Our focus can easily shift towards things that aren’t part of our plan or don’t go our way. This shift in focus creates a distressing feeling leading to stress and anxiety.
It’s easy to focus on life’s negatives, but remembering the bright side and how challenges can become advantages is crucial. Gratitude practice is a powerful tool to shift our attention to the positive aspects of life and feel content. Being happy and satisfied with our life helps us improve our overall well-being and interpersonal relationships.
While there are many ways to practice gratitude and cultivate kindness, journaling is one of the simplest and most effective. It can be done anywhere, at one’s own pace, and in any form that suits a child’s preferences.
With that in mind, here is a list of some inspiring gratitude journal prompts for kids to nurture their interest in this wonderful activity.
Journal prompts to inspire gratitude in students
Get yourself a pen and a journal diary of your liking and let your thoughts flow freely. Pen down everything and anything that comes to your mind and immerse yourself in the habit of showing gratitude to the world, using these wonderful gratitude journaling prompts.
1. What are you most thankful for in your life? Why?
2. Do you have a special talent you are grateful for?
3. Do you ever find it difficult to be grateful to others? Why and why not?
4. What do you love the most about the time you are living in? Why?
5. List five things you appreciate about your home.
6. Why do you think it is important to be grateful every day?
7. List any five people you said thank you to in the last 24 hours. What did you thank them for?
8. List any three acts of yours done in the last 24 hours for someone. How did that make you feel?
9. Think of any random act of kindness someone showed to you. How did that make you feel?
10. List any three things that you used to take for granted but now are thankful for them. What changed your perception?
11.Have a look around yourself and list any three things you are grateful for. Why are you grateful to them?
12. Write a thank you letter to your past self and thank yourself for the courage and kindness you showed to yourself.
13. Write a thank you letter to your parents and tell them how grateful you are to them for everything they have done for you.
14. Write a note of kindness to your friend(s), showing your appreciation to them for being the best friends that they are.
15. Write about a friend or family member that made you smile recently.
16. Write a note of thanks to any worker around you (maid, cleaner, cook, etc) and thank them for their hard work and efforts.
17. Write about your favorite food that always makes you feel happy and appreciative of food in general.
18. Write any random act of kindness you did for someone. How does that make you feel?
19. Describe a family tradition that you are grateful for.
20. If you could say thank you to any person right now, who would that be and why?
21. Write about a homemade gift someone made for you that makes you feel special and happy.
22. Write about a time when your friend was there when you needed him/her the most.
23. How did you ensure to be thankful to others in your daily life?
24. Do you think people around you appreciate what they have? Why and why not?
25. List some qualities of yourself that you are grateful to possess. How did that help you in your life?
26. Write a thank you note to your teachers for their hard work.
27. List any five things that make your daily life activities easier but are always left unnoticed. Have a moment to be grateful to them.
28. What aspect of your health are you grateful for?
29. How do you think being kind to little things helps you maintain your psychological and emotional health?
30. Have a moment to reflect on your recent accomplishment and your efforts to accomplish it.
31. Talk about a recent improvement in your life and why are you grateful for it.
32. Write something you appreciate about your school and why.
33. List some ways in which you can help someone less fortunate than you.
34. How do you manage to be grateful on your bad days?
35. Write a letter to someone who you are really glad to be in your life, explaining why you are glad with their presence.
36. How do you express your gratitude towards yourself for all the hard work and dedication you do in your studies and career?
37. What are three things you are grateful for regarding your personal development and academic success?
38. Recall an instance where someone purposefully behaved rudely to you instead of being thankful for helping them. How did that make you feel and what does that make you feel about the importance of gratitude in life?
