Garland of Gratitude

Here is a fun activity that is perfect for this time of year....Garland of Gratitude. You can do it to celebrate the season change into Fall or in November as a Thanksgiving lesson. I have done this with my nephews for FHE as well as with my Seminary students last year in Queens. We did it last week for FHE with our branch and everyone (all ages) really liked it too. This is what I do.....
1) choose different shades of construction paper in Fall colors (yellow, orange, creme, brown)
2) cut out leaves using a simple pattern
3) spray the leaves with water in a spray bottle
4) scrunch up the leaves in a ball & then flatten them back out to dry (they will have a texture)
5) find pictures of things I am thankful for (ex: my family, temple, home, food, etc)
6) I start out the lesson by showing the pictures and explaining why I am thankful for all of these things. Then we have a discussion and everyone can share their thoughts and what they are thankful for. You can keep this really basic or create a more in-depth lesson with scriptures, quotes, testimonies, etc. Then pass out the leaves to every one to write what they are thankful for on them (Some times I have them scattered on the table as a decoration before the lesson starts then they can choose leaves from the table). They can use one leaf to write all of their blessings or they can use a bunch of leaves....whatever you like. Then you can staple the leaves on a ribbon and hang it in your home to look at all month. My sister-in-law hung theirs in their home and the kids would talk about it when they saw it. I hung the garland that my Seminary students did on the branch bulletin board and the branch members enjoyed seeing what the kids had written.

I think that this is a great object lesson. Here are the links for the website that I got the idea from and the pattern for the leaves. Let me know if you do this...I would love to know your experience. Happy Autumn!