🍁 November SEL Newsletter

Thankfulness & Gratefulness in Action & Application

Dear Teachers & Childcare Providers,

As the season of gratitude arrives, creative dramatics provides joyful ways for children to practice gratitude, kindness, and empathy. Acting out stories, sharing fond memories, role-playing situations and scenarios, and using simple dramatic activities helps children notice the good around them and express appreciation for others.

🎭 Classroom & Home Activities

·       Thankful Fun– Children freeze in a “thankful pose” (hugging a friend, receiving a gift) and then share what they are thankful for.

·       Gratitude Role-Play – Act out scenarios such as receiving a gift, a friend sharing a toy, or helping a neighbor, then practice saying “thank you” in different voices and using various gestures.

·       Circle of Thanks – Have students sit in a circle and pass a “thankful object” (like a gourd or small pumpkin). Each child says one thing they’re grateful for before passing it on.

·       Kindness Scenes – In small groups, create a short skit showing a kind act (sharing, helping, teaching, comforting, including). Perform for the class.

📚 Storytime Dramatics (Act It Out!)

Use these books to spark conversation and dramatic play:

·       The Thankful Book by Todd Parr – Bright, simple examples of everyday thankfulness.

·       Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes – Celebrating family, traditions, and gratitude.

·       Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson – Sharing and appreciating friends.

Encourage children to act out scenes from these books, using props, costumes, or puppets.

Another option is to have children draw their own pictures for the story and then share it with the class.

🌿 Mindful Movement Breaks

·       Gratitude Stretch – Reach arms up high and say one thing you’re grateful for as you swing arms downward to touch toes.

·       Heart Breaths – Place hands on heart, take a slow deep breath in and silently say in your head, “thank”, and while breathing out slowly say, “you” silently in your head.

·       Grateful Circle – Children sit in a circle with a small basket in the center filled with picture cards (e.g., family, food, friends, nature, school, pets, etc.). One at a time, each child picks a card, shows it to the group, and says, “I give thanks for ___.” After sharing, the child can choose to act out the card, if they’d like (for example, pretending to walk a dog for “pets” or hugging someone for “family”). The rest of the group copies the motion together. This combines verbal expression, gratitude, and creative dramatics in a playful, inclusive way.

👨‍👩‍👧 Engagement Tip

·       Encourage children to write, draw pictures (or both), in a journal about things they are thankful for.

📖 References

Parr, T. (2012). The Thankful Book. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

Markes, J., & Lewin, D. (2004). Thanks for Thanksgiving. HarperCollins.

Wilson, K., & Chapman, J. (2012). Bear Says Thanks. Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Brown, E. D., Benedett, B., & Armistead, M. E. (2010). Arts enrichment and school readiness for children at risk. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 25(1), 112–124.

Goldstein, T. R., & Winner, E. (2012). Enhancing empathy and theory of mind. Journal of Cognition and Development, 13(1), 19–37.

✨ November is the perfect time to nurture thankfulness. Through creative dramatics, children can practice gratitude in fun, meaningful ways that build empathy, joy, and stronger connections with others.

I’m grateful for you and all you do to support the social-emotional development of our future generations! Keep up the good work!

With gratitude,

Megan Frazier, SEL Consultant