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Read the stories or play the videos. Included are questions generated by fellow staff members on the Climate/Equity Committee.

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Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.

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Street Compliments | SoulPancake Street Team

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What is The Gratitude Graffiti Project?
It is a daily practice of purposeful appreciation of one's life through interactive art. The project engages residents to 1. Contemplate a source of gratitude in their lives and then 2. Provide an outlet to express that thought of thankfulness in a public setting.

These accessible outlets will act as 'reminders' or GRATITUDE STOPS, where a person walking by can mentally note something they are grateful for or to take it a step further and give a gift to our community by actually writing what they are grateful for that day on a "Gratitude Graffiti" wall, a library card, on the sidewalk with chalk, or on a storefront window.

We ask simply: "What are you grateful for?"

Through The Gratitude Graffiti Project, participants are no longer 'spectators' of art, they are fully engaged in creating the art that expresses their gratitude. Through art, people can contemplate, create and rejuvenate and awaken a whole new perspective on how to look at how great life can be.

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What is The Gratitude Graffiti Project? It is a daily practice of purposeful appreciation of one's life through interactive art. The project engages residents to 1. Contemplate a source of gratitude in their lives and then 2. Provide an outlet to express that thought of thankfulness in a public setting.

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Art: Tree of Thanks (2D, 3D, mixed media, etc.)

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Art: Tree of Thanks (2D, 3D, mixed media, etc.)

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Take photos, magazines, verbal or written

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Gratitude Scavenger Hunt from Let's Get Together.jpg

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Montair Trail is right on campus!

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Our world is amazing. Whether we live in a forest, or a meadow, or a city, magic is right outside our doors. This time of year, we love talking about gratitude with family, friendships, food. One of my personal favorite actitivies is bringing children outside and asking them, "What do you appreciate here?"

Having things to touch and explore and collect helps children notice the world that can easily be taken for granted. We can walk past trees or building. It's easy to focus on the destination: going to school, to the park, to the store...

This time I just go outside. I invite children to collect one treasure (maybe two). I wander. On purpose.

We look up.

We look down.

We notice the passing beauty all around. And we ask questions. We become curious. "What are the spiky things on that tree?" "Why do these leaves change colors?"

This appreciation is simple. And lasting. Children share their treasures.

I love photos because I can take a picture, then they can leave nature in the forest (or side of the parking lot, which is where he found this tiny pine cone).

They are so excited by their discoveries.

We slow down and notice how the air feels. How does the sun feel on our face? The breeze in our hair?

We are so fortunate, to have these gifts around us every day. No small things.

When we finish the walk, we write poems to remember those feelings. Those discoveries.

To remind us. The world is an amazing place. We have so much to be thankful for :)

She found a leaf shaped like a heart.

We also place our treasures in a display. Since we are a class, one or two things from each child create a diverse collection of leaves, acorns, and tiny pine cones (these are returned to nature within a few days). With my family, each child collects a little more.

I have ideas to look for colors as we wander. Appreciate red in our world. Appreciate green :)

Appreciate now :)

I write the poem with them by asking for feelings, not stories. Their individual contributions create a lovely poem :). I usually write the closing sentiment to tie it all together.

Take a walk

Wander

Slow down and share the moment (say how it feels)

Collect treasures (gently, no living things)

Create a display

Draw or paint an image of a favorite treasure or scene

Write a sentence about the walk or what was discovered

Write poems (or a group poem)

Put photos, drawing, and/or poems togegther for a fall book

P.S. If you would like to bring a fairy along on your walk, that would be lovely! Give your fairy a tour of our magical world :)

Enjoy autumn :)

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Our world is amazing. Whether we live in a forest, or a meadow, or a city, magic is right outside our doors. This time of year, we love talking about gratitude with family, friendships, food.

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Kid President’s 25 Reasons To Be Thankful!

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This Film Shaped Everyone Matters: GRATITUDE by Louie Schwartzberg

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The Original Gratitude Dance!  (www.TheGratiDudes.com)

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Create a poster explaining what gratitude means to you.

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In teams of 3-4, use your collective knowledge about gratitude to create a collaborative art piece sharing how together we can develop gratitude at Montair.

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Integrate what students are grateful for into class meetings, morning messages.

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Integrate what students are grateful for into class meetings, morning messages.

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Other free versions also available on Teachers Pay Teachers.

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Studies have shown that having a sense of gratitude increases happiness in adults and children. I wanted my students to realize all of the amazing things they have in their lives, even when it can be difficult to always see the good.

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Thank you notes from the class or from students to classroom/field trip volunteers.

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Thank you notes from the class or from students to classroom/field trip volunteers.

