At GAP, we have a Nudelglas (MonTues class) and a Good Jar (ThursFri class).
At the end of each day, we take time to reflect on some of the positive things that happened during the day. The aim is two-fold: to notice good behaviour and to think of things we are grateful for.
Children and teachers come up with all sorts of things, for example:
- We enjoyed going to the park in the beautiful sunshine, so we are grateful to have such a nice park and great weather.
- Alex was especially helpful at tidy up time and picked up all the blocks that got left behind.
- I saw Leon being a good friend and waiting for a friend to put on their shoes before going outside to play together.
- Christiane gave a big beautiful smile at roll call and it made me feel happy.
- I felt lovely and peaceful when we were all sitting together for morning tea.
- We felt thankful to the teacher who made us delicious warm Kinder-Tee to drink when we came inside from the cold weather.
- Susanne held the door open for her friend, and that was kind.
- Everyone did such lovely dances and were careful not to bump into others, which was respectful.
- We are so grateful to have wonderful friends and families who show us that they love us.
For each positive thing, we put a piece of dry pasta in our Nudelglas or a note in the Good Jar.
Want to try this at home?
Decorate your jar. Prepare a handy bowl or box of dried pasta or paper slips and a pen, ready nearby.
With help of das Nudelglas or Good Jar you can recognise the child’s and each others’ good deeds and things you are grateful for, each evening (e.g. at dinner time or any other time that suits you).
Once the jar is full, reward yourselves with a little party to celebrate, another fun activity or a delicious fruit salad you make together.
The gratitude/good jar is a way to highlight children’s positive behavior and goes beyond rewarding the child for completing age-appropriate chores and instead encourages the child to work at being kind, generous, grateful and helpful.
You can read about the health benefits of practicing gratitude here.