As we near the end of the year, it’s a perfect time to pause, look back and give thanks for all that God has done in our lives. For children, reflection is a powerful way to recognize how much they’ve grown, celebrate their blessings and fortify their gratitude. Even if there were some challenges along the way, helping your child look back on the year with a thankful heart nurtures their faith and prepares them to enter a new year with positivity. Here are some ways you can help your child reflect on this past year with gratitude:
Growth and Accomplishments
The end of the year is the perfect time to encourage your child to reflect on their growth and accomplishments. Start by discussing their personal achievements in school, growth in leadership roles, improvement in grades or progress in extracurricular activities. Acknowledge not just the big milestones, but the smaller moments of growth, as well. This could mean times where they showed patience, kindness or even perseverance. This helps them understand that growth isn’t all about accomplishments, but that it’s also about small stepping stones to becoming more of who God created them to be.
Friendships and Community
Invite your child to reflect on the meaningful friendships and connections they’ve built over the past year. Ask questions about who encouraged them, made them laugh and helped them grow. Take time to discuss the new friends they’ve made, existing friendships they’ve strengthened, and communities they’ve built in school and church. Maybe they helped with community service projects or outreach programs. This is the time to reflect on those experiences. Having gratitude for the people in their lives helps children understand and appreciate the importance of love and fellowship.
Challenges Overcome
When we practice gratitude, the first thing we do is think of all of the positive, joyful experiences we’ve had. But there’s space for gratitude in the challenges we face, as well. Encourage your child to think about the difficult moments they faced this year. Whether they struggled with a subject in school or worked through a conflict with a friend, reflecting on these moments allows them to see how faith and perseverance helped them overcome obstacles. Being grateful for the challenges also helps children learn to thank God for hard days, understanding that He is the one who guides them, even through tough moments.
Growing in Faith
One of the most important things to reflect on is how their relationship with God has strengthened over the past year. Have they prayed more often? Listened more intently during Mass? Engaged more deeply with Bible stories and lessons? This is also a good opportunity for them to think about all of the fellowshipping and service they’ve done. These moments of spiritual growth deserve to be celebrated just as much as personal or academic ones. Reflecting on their faith with a grateful heart invites more growth and helps them recognize God’s hand in all areas of their life.
Looking Ahead with a Thankful Heart
As you and your child reflect on this past year, remind them that gratitude helps us enter the new year with open hearts and renewed faith. Encourage them to carry these thankful memories and feelings of gratitude with them into each new day. Remind them that gratitude is fortified through prayer, kindness and mindfulness, and help them plan to create a daily gratitude habit. This can be something they do individually or together with the family. When we start from a place of thankfulness, we create space for joy, peace and continued growth in the year ahead.
At St. Charles Borromeo, we encourage our students to consistently give thanks to God and have a heart of gratitude. Located in the Catholic Diocese of Orlando, our Catholic school is committed to proclaiming the gospel Message of Jesus Christ. We believe in teaching the whole child and want students to love learning, helping them grow into well-rounded, contributing members of society. Learn more about us by contacting us here.