Karen Says Thanks!

This time of year, a time when so much of our culture is fast paced and commercially focused, I'm reminded about how thankful I am of all the outreach I get to do each week. Visiting schools and daycares grounds my soul. At each visit, the kids teach me so much about living in the moment.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, so naturally my visits in November are about being thankful. I ask the kids what they are thankful for. Some kids don't understand this concept, so I start with a few examples: "I'm thankful for the time I get to spend visiting them at school" or "I'm thankful for the sun shining." The kids catch on quickly. They are thankful for their birthday, snow, toys, trains, and more toys! By now they're totally enthusiastic, so this is when I get the kids to settle down with one of my favorite books to read this time of year. 

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson is a sweet story about sharing, friendship, and giving thanks. Bear is bored and wants to throw a party for his forest friends. Each of his friends arrives with delectable gifts, and a repeated line encourages audience participation ("...and Bear says, 'Thanks!'"). Sadly, Bear finds his own cupboards are bare! But his friends remind him not to fret--there's no need for more food, because Bear's got his own gift of stories to share, "...and they all say, 'Thanks!'"