How can I show how thankful I am for my students?
It’s practically Thanksgiving Break and you just realized you want to show your students how thankful you are for them (without breaking the bank). Or, maybe you’re like me and already on break, panicking that you didn’t do enough. Don’t you worry - I have an idea for you that will work ANY time of the year:
The oh-so-sweet Thankful Poster that has gone viral this year!! Versions of this great idea have been floating around for a few years, but I swear they just get cuter and cuter every year. During a crazy holiday season, this could be an easy thing to make with a big impact that you could leave up all year round!
How to Make the Viral Thankful Poster
Supplies needed:
Anchor chart paper, poster board, or corner of your whiteboard/chartboard
Markers
Optional: Projector/SMARTboard if you want to trace the lettering or super cute turkey (here’s a tutorial from @itsmaddiecox how to do it)
Roster of student names
Directions:
Grab your roster and start jotting what you love about each student beside their names. This may take some word-smithing to try to make each student’s feel personal and original, so prepare to make some edits. A great place to start is looking at the examples in this blog post for inspiration!
Make a heading at the top of your anchor chart - either trace a cute Thanksgiving image or just title it something to the effect of “(Number of students) Reasons Why (Teacher Name) is blessed.
Make list with student names and things you love about them like the images above.
Display your list on the days leading up to Thanksgiving or even when they come back from break. Never too late!
The other thing I love about this (other than making students feel seen and cared for) is that it causes us as the teachers to slow down and really take a minute to think about what we value and love about each of our students. At a time of year that can feel pretty exhausting, that moment of reflection can be just what we need to recenter and renew our focus.
Happy Teaching! (And Happy Thanksgiving)
Looking for more inspiration for Fall crafts? Check out my Pinterest board where I save all of my favorite inspiration:
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