For May 3, “My Gratitude Jar,” by Kristin Wiens: Story from Virtual Dharma School Classes

Each Sunday our Dharma School staff holds a group class by video conferencing, and May 3 here is the story — shared here for the Dharma School student in all of us. (YouTube video available to the public.)

Background (From YouTube Post)

Kristin Wiens, author and illustrator, reads “My Gratitude Jar” in its entirety. The book tells the story of a young boy, Jacob who learns the value of a daily #gratitude practice. His teacher gives the class all a gratitude jar to decorate and encourages the students to write down gratitude’s each day. On a particularly bad day, Jacob discovers the value of pausing and taking a few deep breathes and the value of having a gratitude jar.

This book introduces students to concepts of #mindfulness. Jacob learns to bring his awareness to the present moment both on good days when he feels there is something to be grateful about and on grumpy days when stopping to breathe can help bring some perspective to a bad day. Ms. Lane also encourages the students to be non-judgmental in how they practice gratitude: “there is no right or wrong way to be grateful.”

“My Gratitude Jar” also introduces concepts of #self-regulation. Jacob is encouraged to pause and breathe in the middle of his bad day. He is invited to reflect on better days and he is encouraged to be reflective. All these actions play a part in healthy self-regulation. This book could be used in any class or school gratitude project, as part of a #Thanksgiving unit, in combination with either a #mindfulness or #self-regulation focus…or both.