Holiday Travel & School Closure
We are asking all MVS families (staff and children) to abide by the Governor’s recent mandate of not mixing households during the holiday. The CDC recently published these guidelines for the Thanksgiving holiday. We want everyone to stay healthy and safe. We know that not getting together with family and friends is incredibly difficult this time of year, but right now health and safety are our first priorities.
A reminder that we will be closing at noon this coming Wednesday, November 25th. We are also closed on Thursday and Friday, the 26th and 27th.
A reminder that we will be closing at noon this coming Wednesday, November 25th. We are also closed on Thursday and Friday, the 26th and 27th.
Being Grateful
by Sarah Tousignant
Recently someone asked me when gratitude develops in children. It’s a tough question. There are days when I feel that I personally am still developing this quality. What I do know is that children are learning from us all of the time. I know that my actions will soon be replicated by the small children that surround me on a daily basis. I recently witnessed one of my twins twirling his hair around his finger. I asked him what he was doing and his reply was, “You do this Mommy, you twirl your hair so I do too!” It’s moments like these when I realize the more I can demonstrate and model the traits I hope to see in my own children, the more they will pick up.
I’ve found a few great resources with ideas for parents to encourage and support empathy, thankfulness, humility, aultruism, and compassion. The Greater Good Science Center is a research center based at UC Berkeley founded by Thomas and Ruth Ann Hornaday. It focuses on promoting the science of inner and interpersonal peace. They wrote an article titled How to Help Gratitude Grow in Your Kids which identifies the following things that we can do to help increase children’s gratitude:
1. Help young children understand feelings and thoughts—their own and others’
2. Remind older children that the important adults in their lives are there for them
3. Encourage your children to participate in gratitude-rich activities
4. Communicate the value of gratitude to your children
In another article published by Greater Good, Seven Ways to Foster Gratitude in Kids, they list the following things we can do:
1. Model and teach gratitude
2. Spend time with your kids and be mindful when with them
3. Support your child’s autonomy
4. Use kids’ strengths to fuel gratitude
5. Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals
6. Encourage helping others and nurturing relationships
7. Help kids find what matters to them
To answer the question about when this happens developmentally, there was a study done by Nelson, et al. that looked at how and when children understand gratitude. They found that children’s early emotional awareness and perspective-taking ability may underpin their later development of gratitude: “5-year-olds who have a more complete understanding of gratitude are those who showed more understanding of emotions at age 3, and more understanding of others’ mental states at age 3 and 4. Further, an early understanding of emotions is associated with mental state understanding at age 4, which in turn is associated with an understanding of gratitude.”
So what we can do is talk about our emotions. Identify when your children are feeling certain ways and allow time for those feelings. The more that children express themselves, whether it’s excitement, frustration, sadness, or happiness, the more they begin to become aware of those feelings. We need to label what we see when it’s happening in order to give them the language. Then we need to help them acknowledge why they are feeling that way and what to do with those emotions. Acknowledgment and open communication are the first steps to developing more complex higher level cognitive skills such as gratitude and empathy.
Here are a few more resources you might find helpful:
What Parents Neglect to Teach about Gratitude
Five Ways to Raise a Grateful Child
Read Aloud of Gracias: Thanks by Pat Mora
Seed and Sew: Practical tips for supporting emotional intelligence
We all have some quality family time coming up this week with very few outside distractions. Though many of your traditions may be on hold, we hope you find peace and gratitude in your quiet, cozy time together. And if some moments are less than peaceful, don’t forget you can always let off some steam outside! Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.
I’ve found a few great resources with ideas for parents to encourage and support empathy, thankfulness, humility, aultruism, and compassion. The Greater Good Science Center is a research center based at UC Berkeley founded by Thomas and Ruth Ann Hornaday. It focuses on promoting the science of inner and interpersonal peace. They wrote an article titled How to Help Gratitude Grow in Your Kids which identifies the following things that we can do to help increase children’s gratitude:
1. Help young children understand feelings and thoughts—their own and others’
2. Remind older children that the important adults in their lives are there for them
3. Encourage your children to participate in gratitude-rich activities
4. Communicate the value of gratitude to your children
In another article published by Greater Good, Seven Ways to Foster Gratitude in Kids, they list the following things we can do:
1. Model and teach gratitude
2. Spend time with your kids and be mindful when with them
3. Support your child’s autonomy
4. Use kids’ strengths to fuel gratitude
5. Help focus and support kids to achieve intrinsic goals
6. Encourage helping others and nurturing relationships
7. Help kids find what matters to them
To answer the question about when this happens developmentally, there was a study done by Nelson, et al. that looked at how and when children understand gratitude. They found that children’s early emotional awareness and perspective-taking ability may underpin their later development of gratitude: “5-year-olds who have a more complete understanding of gratitude are those who showed more understanding of emotions at age 3, and more understanding of others’ mental states at age 3 and 4. Further, an early understanding of emotions is associated with mental state understanding at age 4, which in turn is associated with an understanding of gratitude.”
So what we can do is talk about our emotions. Identify when your children are feeling certain ways and allow time for those feelings. The more that children express themselves, whether it’s excitement, frustration, sadness, or happiness, the more they begin to become aware of those feelings. We need to label what we see when it’s happening in order to give them the language. Then we need to help them acknowledge why they are feeling that way and what to do with those emotions. Acknowledgment and open communication are the first steps to developing more complex higher level cognitive skills such as gratitude and empathy.
Here are a few more resources you might find helpful:
What Parents Neglect to Teach about Gratitude
Five Ways to Raise a Grateful Child
Read Aloud of Gracias: Thanks by Pat Mora
Seed and Sew: Practical tips for supporting emotional intelligence
We all have some quality family time coming up this week with very few outside distractions. Though many of your traditions may be on hold, we hope you find peace and gratitude in your quiet, cozy time together. And if some moments are less than peaceful, don’t forget you can always let off some steam outside! Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving.
