NOVEMBER BLOG - Gratitude and Growth

A few reminders for some upcoming Special days in November:

November 13th - World Kindness Day

November 17th - International Students' Day

November 27th - Thanksgiving Day

Hello and welcome to November!

I don't know about anyone else but I feel that from my vantage point, the seasons have transitioned nicely and taken their usual place in the atmosphere. From where I live in the South, the temperatures have been delightful and a bit warmer during the day so I have been enjoying time outdoors walking my dog in the crunchy leaves, breathing in the fresh cooler air at night while enjoying a cup of mint tea while sitting on my deck swing and reflecting on the past year in my writing. It has been such a wonderful experience! All the more time to show my gratitude and growth for where I was to where I am now.

Part 1- Writing - "Giving Thanks Through Story Telling"

I love this theme in the writing process. Not only is the season a time to show and give thanks by what we do personally, but it is a great time to reflect on what we are truly thankful for and be able to write about it in a gratitude-themed story.

One of the ways that I like to show my gratitude is by journaling everyday. Unleashing my personal thoughts, concerns, ideas and feelings can be collected in a journal filled with story ideas from everyday events. I also use my journal to give thanks to my spiritual journey with my faith and praise God for my life and experiences. If there is a time in your life when something has happened that you can't explain or an event that turned out for the good, journaling can often create a story that has all the elements of a grateful heart and positive message for others. Writing from your heart is authentic and meaningful and touches people's lives in different ways.

The examples I used in the introduction of this blog when I described how grateful I am to be able to walk my dog in fresh air among the leaves that fall and enjoy my swing while the stars are shining at night could be a short story that starts like this:

"The last of the leaves came down on the ground as my eager beagle, Benny, and

I walked our usual route in the neighborhood. As we began stepping over the red,

yellow and brownish leaves, we came upon a shallow ravine that once was filled

with water but appeared to have dried up in the seasonal change. The cool

weather and being surrounded by nature made me feel so thankful to enjoy this

day and many others like it. The sky was darkening and as we walked slowly home,

slightly tired from trekking along the trail, my thought was to watch the night sky

sipping hot tea and relax while I sat on my deck swing and slowly went back

and forth to the gentle breeze that filled me with a grateful heart."

This example of the actual events from a simple moment in my day became a journal entry and topic for a short story on gratitude. Below you can copy and paste the gratitude journal sample to help your youngster on their journey to writing and reflecting about their day to show their gratitude through story telling. The story mayt be longer than you think! Happy Writing!

Part 2- Education "Teaching Kids To Reflect on Achievements"

When teaching children to follow instructions and gain knowledge through a thorough step by step process, it is also important to teach how to reflect on their progress and achievements with the proper tools and expectations to help build confidence in their growth patterns. Following a rubric, which is an assessment tool that outlines criteria and expectations and describes different levels of performance on each criteria. Children will use a rubric to follow a written project outline and must meet the requirements for each section to be graded. They use the step by step guidelines to research and prepare material, then check off and assess the steps making sure each criteria was properly addressed.

This process is a wonderful way for children to learn accountability in their work. It is a self-guided way for them to check the quality of work and make adjustments if needed before submitting a piece of work. At the end of the rubric, a teacher may also include a survey for students to fill out. This, too, is a type of assessment for the teacher to get feed back on how the student felt while doing the project.

The reflection can be an "informal self-report card" that children can use even on weekly homework assignments. The more details a student can provide, the deeper they are recognizing their growth which shows positive learning skilss and performance. When students reflect on accomplishments, their confidence builds and growth improves. They are also able to recognize their strengths and weaknesses which is helpful in taking ownership of their work. This also helps them to organize a mindset that prepares them to formulate a pattern of positive opportunities for successful outcomes.

Reflections on assignments help them make sense of their experiences and think in critical terms in the way they learn best. Some ideas for reflection exercises may be:

*free writing for ten minutes to let the ideas flow without being judgmental

*prompt journaling- using specific guidelines to see where your writing brings

you using prompts.

*write a letter to your younger self including guidance on what to avoid and

where to gravitate to in life.

These exercises can help pave the way to more "insightful" writings" and build confidence in the process.

Part 3 - "Parenting- "Creating Family Gratitude Traditions

After all three of my children were born, I made a little box that I decorated with contact paper and inside I put all the "baby" things they used when they were first born. As they grew, I showed them their own boxes on holidays or special occasions to let them know how much I loved them and how grateful I was to have spent time with them as a SAHM to see them go through the milestones and make progress growing. These little items were special to me and it allowed me to remember how different they each were, how unique they stood out in our family. From baby food jars, tiny diapers, burp cloths, pacifiers, spoons, bibs, etc, the special box held the precious memories of them from infancy and up to a year old.

It's important for children to have traditions they can relate to so they have connections to things they may not have been there to experience themselves, yet still feel the bond of family. The holidays make a perfect time to begin or continue those traditions.

Some ideas for creating family centered gratitude traditions could be:

*Make a "thankful" tree of sturdy cardboard and construction paper for leaves.

Have each family member write on several cut out leaves what they are thankful

for. Tape the leaves to the tree and watch the smiles unfold as you read each one.

*Make a gratitude jar from empty plastic food jars (either peanut butter or

peanuts, etc) and using different colored paper, cut strips to be folded over about

an inch long. Use stickers on one side when folded, and on the other side, write

down one thing you are grateful for. Make 31 papers enough for all the days of

any given month. Each day, take turns reading one of the papers and read it before meals but guess who wrote the gratitude.

This is a great way to think kind and thoughtful things about family and friends and get children to show how they communicate in writing.

Activities that help strengthen a family in learning skills that touch hearts and minds are long lasting and help develop a sense of empathy and compassion.

A different idea for a family activity is to have all family members join together and write a gratitude letter. It does not have to be for anyone specifically, just practice the writing process using the gratitude theme.

Brainstorming as a family provides a closeness and creative way to reinforce the daily writing in school.

I hope this month's blog gives you ideas to help your family enjoy the theme of gratitude and growth as your children or grandchildren learn and experience new and challenging activities both in school and at home.

For a sneak peak in the December blog, I will be discussing Magic and Memories and the ways in which stories and holiday tales help the writing process and preserve traditions.

Wishing everyone a Happy November and a Happy Thanksgiving!

November 1, 2025 Charlotte, NC