Sunday School Thank You Program

Sunday school time is limited. The once-per-week missions were written for groups that meet weekly, including church classes. Children can thank family, classmates, and people who serve the congregation. The series still ends with a thank-you note.

Opening and music already take time. The mission is one short block, then the note template only when the group has practiced the kindness out loud.

This is the once-per-week format from the second half of the manual, written for groups and clubs that do not meet daily. One meeting carries the mission. A single home task goes in the activity book. Do not try to compress five school days into one hour. In the Sunday school room, the Sunday school teacher has one sitting with preschool children, about 4 and 5. Do not replay a school week. Opening and music already take time. The mission is one short block, then the note template only when the group has practiced the kindness out loud.

Open on “The bandage on a scraped knee.” Tell the group that Nurse Patel, the school nurse, she cleaned a scrape and put on a bandage without rushing at the nurse’s office. Put a bandage in sight. Ask all three questions, one at a time: “What two things did the nurse do?” “Why is “thank you for the bandage” clearer than “thank you for being nice”?” “How do you thank a nurse if other children are waiting?” Children answer in one picture and one question, answered out loud in a small circle. Stop answers that are only “they were nice.”

Say the spoken line together: “Thank you for taking care of my knee.” Then each child says it to a partner. Practice the spoken line twice in the group, then have each child say it to a partner as if that partner were the helper. The Sunday school teacher listens for Nurse Patel's name and for a bandage.

Writing comes only after the line has been said. The note can be a dictated sentence. The child supplies the person’s name and the kindness. The adult prints it on the activity-book template so the child can see that spoken thanks and written thanks are the same idea. The sentence they aim for is “Thank you for cleaning my scrape and putting on a bandage.” Children who are not ready dictate. The extra pages are for this draft.

Close the meeting by naming the home mission: Thank a family adult for one time they took care of a hurt, and name what they used. Write that sentence in the activity book so a family adult sees it. A child can say who helped and what the person did, in one sentence, without a joke in the middle. Next week starts from what they actually did, not from a new lecture.

preschool (about 4 and 5): Most preschoolers dictate. The adult writes the name and the short line. A child who wants to mark the page can draw the helper and trace the words Thank you. The note can be a dictated sentence. The child supplies the person’s name and the kindness. The adult prints it on the activity-book template so the child can see that spoken thanks and written thanks are the same idea.

kindergarten (about 5 and 6): Kindergarten children can copy a short sentence and draw the person they are thanking. Many still need an adult to spell a name. The classroom activity book gives extra space so the first note is not squeezed onto one line. The adult writes the helper’s name if needed. The child copies “Thank you for” and then adds a few of their own words or a drawing of the kindness.

1st grade (about 6 and 7): First graders can write two or three sentences with spelling help. They should name the person and the kindness instead of stopping at “Thanks for everything.” Use the How To Write A Thank You Note template in the activity book. First graders fill the greeting, one sentence about the kindness, and a closing. The adult helps with names and leaves the kindness sentence to the child.

2nd grade (about 7 and 8): Second graders write a short note in their own handwriting. They can add where it happened and how they felt, as long as the note still names one kindness. Ask them to read the note aloud to a partner before it is finished. The partner’s only job is to point out whether the person and the kindness are both clear.

3rd grade (about 8 and 9): Third graders use the template as a checklist, not as a script to copy. The note should sound like the child: a real detail, a real person, a plain closing. They draft, then check three parts: who, what the person did, and a closing that is not a joke. The extra practice pages in the classroom book are for the draft. The note that goes out can be copied clean.