Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Thanksgiving Learning - Gratitude?

With so much going on this time of year and the rapid approach of Thanksgiving, the lessons of gratitude and giving thanks can sometimes get lost in the shuffle of family life. I was on an airplane last week, listening to a small child and his mother having a loud verbal debate in the seat behind mine, and it was quite entertaining from where I sat!  I always learn SO much when I travel by plane. :-)



It crossed my mind that in this world of growing instant gratification, the lessons on being thankful get so easily overlooked as parents juggle so much and kids begin to expect so much. I have observed that homeschooled children are typically very grateful when working around them at conferences. They have to be learning this somewhere! I know that when our children were small, we focused on being thankful always, particularly around the holidays. We participated in the Operation Christmas Child boxes, food drives, children's shelters, and other ministry opportunities.  


When working on the Thanksgiving study, I made sure that I kept asking about how they thought the Pilgrims might have felt, along with the natives like Squanto and Samoset. The reason was to make them aware of these people and their feelings, along with the feelings of gratitude and thanksgiving that the Pilgrims must have felt after such a long journey, extremely difficult winter, and trying season of planting and harvesting.



What do you do to help your children develop an understanding of gratitude and thanksgiving, especially during this special season?


 Blessings,
Amanda B.
www.unitstudy.com

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