The Gratitude Game: Pick-Up Sticks
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Teaching gratitude is at the top of my list for my kids. Â I love to do things to remind my kids of the many blessings we have. There is so much in our lives to be thankful for. I created this little Gratitude Game to play with them this Fall for the Thanksgiving season, and we have been having loads of fun with it! But this can be done at ANY time of year, not just Thanksgiving time!
What is The Gratitude Game?
Did you ever play the game Pick-up Sticks as a kid? (Also called  jackstraws, or spillikins)  This is a homemade version of Pick-up Sticks, with a twist.
You can watch us play it here:
With this game, each time you pick up a stick you have to name something you are grateful for. Each color represents a different type of thing. It’s a great way to get the kids really thinking in different ways about all that they can be grateful for!
To play, you hold all of the sticks in your hand and drop them They will fall randomly and that is great. Then each player takes a turn pulling a stick from the pile. You cannot make any other sticks move or you lose your turn and do not get to collect the stick. The player with the most sticks at the end of the game wins.
Grab a printable version of the game instructions by subscribing now. Â Then check your email for the download!
To play it as The Gratitude Game, each color represents a type of thing you are grateful for. Â These were our categories, but you can modify them if you want:
Red Sticks: People you are thankful for
Orange Sticks: Places you are thankful for
Green Sticks: Foods you are thankful for
Blue Sticks: Things you are thankful for
Purple Sticks: Miscellaneous- Your choice of something you are thankful for
How to Make the Gratitude Game:
I made this with chopsticks that we painted. If you don’t want to paint them, try it with colored paper straws instead, like I did in this post. I bought a big pack in bulk for various projects that we are doing. We painted the sticks with watercolor paints, but you could use any kind of paint that you want. If you want a brighter color of paint, use an acrylic or tempera paint. We painted 10 of each color of stick for a total of 50. The watercolors needed 2 coats to be dark enough.  My kids really enjoyed painting the sticks!
This has been a fun activity that we have used multiple times. Â Try this cute version with Skittles over at Planning Playtime.
Want more activities like this?
Thanksgiving Tradition: Legend of Five Kernels of Corn
See my new Printable Gratitude Journal
Check out my Acts of Kindness Coloring Notes.
You may also like my post on Teaching Kids to Serve.
Or my post on Acts of Kindness Kids Can Do.
Want more fun Thankgiving activities for kids?
Check out our Turkey Tail Feather Tag post.
We LOVE these Thanksgiving Dinner Scratch-Off Cards, too!
This is the Feast Story Sticks.
Thanksgiving Conversation Starters
Thanksgiving Math: Counting Turkey Feathers
Thanksgiving Turkey Activity Pages
Pair it with a book on being thankful: Â Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson.
This would be great to play at the kid’s table on Thanksgiving Day!
What a great way to talk about things that we are grateful for with the kids.
I’m going to play this with my grandkids. What a great idea. I like the chopsticks, they seem easier to use than the cheap plastic at the store. Well done.
Glad you like it! Enjoy!
This is such a great idea! I plan on using this with my class this week!
Thanks for a great idea to show and think about gratitude!
Cute idea! Thanks for sharing. I will definitely be using it with my kids this week!
Love this and look forward to using it .
Looks fun!
What a sweet idea. A bit more fun than a gratitude journal.
This activity is just what I am looking for in my first grade religion class
Thank you for all you do! It is amazing!