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I write often about the importance of literacy. Since this month is November - the month of Thanksgiving Day - I want to merge the concepts of being thankful with reading. How can we help our children become more thankful and encourage reading at the same time?
As a Christian, I always turn first to the Bible for guidance. With so many research tools available online as well as electronic Bibles, it is relatively easy to search for verses with the words “thanks” and “thankful” in the Bible. There are many. Encourage your children to read some of these verses and write them down. One of my favorite verses is Psalm 188:1 - “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
Another idea is to have your children write on sticky notes once a day what they are thankful for and create an area in your home where they can put up these sticky notes as reminders. Examples are “I’m thankful for my dog” and “I’m thankful for a sunny day to play outside” and “I’m thankful for food to eat today”. Encourage your children to read them every day.
Also, help your children write “thank you” notes for gifts or for any occasion when such a note can be used. I recently received in the mail a “thank you” card from one of my teenage nieces thanking me for a birthday gift I sent to her. It was very special to me because it showed me that she took the time to think about thanking me and about what to write to me and then she took the time to actually write it out to me. That one little handwritten note showed me that she cared for me and wanted to let me know how much she cared.
The list of ideas is endless. Begin incorporating some in your day to day activities.