“I’m just trying to remember to slow down and be thankful this year.”
A few days ago, I was talking a mile a minute about Christmas when a friend said that to me. It stuck. It’s not just this year. It seems like every year there’s a tendency to go from Back to School to Halloween and then straight into a full two months of Christmas frenzy.
But this year especially, with most of us spending much more time at home and so many more things to worry about… I’m trying to take the time to slow down and be thankful.
Thanksgiving Narrative Essay Prompts
I created these free Thanksgiving essay prompts specifically to help your kids process some of the big changes and emotions we’re all dealing with this year. Social and emotional learning is important for every age group. These essays can be used for kiddos to think through some of their feelings about the holidays during a pandemic.
There are 3 pages in this free printable pack of narrative essay questions. Each question is Thanksgiving themed. The first question asks about the child’s favorite Thanksgiving ever. Ultimately, these essays are intended to help your child discuss their emotions in addition to memories. Encourage them to use positive descriptions of feelings like loved, joyful, silly, relaxed, etc.
In the second essay, your child has an opportunity to think through some of the negative emotions they may be currently feeling during quarantine. They might also talk about how they feel about missing out on certain holiday traditions with extended family this year. Encourage your child to be more specific than just, “I’ll be really bored” or “I feel sad” in their writing. Kids are grieving the temporary loss of traditions and building memories just like we are! Teaching them how to name and identify those emotions is an important part of developing emotional intelligence.
Dealing with behavioral issues since the pandemic started? Check out my article on what could be causing this and what you can do to help your kiddos feel more safe.
In the third essay, kids can write about their hopes and dreams for next Thanksgiving. This essay gives them a chance to talk about all the traditions they look forward to… and maybe even make up some silly new ideas for what they hope might happen!
The best social and emotional learning for kids is well-rounded. It’s nuanced. Emotionally intelligent kids learn that all of what they’re feeling is okay and normal and healthy to talk about! It’s okay to feel nostalgic about past holiday memories you treasured. It is normal to feel depressed or angry about missing out on hugging grandparents and playing hide and seek with cousins. And it’s healthy to talk about our exciting plans for the future, both realistic and imaginative.
We need to name all of these feelings! Not just learning to talk about the sad stuff, and not just talking about how everything will get better soon.
Let’s help our kids slow down and process all their big feelings this year!
