, they tend to feel it, too.
How Kids Can Write a Personalized Thank You Note
Does your child want to write a thank you note from scratch? Encourage them to craft creative thank you notes from kids. Another idea is to snap a photo of the child as they open or are enjoying the gift and include it with the thank you note. Consider gifting thank you cards and stamps as one of the gifts you give your child for birthdays and the holidays.
Here’s a few tips to transform thank-you note writing into a "return gift" and less of a chore:
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Keep your expectations age appropriate. When the kids are younger, create a template for them that they could fill in with their own words. Print it out, fill it in and then send it. Lay the foundation for the years to come, and minimize the whining that comes from cramped crayon clutching little hands. The template could go something like this:
Dear XXXX,
Thank you for the _________. I really love it.
Love,
XXXX
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As children become older, encourage them to follow a little more complicated template. Brainstorm with your child:
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Tell the giver what makes them special to you.
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Thank them for the gift.
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Tell them how they plan to use it.
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Tell them a little personal information {important for grandparents who live out of town}.
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Wish the gift-giver well.
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Reiterate thank-you.
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Sign off.
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If thank-you’s are painful, encourage kids to complete so many per day. Maybe 2 per day, with the goal of mailing them by Friday…or something like that.
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Teach kids the art of evasion AND appreciation. Even if they don’t LOVE the hand-knitted booties great-aunt Gladys sent them, they can still appreciate the effort she went to and the thought behind them. Teach them to write a thank-you for the sentiment.
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Example: Thank you for the hand-knitted slippers. I know you must have put in a lot of time to make those, and it means a lot to me that you care so much. Also, I don’t know if you knew this, but my favorite color is blue, so how perfect that they are blue. {No lies, of course, only gratitude.}
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Show your kids how important it is by setting a time aside for it. You probably have your own thank-you’s to write. Set aside a time where you can ALL sit down and write them. Make snacks, turn on music or a family favorite movie, and get to work. You can make it fun{ner} and not completely painful.
When it comes to kids’ thank you notes, no matter how big or small, a handwritten note for a thoughtful gift or experience can go a long way in showing appreciation for a family member, teacher, or friend. The post-holiday season is the perfect time to give these thank you note ideas for kids a try!
Sources:
How to Write Thank You Notes for Kids
Teaching Children to Write Thank You Notes
Serving Opportunities For All Ages
Tuesday, December 6, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | December Tips
Serving Opportunities For All Ages
During the Holidays and All Year
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You likely know that volunteering in your community or participating in service projects not only benefits the recipients of your labors of love. Do you know the specific profits for those who take the time to give without monetary compensation? Although analyzing those blessings is not the purpose of this blog post, the positive outcomes that result from serving others are worthy of mentioning. When family members serve together, they grow together in their sense of purpose as individuals and as a family, creating tight family bonds that last years and years into the future. Serving also cultivates a sense of community, grows social and practical skills, moves us out of our comfort zones (and into our growth zones), and provides avenues to forge new connections and friendships.
Often, the holiday season opens up a plethora of additional opportunities to serve. Truly, there are plenty of opportunities all year long, however, I challenge you to become vulnerable, purpose to serve in a new and appropriately challenging way, and experience the rich and abundant blessings that result (for you)!
Every community has its own unique opportunities. I am listing many that I have been involved in personally or know for certain can be embraced as a family with varying aged children. If the youngest in your family are to little to actively serve another, by their mere presence they will bring smiles and joy to those around (other volunteers or the individuals receiving the act of service).
♥Choose a widow (widower) or single parent who could use some extra help and serve them by
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raking
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washing windows
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helping in a garden
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sending notes of encouragement and child-drawn pictures
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offer respite childcare
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share a meal (deliver, invite to your home, bring a meal to share at their home)
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wash and vacuum her car
♥Serve in a kid's soup kitchen (for younger children an adult soup kitchen may not be appropriate).
♥Package kits of small toiletries to deliver to a shelter.
♥Serve at a crisis pregnancy center.
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Sew receiving blankets
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Crochet baby hats
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Sort donated baby items
♥Deliver a meal to a family who has been ill, just adopted a child, or birthed a baby.
♥Choose foster parents who you know could use extra help.
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Scout for and deliver size-appropriate clothing, age-appropriate toys for the foster kids
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Deliver an occasional meal (even part of a meal)
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Offer to help with extra tasks (see widow listing for ideas)
♥Serve meals at a senior center
♥Visit lonely residents at an assisted living center or nursing home
♥Serve at an animal shelter or other animal rescue facility
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Sometimes this type of volunteering involves fund raising activities for the purpose of donating supplies to these agencies
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Walk the animals
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Publicize for the agency
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Become trained to help at an equine therapy center
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side walkers
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animal care and cleaning
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greeters
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♥Embrace a family friendly weekend service project for a summer camp preparing for their upcoming season
♥Toys for Tots
♥Samaritan Purse Shoebox Ministry
♥Baking cookies (bread, jam, fishing, hunting) and delivering to a neighbor in need
♥Shoveling snow for elderly or infirm neighbors
♥Volunteer to care for children in a church, for a mom's group, or a young couple's group
♥Be a secret Santa for a family in need
♥Preparing firewood heating the home of widows, widowers, or needy families.
Please share additional ideas for serving as a family plus your family's own volunteer experiences and how they have enriched your family culture! Include #IL2LServingtheCommunity so we can see your posts!
If you don't follow us on social media, here are the links to join us!
Parents Learning Together Facebook Group
Unique Holiday Learning Ideas
Monday, December 5, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | December Tips
Unique Holiday Learning Ideas
What holiday-themed topics did you enjoy learning when you were a child? Are there histories of traditions about which you have only vague knowledge? Allow your curiosity, and that of your children, be the drivers that set you up for unique learning experiences this year.