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Operation Gratitude

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We include a handful of candy in every Care Package we send. A major source of these sweet treats is our popular Halloween Candy Give-Back Program hosted by generous dentists, businesses, groups, and families. This year, volunteers are also collecting Wish List items to include in our Care Packages: floss, travel size toothpaste, pens and mechanical pencils.

When you sign up to join our Halloween Candy Give-Back Drive, we will send you flyers, logos, a press release template, and other helpful resources to promote your campaign.
SIGN UP TODAY
Our Give-Back program has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
CHECK US OUT →

Looking for a local drop-off location for the sweet treats you have collected for Veterans, First Responders and Deployed Troops?

Use the map to find local drop-off locations for your candy. Click on the frame icon on the top right of the map to make it larger and easier to navigate. Once you have enlarged the map, use the search icon (magnifying glass) to search by zip code.
Please contact the collection location directly before you go, to learn more about their hours and drop-off guidelines.
Additional items, including thank you letters and travel toothpaste should be shipped directly to Operation Gratitude, using the shipping guidelines below.

DOs

DO fill out and submit an online Donation Form with the total pounds of candy and any additional donated items. You will receive an email confirmation with a printable barcode to include in your package, along with shipping instructions.
COMPLETE DONATION FORM

DO line your boxes with big plastic bags to safely ship loose candy, or place the candy into zip-close bags.

DO separate candy from other donated items (dental floss, travel toothpaste (1 oz), pens and mechanical pencils).

DO separate hand-written thank you letters from candy to ensure they are not ruined in shipment (place in an envelope or separate plastic bag).

DO ship your candy no later than November 9 to:
Operation Gratitude
Attn: Halloween Candy Program
21100 Lassen Street
Chatsworth, CA 91311-4278

DON'Ts

DON'T purchase candy on sale after Halloween to ship to us. Consider a donation instead.
DONATE NOW

DON'T ship boxes larger than 24″x 24″x 20″ or weighing more than 35 lb. (weight can harm candy in transit).

DON'T send Pixy Stix (or other powdery candy). They make a mess inside the Care Packages.

DON'T sort your candy. We want to make sure our Troops, Veterans and First Responders get a variety of treats in each Care Package.

Thank you for following these important guidelines!

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Host a Halloween Candy Give-Back drive to collect sweets for the Troops, First Responders, and Veterans. →

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What is Gratitude? Written & Voiced by Stephanie Bierman, Program Director

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Resources and Tools from Common Sense Media

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We All Teach SEL: Gratitude Activities and Tools for Students | Common Sense Education

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Building SEL (social and emotional learning) skills such as gratitude requires face-to-face interactions, meaningful discussion, and reflection. Edtech is no complete substitute for that, but there are tools that can supplement the development of character in the classroom and at home.

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Long Story Shortz - My Gratitude Jar - Written and Narrated by Kristin Wiens

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Quiet meditation focused on gratitude (upper grades)

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5 Minute Guided Meditation for Gratitude | Mindful Movement

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Students Discover the Power of Gratitude on a Community | Class Act

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For Upper Grades

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David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

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The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. An inspiring lesson in slowing down, looking where you're going, and above all, being grateful.

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For us as much as our students. :)

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To be grateful means to be simple. To be grateful means to be joyful. To be grateful means to be content.

Unfortunately, most people have been conditioned to live in discontentment. In our competitive, materialistic, consumption-driven society, we've been programmed to always want more than we have and to strive to be different than who we are. No wonder life seems like a constant struggle, not allowing us to enjoy ourselves and find inner fulfillment.

If we want to change this way of living, we first need a shift in our consciousness. We need to realize that we are living in an incredibly beautiful world of abundance, and that we're an important and inseparable part of it.
Expressing gratitude improves your physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing.
A good first step to achieving this is to cultivate an attitude of gratitude, and the benefits you reap from doing so are tremendous. Here are some of them:

Improved physical health

Improved psychological health

Enhanced empathy

Better relationships

Improved self-esteem

Improved decision making

But how can you cultivate an attitude of gratitude? Here's a little guide with gratitude-inducing insights and tips that you might find helpful along your journey.

Recognize the Precious Gift of Life

Life is a wonderful gift, but few of us seem to appreciate it. In fact, we usually don't realize how precious life is, unless we are faced with misfortune.
Life is a wonderful gift in so many ways and we need to appreciate it.
But even in our misfortunes, life still has a lot to offer us, if we pay better attention to it and savor what we've been given. This is well-illustrated by a beautiful story from India, showing in a vivid way that we have more than we tend to think, even at times when life gets rough:

One man was complaining to another, "I am a very poor man, I don't have anything."

