This Bear Says Thanks activity is a fine motor activity that goes along with the Bear Says Thanks book…and talking about gratitude with kids. It’s perfect for expressing gratitude this time of year! Using a preschool book to work on specific skills in therapy, the classroom, or home can be a fun way to incorporate things like fine motor work, scissor skills, sensory activities, or other areas.
Add these fine motor activities to your line-up, too.
Bear Says Thanks Activity
It is fun to count blessings with kids. Talking about the things that we are thankful for is one thing that I look forward to every day with my kids. Here are a few more gratitude activities that you will enjoy.
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If you haven’t read the Bear Says Thanks book, be sure to grab it at your library. It’s a must-read book for preschoolers, especially this time of year. Kids love this book and it’s a fun way to work on fine motor skills and counting tasks.
We used something we had on hand and tend to play with a lot…beads!
For this Bear Says Thanks preschool activity, we used just two items:
Pony Beads
Pipe Cleaners
For this activity, read the book, Bear Says Thanks.
Then, get ready to talk about the things that your child is thankful for. It might be a discussion of gratitude for good friends like Bear has.
This Bear Says Thanks activity is one we created as part of the Virtual Book Club for Kids series
Bear Gives Thanks Activity
Take the pipe cleaners and bend them into number shapes. You can help your kids with this part or your family can work on this task together.
Then, use pony beads as counters as you name and count your blessings. We expressed thankfulness and gratitude for each bead as it was placed onto the pipe cleaner number.
Kids can work on counting skills as they count out the beads and thread them onto the number pipe cleaners.
This was such a great way to sneak fine motor work into a literacy activity while expressing gratitude with the kids!
So tell me, what things are your kids thankful for? I would love to hear! Let me know in the comments below.
Want to see more gratitude activities based on the book, Bear Says Thanks?
GRATITUDE Activities for kids
Start with this bear craft to build fine motor skills.
LITERACY ACTIVITIES FOR A GRATITUDE THEME
- Gratitude Leaf Garland
- Teach Gratitude Free Therapy Slide Deck
- Gratitude Alphabet Give Thanks Banner from To Be A Kid Again
- I Am Thankful Activity from Craft Create Calm
- Thanksgiving Printables
- Magnetic Thankful Tree from The Educators’ Spin On It
- Gratitude Activity – Bear Thankful Printable from Sunny Day Family
- Make a Gratitude Tree from Mama Smiles
MATH ACTIVITIES FOR A GRATITUDE THEME
- Count Blessings Gratitude Craft
- Counting on Bears Paws with Number Claws from J Daniel4’s Mom
- Gratitude Game ~ Pick Up Sticks from Teach Beside Me
- Thankful Bear Craft ~ Shape Collage for Preschoolers and Toddler from Books and Giggles
- I’m Thankful for you ~ Kid Made Ornament Gift from Preschool Powol Packets
COOKING WITH KIDS FOR THE GRATITUDE THEME
- Kid-Friendly Gingerbread Cookies – Rainy Day Mum
- Pumpkin Muffins from Inspiration Laboratories
SENSORY ACTIVITIES FOR GRATITUDE THEME
- Easy Gratitude Turkey Pumpkin for Kids from Toddler Approved
Check out these Fall favorite books you might like:Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Leaves by David Ezra Stein
Autumn Orange (Know Your Colors) by Christianne C. Jones
Colleen Beck, OTR/L has been an occupational therapist since 2000, working in school-based, hand therapy, outpatient peds, EI, and SNF. Colleen created The OT Toolbox to inspire therapists, teachers, and parents with easy and fun tools to help children thrive. Read her story about going from an OT making $3/hour (after paying for kids’ childcare) to a full-time OT resource creator for millions of readers. Want to collaborate? Send an email to contact@theottoolbox.com.
