I may be skipping ahead a little here... but Fall also brings us Thanksgiving, and the responsibility of teaching out little ones what being thankful is all about. We started a tradition last year called The Thankful Tree.
This tree is approxiametly the height of Gator, who is four now, and I plan to make it grow with her as the years go on. We collected leaves, pressed them between clear contact paper, and used black Sharpie markers to finish the sentence "I am thankful for...". Each leaf also has the name of the thankful person and the year.
You can't read the leaves here, because of the glare, but we have some wonderful answers, and Gator loves when we sit and read each leaf. Last year we included are little family, Grandma, Papa, and a few aunts and uncles. This year our tree will grow as each person is asked to add a new leaf. I love that even family members that live far away can participate by sending their leaves or simply telling you what to write over the phone.
I love that this tree of ours is teaching our little ones that life is full of little things that we should be thankful for every day. And it reminds us each year just how much our little ones have changed. Last year, Gator requested two leaves. On one she wanted "Cars and Bugs". On the other she asked me to "just write Mommy". Papa was grateful for "Natalie", Grandma was grateful for "having her family close to her", and I was grateful for "having the oppurtunity to stay home with my babies". I can't wait to add leaves to our tree this year, in our new home, which of course, I will be thankful for.
Linking to:
Home and Family Friday,
This tree is approxiametly the height of Gator, who is four now, and I plan to make it grow with her as the years go on. We collected leaves, pressed them between clear contact paper, and used black Sharpie markers to finish the sentence "I am thankful for...". Each leaf also has the name of the thankful person and the year.
You can't read the leaves here, because of the glare, but we have some wonderful answers, and Gator loves when we sit and read each leaf. Last year we included are little family, Grandma, Papa, and a few aunts and uncles. This year our tree will grow as each person is asked to add a new leaf. I love that even family members that live far away can participate by sending their leaves or simply telling you what to write over the phone.
I love that this tree of ours is teaching our little ones that life is full of little things that we should be thankful for every day. And it reminds us each year just how much our little ones have changed. Last year, Gator requested two leaves. On one she wanted "Cars and Bugs". On the other she asked me to "just write Mommy". Papa was grateful for "Natalie", Grandma was grateful for "having her family close to her", and I was grateful for "having the oppurtunity to stay home with my babies". I can't wait to add leaves to our tree this year, in our new home, which of course, I will be thankful for.
Linking to:
Home and Family Friday,
Such a wonderful idea!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a special idea... they shared something really similar at my Bible study last year!
ReplyDelete