Definition:

Someone who is grateful is thankful for people, nature, and things. Stewardship means taking good care of what we’ve been given.

In short:

Thankful for every blessing, big or small. 

Summary:

The book begins with a bold, (probably) true statement: “There didn’t used to be anything!” The rest of the book is an impressive list of many things that appeared after “nothing”, for which we all should be grateful. Clever illustrations accompany the long list of “thank yous” - it’s a very creative approach to expressing gratitude.  

Lesson Objectives: 

1. Students are stimulated to think of unusual gratitudes like the ones in the story, and this helps them to be more aware of the multitude of gifts that life has to offer. 

Guiding Questions: 

1. The book says that at one time, “there didn’t used to be anything.” What do you think about that? 
2. Do you know much about what there was before people existed? If so, share what you know. If not, ask someone. 
3. If you could either live in a desert or next to an ocean which would you prefer and why? 
4. Do you wish you could play with wild animals like tigers and crocodiles? Even if you can't, it's fun to think about it, right? 
5.  Would you like to travel all over the world? If so, what’s at the top of your list? 
6. What if you could travel to another planet, would you like to do that and where would you go if you could go to any planet and be safe? 
7. Name one big thing and one small thing you like. 
8. Do you think that bad things can turn out to be good? Why or why not? 
9. Can you say “thank you” in languages other than the one you speak? Learn to say “thank you” in a language that you don’t speak. 
10. Say “thank you” to yourself for being you! What’s special about you?