We have been talking to Cole about being thankful for all the things he has in his life and attempting to get him to grasp that many kids his age don't have food and a house let alone a playroom full of toys. It is a lot to ask of a 5 year old to comprehend anything other than what is "normal" to him but it is important that we try. He is learning about gratitude at Montessori school as well.
So each night before bed, I've been asking him about the things he is grateful for. At first he was like "I don't know..." but with just a little prompting, he picked five things the first night. We repeated those things the next night and then I told him that we would choose ten things the following evening. We then repeated those ten things after reading books the next night and moved onto fifteen working our way up to 20 things.
He was excited about his list and yet I didn't want it to become a game so I reminded him why he was being asked to grow his list every other evening. Two days before Thanksgiving Cole came down with the stomach flu and as I laid with him the first night between bouts of vomiting, he turned to me in his weakened state and said "mom, I'm not very thankful that my tummy is sick." I hugged him close and agreed.
Here are the things that made Cole's "20 Things I'm Grateful/Thankful For" List:
Daddy
Mommy
Tucker
My toys
My friends
Max (his new sea lion stuffed animal)
Target Field (where the Twins play)
Airplanes
Our trip to Oregon and San Francisco
My books
Chocolate milk
Mac N Cheese
Hugs
Tickles
Daddy's big phone
Bubble Baths
Talking to Daddy on the phone when he is away
Snow
My boots
Smiles
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