There are as many opportunities for learning as your curiosity and questions allow! Keep your lists for future years so you can choose a few new topics each year.
Even pursuing three new topics each year over a 16 year span in a child's life will total 48 subjects for which they have enriched themselves.
I have included 25 ideas to start you brainstorming.
Share back your own ideas and experiences to your social media!
The goal of this post is to share as many ideas as we can! Include these hashtags in your posts so that we can all see the amazing learning experiences you are providing for your kids!
#uniqueholidaylearning #IL2L
25 Unique Learning Ideas
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What is the story of Hanukkah?
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How is Hanukkah celebrated in the United States? In other countries?
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What is the story of Christmas?
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How is Christmas celebrated in the United States? In other countries?
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What is St. Nicholas Day? When is this day celebrated?
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What is Epiphany (Three Kings Day)? When is this day celebrated?
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How is Epiphany celebrated in the United States? In other countries?
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What is the history of a Christmas Gift-Giver?
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What is the origin of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
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Why do some people hang stockings and other put out wooden shoes?
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Why do people exchange gifts during these holidays?
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Why do some people celebrate on Dec. 6, Dec. 24, some on Dec 25, at the end of Epiphany, or Jan. 7?
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Why do people celebrate with lighting evergreen trees? Do any cultures decorate or light other types of trees?
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What is the origin of Christmas Pickles?
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What is the origin of the Candy Cane?
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What is the history of Elf on the Shelf?
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What are the origins of traditional holiday foods and drinks such as
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What are histories behind various traditional English Christmas carols?
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What is a Yule Log? Where did this tradition begin?
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When is Advent? What is an Advent Wreath? Advent Calendar?
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How are gingerbread houses related to the holidays? What is their origin?
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Why is the Nutcracker Ballet traditionally performed during the holiday season?
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What is the origin of the ugly Christmas sweater tradition?
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What is the history of holiday door wreaths?
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What are the origins of traditional holiday foods and drinks during the holiday season begin? Consider such favorites from around the world such as egg nog, fruit cake, latkes, lefsé, roast goose, collard greens & black-eyed peas, verivorst, tamales, pepparkakor, wat, and buñuelo with natilla.
Do you have ideas that you want to share?
Post them on your social media accounts with the hashtags #uniqueholidaylearning #IL2L !
Do you want more unique learning ideas?
Search our unique hashtags to see ideas other followers are sharing! #uniqueholidaylearning #IL2L
If you don't follow us on social media, here are the links to join us!
Parents Learning Together Facebook Group
Finishing the Academic Term with Strength and Excellence
Monday, December 5, 2022 by Catherine Gilliland | December Tips
Finishing the Academic Term with Strength and Excellence
It is no secret that learners, young and older, are easily distracted. Just think back to your own school lessons that were likely interrupted by the anticipation of trick or treating, the sight of the first lazy snowflakes of winter drifting down, the excitement of school assemblies, or the jitters caused by fire, earthquake, or lockdown drills. The anticipation of school holidays during December can become a certain roadblock to academic progress whether in an actual school building or in a home school. Although we desire our children to experience the excitement that comes with these holidays, however we celebrate, we also recognize the importance of finishing the academic term with strength and focus.
Finishing an academic term with success ultimately embraces goals for a child's (or teen's) personal management skills, traits of focus, self-monitoring, planning and prioritizing, time-management, impulse and emotional control, and the list goes on. Recognize the weaknesses in your student's skill set and provide scaffolding for them to realize the next level of success during the "pre-holiday-end-of-term" days and weeks. I recognize this is easier said than done, therefore I am sharing from my heart and experience tried and true tips that have proved themselves for parents and students alike.
Continue to provide a quiet, focused atmosphere for learning. Thoughtfully consider the inputs that derail your child, then guard them from those disquieting sources. These can include distracting holiday decorations and music. Even well-intended holiday events with "off-routine" bedtimes and foods can disregulate some individuals. Know your child and set them up to finish the term strong.
Provide assistance to your child in the area of emotional control by keeping yourself from inciting excitement at inappropriate times. For example, refrain from making comments such as, "Aren't you excited that you only have two weeks of school left until break?" Instead, offer affirmations that strengthen a child's emotional and impulse control. Rephrasing the above comment could sound like, "I recognize how ready you are for a school break. For the final two weeks, though, I believe you can continue steadfastly and complete all of your assignments with excellence. I am here to encourage you."
Some students work best when incentivized. Completing academic work prior to a strong deadline, like the end of a term, is an appropriate personal challenge for a student's personal development. Appropriately motivating rewards are designed to encourage your student to grow to the next reasonable level of maturity. Ideas for motivating holiday rewards could include a special outing the child can experience with you (and maybe a friend) that is holiday themed, a longed-for holiday meal, baking special cookies together, or a completing special holiday craft, etc.
The idiom "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" comes to my mind as I share the next tip. Although this saying sounds defeatist, in no way do I suggest throwing your hands up in defeat when I suggest simply making wise alterations to your academic schedule and plans to absorb the special opportunities the holiday seasons afford. If you have the option to flex your student's learning schedule, consider wrapping up academics that require more concentration before the distracting forces of the holidays begin. Some families enjoy an academic calendar that takes a six week hiatus from serious academic learning during the holidays. If you are less able to control your student's academic schedule, consider working ahead to complete work that can be completed more successfully without distractions. You may need to contact your child's teacher for these assignments and tutor your son or daughter yourself to make this work. If projects are due just prior to a school break, assist your student putting off procrastination and completing those projects before their deadlines.
