Step-by-step tutorial
Step 1
My kids and I went for a walk. I asked them to notice things about the earth and nature that they liked and enjoyed. They noticed the sky, clouds and sun.
Step 2
They noticed flowers, wind, seeds and birds.
Step 3
They noticed water, rocks, trees and newly sprouted spring grasses by the water's edge.
Step 4
When we returned home, I gave them each a poster with the words "We are thankful for the Earth" at the top.
Step 5
As they began to draw, we talked about what we had seen and how thankful we were that the Earth had each of these wonderful elements.
Step 6
We talked about what would happen if one of those was gone. We couldn't survive without water and sunshine. We would be sad without flowers to pick and rocks to climb on.
Step 7
My 4 year old son was thankful for water, sun and clouds.
Final result!
My 8 year old son was thankful for mountains, water, trees and plants (left). My 6 year old daughter was thankful for the sun, water, flowers, clouds and birds (right). I am hopeful that this project will inspire ongoing gratitude in my kids for our Earth and it's resources. I loved doing a thankful project with them that was not centered only around Thanksgiving. We'll be hanging up their posters as a reminder of all the things we are thankful for about our Earth.
