So I decided to implement the gratitude jars in my home but with a twist. Each of my girls and myself have a jar and we will write a gratitude every day and out it in the jar. But we also write affirmations for someone else and put it in their jars. So when my girls are fighting or being ugly to each other, I make them stop and write something nice about the other and put it in their jar. They seem pretty excited about this. They also have the options to write goals and/or prayer requests and put it i their jars. Does anyone else have any creative things or ideas they do at home? With or without children?
Edit: the chalk was a terrible idea. I gave up lol
My kids and I have a jar that we all add activities and āthings to doā ideas, then when it is school holidays we pull some out and make it our goal to actually go out and do those activities.
Well we used it to for fighting for the first time today. Seems to do itās job. My older verses the 2 younger. And by the end of it. No one was mad anymore. The 2 littles were mad at the big sister for being bossy and the big sister was upset that they were pulling pranks she thought were dangerous. Littles ended thanking her for being protective and she admitted she likes their playfulness. Iād call it a win.
Awww thatās so great to hear that the girls were able to talk things out, they sound so sweet!
I was just rereading your original post and seriously, if I asked my 10 year old daughter to write something nice about her 4 yr old brother whilst they were fightingā¦ Iād be sitting there still waiting in a years time! Sheās so damn stubborn, sheād beat me at my own game lol. Urgh. Her older sister is like that though also. She used to have a reward chart on the wall when she was little and was misbehaving terribly in the carā¦ I ended up reminding her that the stickers wouldnāt be able to get added onto her chart that afternoon. Well, we went inside the house and she ran to the chart, ripped it off the wall and threw it in the bin while screaming āwell I donāt even want to have a stupid reward chart anyway!!!ā Haha omg I was gobsmacked - reverse psychology at its finest and at 5 years of age
We do something similar. My husband and I keep a Happy Things jar on the kitchen counter. We started this about 10 years ago. When something that makes us pleased/happy/smile happensā¦big or smallā¦we write it on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. Could be a pretty rainbow, a butterfly, a house project we finished, a sunset, a sobriety milestone, a visit from our grandson, friends visit, a hike, no hurricane!, saw a spotted fawn, my parents are healthyā¦any thing really that we might want to remember and are happy/grateful for. Mostly it ends up being the small things, but we have some big ones in there as well over the years. Some bittersweet.
At the beginning of every New Year we take them out and read them. We keep all the years and go thru a random year or two to remind us of happy times.
We had a year when my husband wrote 2 things ā¦it was a rough year for him and he was reminded when we read them that New Year (read all mine) that despite it being a hard year, there are always some moments of grace and plenty to be grateful for.
I think it is a soul and relationship nourishing ritual. I am forever thankful for our dear friend, who has since died, who first shared her Happy Things Jar with us.
Mine wasnāt gratitude jars it was more of a āchore jarā
At the time we had 3 little ones in our house. 8, 7, and 5 and well things that drove me insane were like they would come in the door and just drop their jackets and backpacks at the front door and run, like wtf yo?
Leave their toys out, not put games away etc, so it was a well you didnāt pick up after yourself so now for each item you have to pick a chore out of the jar, age appropriate of course wasnāt like go out and pull weeds, or break rocks in the hot sun.
But simple things like, prep the table, or dust this or that, needless to say it didnāt take much for a clean house,
Mine have been like that too. They have been through so much in a very short time. Now that we are in our own place again we are starting it off with good habits! And good attitudes.
My girls have chores every day regardless. You wanna drop your stuff in front of the door. Okay. Youāre cleaning the living room today anyway. Iām not their maid. They are learning now that teamwork is how this house is gonna function. You go to school. I go to work. We are all tired. But our house is gonna be decent every night. How long it takes depends on how messy yāall are. You may miss tablet time if itās a mess but youāre gonna do it. They are slowly learning to pick up as they go. 7 year old is already doing dishes. 5, 7 and 10 year old all know how to switch the laundry. They learned because they wanted to. But now I know they can. Oops
I love this! So do they put something they are grateful for in the jar each morning, and then if they fight they write something nice about the other for their jar? Is that right? Or do they write something they are grateful for about each other each morning? I want to try this at my house too. Iām a single mama with 3 kids, and I just think this would be such a neat thing to try. When do they open the jars to read everything?
Well we are just starting it. We write something we are grateful for each night before bed. And they write something nice about each other if they fight. Iām not sure how often we will open and read themā¦ was kinda waiting to see how fast they get full lol but they get to pick a random one and read it when they are having a bad day. Usually perks them up.
My husband and I keep a Happy Things jar on the kitchen counter. We started this about 10 years ago. When something that makes us pleased/happy/smile happensā¦big or smallā¦we write it on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. Could be a pretty rainbow, a butterfly, a house project we finished, a sunset, a sobriety milestone, a visit from our grandson, friends visit, a hike, no hurricane!, saw a spotted fawn, my parents are healthyā¦any thing really that we might want to remember and are happy/grateful for. Mostly it ends up being the small things, but we have some big ones in there as well over the years. Some bittersweet.
I am forever thankful for our dear friend, who has since died, who first shared her Happy Things Jar with us. 
Iām not their maid. They are learning now that teamwork is how this house is gonna function. You go to school. I go to work. We are all tired. But our house is gonna be decent every night. How long it takes depends on how messy yāall are. You may miss tablet time if itās a mess but youāre gonna do it. They are slowly learning to pick up as they go. 7 year old is already doing dishes. 5, 7 and 10 year old all know how to switch the laundry. They learned because they wanted to. But now I know they can. Oops 