We’re always reminding our kids to mind their manners and say, “Please,” and, “Thank you.” Sometimes, “Thank you,” can become such an ingrained response that we forget what it really means. Sallie Bee Writes a Thank You Note is a friendly and approachable lesson-in-a-story that reminds you to take time to really think about why you’re saying “Thank you.”
Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note starts off with Sallie receiving a hand-made scarf from her grandmother. Sallie writes her grandmother a thank you note using a “formula” of sorts–being specific about why you’re saying thank you and letting the person know how what they did made you feel. She enjoys writing her thank you note so much, she looks for more reasons to write thank you notes through the rest of the book, using her formula.
I really enjoyed reading this book to my kids. I really liked that Sallie didn’t just write a thank you note for receiving a present, but she also wrote them for acts of kindness she received through the book. It’s a really approachable way to remind kids they have a lot of reasons to be thankful–not just when they receive presents. And the kids really seemed to have fun with the activities we did around this book, which reinforced the ideas and themes of being grateful and saying thank you.
But I have a confession to make. As I was working on this lesson, I had an epiphany. One reason I wanted to do a lesson on this book for my kids was because they can be very ungrateful, and I wanted to teach them about gratitude and what it truly means to be thankful and blessed.
While I was coming up with examples for reasons they have to be grateful, I realized something that shocked me: I am grateful they are ungrateful, because it means their lives are so wonderful and blessed they don’t know how truly good they have it.
At that moment, I felt my frustration at their lack of gratitude slip away, replaced by my own sense of gratitude that my husband and I have been able to provide such a great life for our kids. While I still think it is critically important for them to be grateful and to understand they are very lucky and blessed, I am approaching it from a place of happiness and joy instead of frustration.
My own example, I think, shows just how critical gratitude is to happiness, and that we can always do more to understand how good we have it.
You can download our lesson plan as a .pdf or read it below.
Lesson
Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note
Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note (Amazon)
Vocabulary
- Grateful/Gratitude
- Being thankful; showing appreciation for someone or something.
- Generally gives a feeling of warmth that stays with you.
- “Gratitude is an attitude” – more of a state of mind than being thankful. A realization that you are lucky to have what you have.
- Gratitude can change your perspective on frustrations if you reframe it.
- Thankful
- Being grateful or happy for something someone did or something you received.
- Generally a temporary feeling directed at something someone did for you or something you received.
- Thank you note
- A note sent to someone to convey thankfulness at something they said or did.
Summary
Parents teach us at a very young age to always say “please” and “thank you.” Saying “thank you,” is an almost automatic response when someone says or does something nice for you. But taking the time to really appreciate someone makes them feel good and also helps you understand behaviors you do and don’t like that you can then apply when dealing with others.
Key Concepts
- Saying “thank you” is a way to show someone you appreciated/liked what they did.
- Be specific about your thank you–tell the person exactly what they did that you are thanking them for, and why you are thanking them for it.
- When thanking someone, tell them how what they did made you feel.
- Understanding why you appreciated something someone said or did can help you understand how you want to treat others. (E.g., If someone did something nice for you, and it made you happy, you can do something nice for someone else to make them happy.) It also encourages the person to continue to do nice things.
- There are subtle differences between being thankful and being grateful, but thankful is generally a temporary feeling related to something someone did, and being grateful is generally related to a feeling that stays with you.
Examples
- You are thankful that Mom or Dad got you a drink. You are grateful that you have family who loves you and cares for you.
- You are thankful your sister or brother shared your toy. You are grateful you have someone to play with.
- It is hard to explain how to be grateful without also explaining the alternatives. I would encourage you to share with your kids what you feel comfortable sharing and you think they can process. For example:
- We are lucky to live in America. Some people in other countries travel on foot for MILES, carrying just a bag of what they own, through dangerous terrain, just to have a chance to live here.
- We have access to clean, safe water. Some people don’t. They have to drink water people and animals have bathed or pottied in.
- We can walk, run, climb, and play. Some people are sick and can’t move around at all.
- We have a beautiful house filled with toys and clothes and love. Some people don’t.
- We have access to doctors and medicine when we get sick. A long time ago, before scientists could study diseases, there were no medicines and people just had to suffer.
Think Alouds
- Why is it important to say “thank you”?
- Can you think of a time you’ve wanted to say “thank you” to someone? Did you?
- How do you think the people who received Sallie’s “thank you” notes felt? How would you feel if you received a “thank you” note?
- What were the elements to Sallie’s thank you notes?
- A recipient (person to thank).
- A specific reason for the thank you note that includes what the person did and why she was thankful for it.
- How what the person did made her feel.
- Her name.
- Why do you think it’s important to be specific when telling someone what you’re thankful for?
- Why do you think it’s important to tell someone how what they did made you feel?
- Can you think of something you feel thankful for? Can you think of something you feel grateful for?
Activities
Activity 1: Understanding Your Thank You
Materials
- None
Instructions
- Ask the kids to think about a person they thanked recently.
- Ask them who the person was and what the person did.
- Ask the kids why they were thankful for what the person did.
- Ask the kids how they felt about what the person did.
- Ask the kids if they can think of ways to imitate what the person did with their friends.
Activity 2: How Many Things Are You Grateful For?
Materials
- Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note Reasons to be Thankful Counter (download as .pdf) OR piece of paper
- Pen
- Optional: Counters, such as bears, gems, pom-poms, etc.
Instructions
- Pre-step: Print as many copies of the Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note Reasons to be Thankful Counter worksheet as you need. Alternatively, write “How Many Things Are You Thankful For?” at the top of the paper and add an empty box next to it. Optional: Add a 10 or 20 frame box to the paper.
- Ask the kids to think about how many reasons they have to be thankful. (E.g., a friend came over to play, they made a goal in soccer, their mom or dad bought them their favorite juice, etc.)
- For every reason they can think of, have them make a mark on the paper with the pen OR add a counter to the paper.
- When the kids can’t think of any more reasons to be thankful, ask them to count up how many marks or counters are on their paper and write the number in the box.
- Point out how lucky the kids are to have so many reasons to be thankful.
Activity 3: Write a Thank You Note
Materials
- Paper or cards
- Markers or crayons
- Optional: Stickers
- Optional: Envelopes
Instructions
- Ask the kids to identify one person they want to write a “thank you” note to.
- Provide the kids the materials, and ask them to write a “thank you” note including:
- Who the person to be thanked is.
- What they did to receive the thank you card.
- How the child felt about what the person did.
- Optional: Let the kids decorate the cards and address the envelopes to the recipient.
Additional Videos/Books
Sallie Bee Writes a Thank-You Note Reasons to be Thankful Counter background image courtesy of Pixabay. Image available here: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/thank-you-polaroid-letters-2490552/.
KC Aubin 