Thankfulness Tree

I don’t know about you, but I need help slowing down during the month of November. I want to be thoughtful and thankful, but somehow, I arrive all the way to January, exhausted, out of breath, and wishing for a re-do for the whole holiday season.

So if you are like me, and November is about to take you by surprise, here is an easy thankfulness activity you can do with what you already have on hand!

Thankful Tree Leaves jpeg.001

Supplies:

a paper grocery bag
some white paper and a printer to print the leaves (Thankful Tree PDF)
crayons
scissors
masking or painters tape
a sharpie

Directions

Cut the paper bag from top to bottom down one of the folds. Cut off the bottom rectangle. Voilá. You now have kraft paper.
Draw a tree trunk. Cut it out.
- My friend Karin says done is better than perfect. If it looks bad, just go with it. It will be covered with leaves soon and no one will see your scraggly tree 😉
Tape the tree to the wall with masking or painters tape.
Print out the leaves that you like. We went with one page of each kind to start. Have your kiddos color them and cut them out.
- There are simpler leaf shapes for little ones who are still working on scissor skills.
- If you’re in a hurry, don’t worry about cutting them out perfectly.
- If you’d rather use colored paper, go for it! We didn’t have any.
- If you don’t have a printer, just cut a simple leaf shape!
Each night at dinner, let everyone take turns sharing what they are thankful for. Write it on a leaf and tape it to your tree.