Happy November!! Hopefully the temperature and weather where you live is beautiful and fall-like! We are actually beginning to have a bit of cooler weather here near Houston, Texas and we have been loving it!!
So, November… The fall holiday season is officially in full swing now! My teens are looking forward to holiday breaks from school, though I think the Littles would go every single day to see their friends, if they could. We are not super advanced holiday planners at our house, so we are just now thinking about Thanksgiving and beginning to think through whether we will go out of town to see family or stay home.
I’m not sure whether it’s because the days have started getting shorter, or because our family battled a lingering cold for almost two weeks that kept us home, but I have been feeling unusually down lately. I was working on some worksheet activities about thankfulness for kiddos (see below) and because I’m me 🤓, decided to do some reading about thankfulness & gratitude.
For real!! Giving and receiving gratitude releases dopamine & serotonin in our brains, which are some of our feel-good neurotransmitter chemicals. And if we make a regular and intentional practice of gratitude, like by writing in a gratitude journal every day, we strengthen those neural pathways – which means that we become happier & more positive people!
On top of that, when we put our gratitude and thankfulness into words and let the people around us know that we are thankful for them and the things they do – we strengthen the social bonds of our relationships! So a regular practice of gratitude/thankfulness = a happier and more positive brain + stronger relationships! Sign me up for some of that, please!
Actually, I think as busy mamas we could ALL use some of that – and our kiddos could too – so I made a printable PDF gratitude journal for you, and a collection of November thankfulness activities for your kids! Click the button at the bottom of the page to opt-in and have both of these delivered to your inbox.
I can’t wait to hear how practicing gratitude this month helps both you & your kiddos! Happy Month of Thanks, friends! I am very thankful that you took time out of your day to visit my blog & read my musings! 💕Amy N.
