My five-year-old granddaughter Lily showed me the Thankful Tree at her preschool when I picked her up the other day, and by the time we got home she wanted to make one for her home, too. Out into the field we went with her wagon collecting a small branch, leaves, pinecones, tall grasses, an old pot, and a few rocks. We brought the treasure trove inside and Lily began decorating. Within a matter of minutes a new family tradition was born. I asked Lily what she was thankful for. With unwavering clarity she named every member of her family and extended family, including pets. That was it. We wrote these down on some paper, punched a hole in it and hung it with yarn from a branch of the Thankful Tree. I did the same for myself. My five-year-old mentor reminded me that relationships are everything. My paper had a long list of names.

If you google Thankful Tree, you’ll find there are many families who share this tradition at Thanksgiving time.

There’s so much about our children (and grandchildren and students) that we have to be thankful for, and I realized as I gazed at Lily’s tree how many times we may pass by an opportunity to let them know. I’m thankful for Lily’s smile and the way she lights up when we play together. I’m thankful for Isaiah’s sense of humor and how he makes me laugh. I’m thankful for the children in kindergarten who earnestly teach me about their story projects while also teaching me so much about how they learn. I’m thankful for one particular student’s courage to keep coming to school and for the many adults whose supports are making this possible…and then my thanksgiving turns to all the teachers and paraprofessionals and administrators I work with who give so unselfishly of their time and talent above and beyond the call of duty, to a higher calling of commitment and compassion.

Come to think of it, every classroom and teacher’s room could have a Thankful Tree just with the names of everybody in the class (or on the staff). What a nice reminder for the “thank you” we don’t want to forget. This could also extend to “Thank you Circles” in classrooms and staff meetings…another story…another blog post.