What are the three products?

The 98-page Operation Thank You Manual, the classroom activity book Why and How To Say “Thank You,” and a 30-card flashcard set. All three are available in Spanish.

How does a sponsor work?

A leader requests a sponsor at no cost. A sponsor may choose the group or be matched by Alison. Payment is due when the package is ready to ship. Shipping is included on full and partial packages. The leader is contacted before shipping, and parents receive a sample letter.

How long is a mission?

Missions are 5 to 10 minutes. Daily groups use the Monday–Friday half of the manual. Weekly groups use the once-per-week half.

2nd grade thank you lessons | Culture of Thank You

What 2nd grade children can do

Second graders can handle a fuller thank-you note. They still need the flashcards, because a picture keeps the talk on one kindness instead of a lecture about manners. The same situations appear in the activity book, so the class can discuss and then write with more independence.

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.

a flashcard on the rug or the board, then quiet writing

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.

A sample school week for 2nd grade

Monday in the classroom belongs to the classroom teacher. Look only. Put a cloth and a clean spot where crumbs were where 2nd grade children can see it. Name Mr. Alvarez, the lunch helper, and say the kindness: he wiped the table so the children had a clean place to eat. It happened at the lunch table. Ask “What did his hands do before you sat down?” Stop at 5 to 10 minutes. No note yet. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson. If they freeze, Point at the clean spot on the table and ask one child to touch only that spot, then say who made it clean.

On Tuesday, 2nd grade children (about 7 and 8) stay with “The wiped lunch table.” Say the line. 2nd grade children tell a partner, “Thank you for wiping our table.” Open the template before anyone writes. Read the parts: greeting, the kindness, closing. Then write only about today’s helper. If the kindness disappears, point back to a cloth and a clean spot where crumbs were. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson. If they freeze, Point at the clean spot on the table and ask one child to touch only that spot, then say who made it clean.

Wednesday does not add a new helper. It stays with Mr. Alvarez. Test the detail. Ask “What would the table have felt like if he had walked past it?” Answers have to name what Mr. Alvarez did, not that the lunch helper was nice. a flashcard on the rug or the board, then quiet writing. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson. If they freeze, Point at the clean spot on the table and ask one child to touch only that spot, then say who made it clean.

Keep Thursday inside 5 to 10 minutes in this classroom group. Draft the note. 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. Aim at “Thank you for wiping the table before we ate.” 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. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson. If they freeze, Point at the clean spot on the table and ask one child to touch only that spot, then say who made it clean.

Friday in the classroom belongs to the classroom teacher. Send it. Children deliver “Thank you for wiping our table.” or the note, then take home this job: Thank the person who clears the table after a meal at home, and name what they carried. The note names a person and a kindness. “Thanks for everything” does not pass. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson. If they freeze, Point at the clean spot on the table and ask one child to touch only that spot, then say who made it clean.

The same grade outside a classroom

homeschool: Home-schoolers use the same missions teachers use in class. The manual, one activity book, and the flashcards fit on the kitchen table. An all-inclusive home-schooler package is available in English and Spanish. Daily schooling can follow the Monday–Friday format. A weekly gratitude block can follow the once-per-week format. The mission should not crowd the rest of the homeschool day. Stop at the time limit even if the child wants to keep decorating the note.

daycare: Daycare days are full. The program is built for that: short missions, a manual with a once-per-week option, and materials that work for mixed ages 4 to 9. There is no cost to the provider when a sponsor funds the package. Register on Find a Sponsor and Alison matches the room with a business or an individual. Mixed ages share the room. The youngest children answer out loud. Older children write. Nobody waits while the other group finishes a long craft.

Scouts: Scout dens and packs often meet weekly. The second half of the Operation Thank You Manual is a once-per-week sequence written for clubs, so gratitude practice fits a den meeting without taking the whole hour. A sponsor can fund the manual, an activity book for each child, and the flashcard set. Shipping is included on full and partial packages. The den may meet only once this week. Do not assign five school-day missions and hope families finish them. Use the weekly format and send one home mission.

Sunday school: 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.

Books, cards, and a sponsor

Each child needs Why and How To Say “Thank You,” the classroom edition: a saddle-stitched activity book with situations for saying thank you, the How To Write A Thank You Note template, and extra pages to practice. The flashcard set has 30 cards, 8.5 by 11 inches, colorful, with rounded corners. The cards mirror the activity book so the group can look at one situation before writing. The Operation Thank You Manual is 98 pages. The first half is the Monday–Friday classroom sequence. The second half is the once-per-week sequence for clubs. The manual, the activity book, and the flashcards are available in Spanish. The MISSION Reminders Supplement can be added when some children speak Spanish. Extra activity books are sold in packs of 10.

For the sample kindness, children practice “Thank you for wiping our table.” and write toward “Thank you for wiping the table before we ate..” Spanish: “Gracias por limpiar la mesa.”

Before Mr. Alvarez comes up in the classroom

The classroom teacher should be able to say the kindness in one breath: Mr. Alvarez he wiped the table so the children had a clean place to eat. If that sentence is fuzzy, 2nd grade children will write a vague thank-you. Keep a cloth and a clean spot where crumbs were in reach and keep the mission inside 5 to 10 minutes. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson.

Close by repeating the spoken line “Thank you for wiping our table.” once more. The note target remains “Thank you for wiping the table before we ate..” 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. The block has to end on time. Five to ten minutes is the whole lesson, not the introduction to a longer lesson.

Questions leaders ask

The Culture of Thank You program is for children ages 4 to 9, preschool through 4th grade. Younger children in the group dictate. Older children write more of the note.