4 Ways to Embed the Practice of Gratitude: Effective Strategies to Improve Well-Being and Classroom Culture

Did you know that there are many gifts swirling all around us waiting to be discovered? When you begin to see things as gifts, a natural response is a grateful heart. One of the greatest things I discovered was the remarkable gift of gratitude. It makes a deep impact on our well-being as it alters our perspective and leads us to live a life full of abundance and joy. Gratitude is a way of being. It is a big part of who I am and how I live my life.

I was so honored to have my work published on Edutopia: Teaching and Modeling Gratitude in Elementary School. I share four ways I model and teach students about gratitude as a way of being.

1 – Encourage gratitude with peers
2 – Explicitly model gratitude during Community Circle time
3 – Express gratitude for leadership qualities observed
4 – Share gratitude when you give feedback

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The Gift of Love: A Piece of Our Heart

TL;DR:

  • We give our students many things but the greatest gifts we can give are our love and our heart.
  • Give students a piece of our heart by giving them a visual reminder as a gift.
  • Put your heart into what you do and share your love with students. There can be a lasting impact.
  • Speak life through the words you choose to say. Uplift others with your words of kindness, gratitude, and empathy. Words matter so choose them mindfully and with intention.
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The Gift of Opportunity

TL;DR:

  • Opportunities are everywhere. It’s up to us to see them and take them. 
  • Know your WHY. Align opportunities with your core values and beliefs.
  • My WHY is all about relationships. There are opportunities everywhere—every interaction, every person, every place to build relationships. 
  • Model to students to see opportunities, and to take and create them to better themselves. There are many areas of opportunities to learn, for self-improvement, and growth in any area they desire for betterment. 
  • Change mindsets to turn negative situations into a gift of opportunity to make the most out of the situation.

Opportunities are presented to us each and every day but do we see them.

To see an opportunity we must be open to all thoughts.

Catherine pulsifer
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