{"id":5589,"date":"2010-11-28T15:19:47","date_gmt":"2010-11-28T21:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=5589"},"modified":"2010-11-29T23:39:56","modified_gmt":"2010-11-30T05:39:56","slug":"play-a-game-of-thanksgiving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2010\/11\/28\/play-a-game-of-thanksgiving\/","title":{"rendered":"Play a game of thanksgiving"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u201cWanna play a Thanksgiving game?\u201d I challenged Thomas. He\u2019s four, and he can\u2019t resist games of any sort.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to say this was a well-thought-out contribution to our household traditions, but honestly, it was just a whim.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat kind of game?\u201d Since he\u2019s four, he\u2019s also a bit suspicious.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I explained — or, rather, improvised — the rules. He and Julie would take turns; I played for Julie. Thomas should pick one thing in the play room he\u2019s thankful for, and say why. He then puts it on the table, and picks out another item that he thinks someone else would be thankful for. That one goes in the box to take to charity. Then it\u2019s Julie\u2019s turn, and we go on till the box is full. The last person to fit a toy in wins.<\/span><\/p>\n

We did have a couple of false plays — \u201cThat\u2019s Julie\u2019s toy, not yours!\u201d \u201cIt is? I thought it was mine!\u201d But in the end, I had a very thankful four-year-old, and a full box of things to give away. Better yet, not everything in the box was \u201cdiscards\u201d or outgrown toys. Some of the things were toys that would just get more play at someone else\u2019s house than at ours, and a few were toys that resembled those Thomas was thankful for, in the hope that someone else could enjoy what he did. In other words, he was able to go from real gratitude to real generosity.<\/span><\/p>\n

The real fruit of the exercise came when we carried the box upstairs. \u201cNow it\u2019s your turn! I\u2019ll help you decide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Matt and I chose a much bigger box, because we have bigger stuff. \u201cI\u2019m thankful for my teapot, which I use everyday. And I\u2019m thankful for this camera, which has taken a lot of pictures of our family, and I hope someone else can be thankful for it too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

If we did this every week, I think we would be better for it. I definitely think it will become part of our Thanksgiving traditions.<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes it\u2019s hard to know how to affirm and develop young children\u2019s understanding of abstract virtues like gratitude and generosity. 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