39. List the things that you appreciate the most about the beauty of nature and why.
40. List some favorite memories of yourself with your loved one that you are grateful for.
41. List any three things that you appreciate that happened with you today.
42. List any five things that you are grateful for today.
43. What are you grateful for in this exact moment, while writing this entry?
44. What is your favorite meal that always makes you happy?
45. What made you happy today?
46. What is your favorite place in the world and why is it your favorite?
47. What is your favorite thing to do during the day and why do you enjoy doing it?
48. What is the best thing that happened to you today? Talk about it.
49. What do you like the most about your school?
50. Name a song or movie that makes you feel happy.
51. What skill(s) are you grateful to have related to academics?
52. What qualities are you thankful to possess that helped in your life?
53. What simple pleasures are you most grateful for in your life?
54. Is there any animal or pet that you are grateful to? Why?
55. Write about a random act of kindness from another person that filled you with joy.
56. What are the three things that you appreciate about your body?
57. What are the three things that you appreciate about your mind?
58. Appreciate a refreshing walk that you had in nature and brought you closer to appreciate its beauty.
59. What are some necessities like food, clothes, and water, that you take for granted? Take a moment to list them and appreciate them.
60. Write about an electronic device that you are grateful to have and why.
61. What excites you about the future and how do you manage to appreciate it?
62. Appreciate a stranger who was helping someone else in need. How does that make you feel?
63. What do you like the most about growing up and why are you grateful for it?
64. List some core values you possess and take a moment to appreciate them.
65. Why did you start gratitude journaling? Take a moment to express gratitude to yourself for initiating this step.
66. Find yourself a quiet corner and sit calmly over there. Give yourself a moment to think what exactly ‘gratitude’ is to you. Write about it.
67. Nature has provided us with abundance. Do you think you return to nature in some way as a token of your gratitude? Write about your thoughts and feelings regarding the same.
68. Write about a person that you know who never shies away from expressing gratitude. What lessons have you learned from that person?
69. Do you find it difficult to be grateful? Why and why not?
70. What is that one quote or affirmation that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘gratitude’? Talk about it.
71. Recall and make a list of your life experiences that made you more appreciative of life.
72. Name a person who comes to your mind when qualities like kind, appreciative, warm, thankful, etc are talked about. Write about that person and how that person inspires you.
73. Do you think acts of gratitude develop a sense of purpose in life? If yes, how? If not, why?
74. List the things that your parents do regularly for you and show your appreciation for the same.
75. Do you think it takes courage or resilience to show kindness and gratitude to others? Why and why not?
76. Do you think schools should introduce formal courses on teaching gratitude to make the world a better place? Why and why not?
77. List three areas of your life where you are flourishing, like school, sports, etc., and how you are grateful for that.
78. List the ways you show your gratitude towards your siblings for being kind.
79. List and describe any three ways in which you can show gratitude without saying thank you.
80. Think of something unique and special in your life that you are grateful for. Describe it in detail.
81. Describe how grateful you are to advanced technology that helped you achieve something good in your life.
82. Write why you are grateful to have friends that you have by listing out their qualities and values.
83. Describe a failure you are grateful to have since it helped you achieve a lot better in your life.
84. What do you appreciate the most in your society or community and how do you contribute to it?
85. When was the last time you did something kind to yourself? What was that and how did that make you feel?
86. What are some opportunities in your life and academics that you are grateful for?
87. Reflect on your emotions experienced in the last week that you are grateful for.
88. Write about a time when you helped a stranger. How did that make you feel?
89. Imagine you are a superhero with various superpowers. What power are you most grateful to have and why?
90. Challenges help us to grow and evolve. What are some challenges that you are grateful for in your journey of growth?
91. Which plant do you think is best to give someone to show your gratitude towards that person and why?
92. If you could show gratitude to a plant and/or an animal, what would it be and why?
93. Unexpected acts of kindness have a deep and positive impact. Think of an event where someone unexpectedly showed you gratitude and what emotions did that event arouse in you?
94. What are some spiritual activities (meditation, yoga, etc), that you regularly perform and are grateful for helping you achieve a sense of peace in life?
95. Think of any book, movie, or podcast that has a positive impact on you. Express your gratitude towards the same.
96. Appreciate yourself for building a habit of gratitude from a young age to live a healthier and happier life.
97. Relax yourself and appreciate your current situation, the real you, and your journey so far.
98. Do you think the habit of showing gratitude is inherited or can be cultivated? Reflect on it using your own experiences.
