Happy Thanksgiving!

Gratitude.  Thankfulness.  These are big, abstract concepts.  We teach young kids to say "thank you", but it is years before they really understand the meaning behind it.  My (old) children's dictionary defines gratitude as "a feeling of being grateful and thankful".  The definition for thankful reads "glad, or grateful".  They are words and concepts that are tough to explain and teach.  An understanding develops over years of adults modeling (showing and living) these concepts on a daily basis.  We can also use books to help show and give examples.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are a few book ideas:

• I'm Thankful Each Day! by P.K. Hallinan
• Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim
• The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
• Small Blessings by Erica Becker
• An Awesome Book of Thanks! by Dallas Clayton
• Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
• The Blankful Heart by Mr. Meus
• Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson
• Happy Thanksgiving, Biscuit! by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
• Give Thanks Each Day by Steve Metzger
• Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

Here is a list of 10 Children's Books to Celebrate Thanksgiving curated by Delightful Children's Books.

This coming week is Thanksgiving week.  It is a quiet holiday.  Sandwiched between the glitz of Halloween and Christmas, Thanksgiving is a time to slow down, quietly reflect and count our blessings.  Not just for the tangible things we have, but also to be grateful for those intangibles.  In therapy, we have been talking about being thankful for little things (like that peppermint mocha I had this morning) and big things (like family and friends who love and support us).  Thanksgiving is a time to be present and enjoy the people we spend it with.  So we are taking a break next week.  No new letter sound.  No planned review.  Enjoy the week celebrating all the goodness in your life! 

[The image is of the last page in The Ugly Pumpkin by Dave Horowitz.]

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