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Daily At-Home Project: The Gratitude Tree

by | May 6, 2020 | At-Home Enrichment | 0 comments

Please find below our daily SolBe Family update letter containing helpful resources and exciting projects to explore while we all do our part to stay home during this pandemic. Subscribe here to receive daily updates.

May 6, 2020

SolBe Families,

For you beautiful parents out there: I hope you are taking some moments for you…even if they are piecemeal between naps and activities and zoom meetings and meals.

I love listening to Brene Brown on the connection between joy and gratitude. I just revisited her book “Daring Greatly,” -she is a freaking queen. For a few minutes of joy and gratitude with Brene and Oprah, click this link. Follow her lead and practice gratitude in lieu of doing “fear.” Can we find a practice of gratitude in our everyday lives? Even for a moment?

Book to Pair with Activity

It wouldn’t be “Gratitude Week” without at least one reading of “The Giving Tree.” If you are in need of a little emotional release, this book is tried and true for a good cry.

Project of the Day: The Gratitude Tree

Materials

  • Construction paper (or any paper)
  • Scissors
  • Glue
  • Pen
  • Markers

Step One

This project was, admittedly, a bit more involved than I anticipated when I set out to create my tree. Step one was tracing a tree on brown paper. You can also just draw a large tree on white paper and save yourself some time on all the snip snipping. If you have older kiddos working on their cutting skills…this is a great exercise!

Step Two

Cut the tree out and a strip of green for the “grass.” Next, I glued the grass to the blue paper and then glued tree on top of both. I used wet glue here (great for the children and fun for sensory), it was a bit messier than I had intended with all of the loose branches. If I were to re-do this project, I would draw the tree onto the paper! Pro-tip!

Step Three 

Decorate the grass while the paint dries. Lay out some crayons or markers and let the kiddies go nuts! Express yourself!

Step Four

While the paint is drying, you can cut out leaves and begin to discuss things we are grateful for. Model some examples for your little ones to get their minds activated. It is also completely fine to step away from this project and come back to it later. Mealtime is often a wonderful moment to reflect on gratitude.

 

Step Five

Glue your leaves onto the tree for a beautiful vision of some of the things in your life you are grateful for.

I found this exercise to be helpful. In moments of stress or anxiety, how wonderful to have a practice speaking or drawing or creating art based in the concrete reality of joy and thanks. All of my fears and worries drifted away for the few minutes I was reflecting and filling in my tree.

Most important direction, as always: HAVE FUN!  

More resources to follow in the coming days. Feedback and more ideas welcome! 

Above all, be well and stay healthy!

The SolBe Team


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We’ve felt the uncertainty that occurs when our children are in the care of someone else. At SolBe, we know you will always be your child’s first teacher; we’re here as a knowledgeable partner in your child’s education.

From our experience, children rise to the intellectual life of those around them, so we are committed to growing as individuals and as a team. You can count on us to provide a warm and engaging learning experience for your little one.

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Our award-winning, inventive and uplifting learning spaces stimulate the senses and instill feelings of home-like safety and comfort. They allow for your child’s, and our educators’, changing needs and emotions. They create room for wonder—for learning, and living, outside the lines.

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We’ve seen what’s lost when things are done the way they’ve always been done before. SolBe is an adaptive Spanish exposure program that refuses to accept the status quo.

Our inventive practices grow from the shoulders of giants, with roots in the Reggio Emilia approach, the Montessori method, and well-researched cognitive disciplines that attend to the whole child. We create opportunities to develop character attributes that your child will benefit from for a lifetime. Collaboration. Communication. Independence. Healthy risk-taking. Critical thinking. Emotional awareness. Resilience. Intellectual curiosity. Creative innovation. An authentic love of life and learning.

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We know what it’s like to forget to feed ourselves—physically, mentally, and emotionally. At SolBe, we understand it’s impossible for you to pour from an empty cup. And we do what we can to keep your cup full.

Our learning ecosystem is designed with children and educators—and you—in mind. Seed-to-table nutrition program. Yoga and mindfulness. An all-inclusive experience so you don’t need to worry about finding time to provide meals, diapers, or wipes (unless you want to). Evening and weekend family programs.