As I mentioned previously, the boys are really into charts right now. This is almost entirely thanks to Sid the Science Kid on PBS, and I only feel a little bit guilty about that. We're in a rough season right now, and even though I don't love how much television we're watching, I'm glad that at least they're learning about science-y things (albeit from a slightly creepy, annoyingly-giggly crowd of cartoon characters).
So while last year we painted and cut out dozens of leaves for our November "thankful" list, and the year before that I even put the leaves on a big tree on the wall, this year went something more like, "oh, shoot, it's a week into November already and I haven't even thought about Thanksgiving. We should probably do something . . . ." As I had the thought, my eyes landed on our animal classification chart, and inspiration struck. Another big sheet of paper, a few markers, and ta-da: our Thankful Chart!
So while last year we painted and cut out dozens of leaves for our November "thankful" list, and the year before that I even put the leaves on a big tree on the wall, this year went something more like, "oh, shoot, it's a week into November already and I haven't even thought about Thanksgiving. We should probably do something . . . ." As I had the thought, my eyes landed on our animal classification chart, and inspiration struck. Another big sheet of paper, a few markers, and ta-da: our Thankful Chart!
Clearly, I'm doing better at writing down the boys' suggestions than my own, and I'm pleased to say it's almost always at their bidding: "Hey, Mommy, I have something I'm thankful for!" It took Silas a while to get into the spirit -- for the first week or so, he shouted "NO!" every time we asked if he was thankful for something -- but now he's being his usual crazy self, offering up gratitude for things like "water coming out of the pipes" and "speakers" and "shoveling."
It may not be as fancy as some years, but hey, they can't all be Pinterest holidays. The boys are happy and we're practicing gratitude. That's a win in my book.
Simple AND effective for the extra busy Mom!
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