3rd grade daycare: using the flashcard set (once a week)

The group uses one large flashcard to talk about a thank-you situation before anyone writes. This once a week plan is for 3rd grade children in a daycare group.

  • about 8 and 9
  • 5 to 10 minutes missions
  • once a week
3rd grade daycare: using the flashcard set (once a week) — children learning gratitude with books and activities

Using the flashcard set for 3rd grade in a daycare group

The group uses one large flashcard to talk about a thank-you situation before anyone writes. In this daycare room, 3rd grade children (about 8 and 9) practice with “The greeting at the church door.” Mrs. Hale, the greeter, she learned a child’s name and held the program out where small hands could take it. The once a week calendar is the one that fits: 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.

The daycare lead leads. Mixed ages share the room. The youngest children answer out loud. Older children write. Nobody waits while the other group finishes a long craft. Children answer in a brief discussion the children can lead, with the adult keeping it on one kindness. The spoken line is “Thank you for saying my name..” The note line is “Thank you for greeting me at the door..” Alison Gilham’s program supplies the manual, the activity book, and the flashcards; this page is the plan for this group and this kindness.

Who is in the daycare room

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.

Plan 5 to 10 minutes for 3rd grade. 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. The daycare lead holds the manual. Children hold the line about Mrs. Hale once they can say what happened to a printed program.

Words to say about Mrs. Hale

This is a script the daycare lead can say with 3rd grade children during using the flashcard set. It uses “The greeting at the church door,” a practice situation for this plan. It is not a list of the 30 printed flashcards. Those cards stay in the set and match the activity book. Use this script when you need the words in the room.

daycare lead: “We are going to thank Mrs. Hale. Mrs. Hale is the greeter. Here is the kindness: she learned a child’s name and held the program out where small hands could take it. It happened at the door of the hall. Look at a printed program.”

One once a week meeting in the daycare room

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 daycare room, the daycare lead has one sitting with 3rd grade children, about 8 and 9. Do not replay a school week. Mixed ages share the room. The youngest children answer out loud. Older children write. Nobody waits while the other group finishes a long craft.

Age tips for 3rd grade (about 8 and 9)

Third grade sits at the top of the program’s age band. Children can explain why thank you matters and write more of the note themselves. Missions still last 5 to 10 minutes so they do not crowd reading and math. Community thank-yous fit well at this grade. For this daycare plan, keep the mission inside 5 to 10 minutes. a brief discussion the children can lead, with the adult keeping it on one kindness.

The note for Mrs. Hale

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. For this kindness the sentence is “Thank you for greeting me at the door.” It has to mention the door of the hall or a printed program, not a general compliment to the greeter.

Copy-ready lines for “The greeting at the church door”

Spoken line to practice: “Thank you for saying my name.” Reply children may hear: “I am glad you are here.” Note line to write: “Thank you for greeting me at the door.” Spanish line for the same kindness: “Gracias por decir mi nombre.”

Classroom and group notes for the daycare room

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.

If 3rd grade children stall on Mrs. Hale

Practice with eyes on the person. If that is too hard, the child may look at the program and still say the name. A child who keeps thanking the daycare lead is avoiding Mrs. Hale. Send them back to the greeter and the moment at the door of the hall. Whispering “Thank you for saying my name.” counts.

What Mrs. Hale's lesson needs

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. 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 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 greeting at the church door,” also set out a printed program. Hold one card. Ask what the person did. Match the card to the page in the activity book only after the children have said the kindness in their own words.

Spanish materials in this group

If any child in the daycare room speaks Spanish at home, order the Spanish activity book for that child and keep the same situation. The Spanish line for this plan is “Gracias por decir mi nombre.” The English line remains “Thank you for saying my name.”

Home work after The greeting at the church door

Thank a family member who greets you when you come home, and say what they do at the door. Write that in the activity book so the family sees Mrs. Hale's kindness, not a blank “say thank you.” 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.

Books for this daycare 3rd grade group

Spoken practice about Mrs. Hale can start in the daycare room today. The activity-book template matters when 3rd grade children are ready to write “Thank you for greeting me at the door..” If a sponsor is funding this daycare group, parents get a sample letter, and shipping is included on full and partial packages. The leader can ask at no cost.

Questions leaders ask

Plan on 5 to 10 minutes. 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. Mixed ages share the room. The youngest children answer out loud. Older children write. Nobody waits while the other group finishes a long craft.

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