99. How can you appreciate your five senses more and be grateful to them?
100. List some acts that you are grateful for adopting that helped you minimize procrastination and come out of your comfort zone.
Activities to foster gratitude in students
The above-mentioned gratitude journaling prompts are a wonderful tool to develop and nurture gratitude in little ones. In addition to these prompts, we have curated a list of some activities that can be done along with these journaling prompts or separately, as kids prefer, to foster gratefulness in kids. The activities involve-
1. Gratitude Jar
A simple activity where children need a glass jar, preferably with a lid of medium size, and some colorful slips of paper. Children have to write anything they’re grateful for on a sheet of paper, fold it several times, and collect it in a jar. If not daily, this activity can be done thrice a week or maybe once a week. After six months or a year, kids can reflect on all the notes collected in the jar and cherish their gratitude-filled year.
Alternatively, if you wish to do this activity along with your journaling, you can write a take-away note from your journaling entry and add it to your jar. After a suitable time gap, you can reflect on your entries.
2. Act of appreciation
A simple yet effective activity to help children understand the importance of gratitude in real life. In this activity, little kids have to plan an act of kindness for the day, how they will initiate it and actually do it. The act could be small or big and/or simple or complex.
The main aim is to teach kids the importance of kindness from a young age and foster gratitude in them. To get more clarity about their act, children can write about it in their journals in one or two lines. It will make the idea of doing something good more concrete in a kid’s mind and will help them achieve better insight into the same.
3. Gratitude affirmations
Positive affirmations go a long way in fostering goodwill and appreciation. Here, children simply have to repeat the gratitude-filled affirmations daily. We suggest you speak those affirmations out loud so that you can hear them yourself. Additionally, along with your gratitude journaling entries, you can write them down to manifest them. Kids can have a single affirmation repeated daily or as many as they want. The goal is to engage in positive self-talk and foster acts of gratitude.
4. Thank you notes
A creative activity that will not only foster gratitude in kids but will also strengthen interpersonal relationships. Simply, children need some small colorful slips of paper, a bulletin board, and some pins. Encourage kids to write a note daily for some other person thanking them for their act of kindness.
Children can sign their names on the notes or skip it, as per their wish, and pin those notes on the bulletin board. This thankful activity can be replicated at home also, where kids have to write a note for a family member and pin it on their board.
5. Gratitude with colors
Let’s have a color for the week. Suppose, blue. What children have to do is write a gratitude note or journal entry based on a blue object. It could be the sky, water, their favorite blue toy, or anything. The only rule is to stick to the color. A unique and creative activity that will help to broaden a kid’s perspective and will help them to focus on things otherwise left unnoticed. Parents or educators can select a color for kids on a weekly or daily basis.
6. Moment of reflection
Having some time for yourself in a day is important to gather your thoughts and achieve a clear mindset. Find a quiet corner at your home, have your favorite beverage, and let your thoughts wander. Reflect on your day and how you managed to be grateful and kind to others.
Once you feel you have gained better-thought clarity, you can better express your thoughts and views. We suggest that after having your moment of reflection, you can write your daily journal entry to have rich insights into your cognition. Additionally, you can use self-reflection journal prompts along with gratitude prompts for better insights.
Concluding thoughts
Journal writing is a wonderful activity and when done for cultivating gratitude, it becomes more effective. The benefits of gratitude journal writing are endless and kids can enjoy all of them just by committing 15-20 minutes of their day to this activity. Children can either do journaling in the morning to plan out their whole day better or at night to reflect on their whole day and achieve a greater insight into it. Additionally, kids can use morning journal prompts with their morning gratitude journaling sessions to gain a rich understanding of themselves.
Whatever the case, the only thing that matters is the will to begin and consistency. Once the little learners have achieved this, they can easily practice gratitude in their real lives.
I am Sehjal Goel, a psychology student, and a writer. I am currently pursuing my Masters’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Child psychology has always fascinated me and I have a deep interest in learning about disabilities in children and spreading awareness regarding the same. My other areas of interest are neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. Connect me on Linkedin