So the second man said, "If you are that poor you can do one thing: I want your right eye. I will give you five thousand rupees for it. Take these five thousand rupees and give me your right eye."

And the first man said, "That is very difficult. I cannot give my right eye." So then the other man offered, "I will give you ten thousand rupees for both of your eyes."

Again the first man replied, "Ten thousand rupees! But still, I cannot give my eyes."

At which point the other man offered, "I will give you fifty thousand rupees if you will give me your life."

At this the first man said, "But that is impossible! I cannot give my life."

The first man said, "This shows you have many valuable things. You have two eyes which you will not sell for ten thousand rupees, and you have your life - and you were saying that you don't have anything!" - The Path of Meditation, Osho

Gratitude lies in the way you look at the world around you. Image by Chris Buzelli.
Stop for a moment and take a clear look around you with fresh eyes. Look at the calming sky, the glittering stars, the colorful trees, the playful animals. Pay attention to all the beauty of existence that you're lucky to experience and your heart will be filled with gratitude for every single breath you take.

Practice Being Mindful of the Present

The Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca once said:

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have.

Being focused on the future, most of us are filled with so many worries that we can't live freely and savor the gifts of life. We often overthink things, and the constant chatter in our heads doesn't allow us to focus on what is happening in the here and now.
Mindfulness enables you to take in more of what life is giving you.
The best way to empty yourself of the continuous stream of thoughts is to develop mindfulness. The most common mindfulness practice is that of sitting with eyes half-closed, cross-legged on a cushion, or on a chair, with the back straight and paying attention to the movement of the abdomen when breathing in and out, or to the breath as it goes in and out the nostrils. This simple practice will do wonders to help you be rooted in the present moment.

By learning to be more mindful of the present moment, you'll be able to take in more of what life is offering you. Of course, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't think about the future at all. Think ahead, make plans, set new goals, but remember to appreciate the life that you already have.

Embrace Imperfection

To cultivate gratitude, we need to learn to embrace ourselves, for if we don't feel good about who we are, how can we be grateful for the life that we're living?
We are all perfect in the imperfections that make each of us unique.
From a very young age, most people have learned not to accept and appreciate themselves for who they are. Instead, they've been conditioned to believe that they're not good enough and that they need to strive to become different in order to be accepted by society.

Believing that there is something terribly wrong with themselves, they can't feel well just the way they are. In fact, they despise themselves, feeling worthless and unimportant.

The truth is that not a single person alive is perfect. No one can be good at everything or always make the right choices in life, no matter how much one tries. As we're growing and maturing, we learn new things and become wiser, but we can never achieve perfection. Perfection is something like the horizon; the more you chase it, the more it recedes from you - it is unreachable.
The world is a mirror so how you see it is how you see yourself.
This, however, doesn't mean that we are not important. We are unique and significant despite our flaws and imperfections. Every individual - including you - has a unique beauty that adds something to existence and without which it would be less rich. So no matter how imperfect you are, you still have great gifts to contribute to this world which, although wonderful, is imperfect too.

When you realize and embrace your uniqueness, and start appreciating and loving yourself, you'll start loving and be grateful for the world you live in, since the way we perceive the world is to a great extent the reflection of how we perceive ourselves. The world is a great mirror, reflecting our being, and when we are able to see the goodness in ourselves, we begin to see it all around us.

The power of gratitude can be immensely beneficial, if only we learn to cultivate it and practice it in our daily lives. Then, we'll be able to enjoy life to the fullest and find contentment in every step we take.

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A Helpful Guide to Cultivating Gratitude

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To be grateful means to be simple. To be grateful means to be joyful. To be grateful means to be content. Unfortunately, most people have been conditioned to live in discontentment. In our competitive, materialistic, consumption-driven society, we've been programmed to always want more than we have and to strive to be different than who we are.

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Analyze images like you would quotes. How does this image represent gratitude? 

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Analyze images like you would quotes. How does this image represent gratitude? 

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Kids love when you post it on colorful construction paper and post in the room or send home for them to hang up.

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Color some Thankful Quotes at Doodle Art Alley. Perfect to get your attitude in the right place!

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CGI Animated Short Film: "One Small Step" by TAIKO Studios | CGMeetup

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Idea-Put into Book Creator

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Book Creator is a simple tool for creating awesome digital books. Create your own teaching resources or have your students take the reins.

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Printable Thank You Notes to Color and Show Appreciation

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Printable Thank You Notes to Color and Show Appreciation

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"My Shoes": A Fable about Life's Appearances, by Nima Raoofi