This month, our fourth- and fifth-grade class at Love Elementary continued our Happiness Project with a new focus—gratitude! After learning about kindness in September and mindfulness in October, we spent November talking about how being thankful can make people happier, calmer, and more connected.
Scientists say that practicing gratitude actually changes your brain. When you appreciate something, your brain releases chemicals that make you feel good and help you notice more positive things in your life. Gratitude can even help people handle stress better. So basically, being thankful is good for your heart and your brain!
To help us understand gratitude in real life, we invited two amazing guests onto our class podcast, “Little Minds Big Talks.” Our first guest was Kyle Garcia, a local firefighter. He told us that firefighters see many difficult and sometimes scary situations, so noticing small good moments is really important. He explained that feeling grateful can be inspired by something simple like a smile from a friend, a warm meal, or just being safe at the end of the day. He reminded us that gratitude helps people stay connected like a team.
Our second guest was Dr. Jeni Stepanek, who works in peace education and has an incredible life story. We got to call her Mama Peace! Her interview was emotional, inspiring, and full of wisdom. She taught us that gratitude doesn’t mean pretending everything is perfect. It means choosing to notice the good things, even when times are hard. Many of us said that her words made us think differently about what it means to be grateful. One student said, “She made me realize we can find something good even on bad days, but it’s also fine that I am having a bad day.” Another said, “It made me remember not to just be grateful for the toy or the activity but for the person who gave me the toy or set up the activity for me.”
We didn’t just learn about gratitude. We practiced it. First, our teacher called people she loves to tell them that she appreciates them while we listened. We got to hear her show gratitude, and she was smiling a lot that day. Also, we wrote gratitude letters to local businesses all around Alameda. We wanted to thank them for making our community a happier and better place. We wrote to so many places, but we talked about doing another round later in the year because we enjoyed it so much. We even delivered our letters in person! It’s all about giving back and showing people that what they do matters and we appreciate it a whole lot.
Before we finish November, we want to share a community challenge: Write a gratitude letter to someone in your life or even to a local business you appreciate. Scientists say that expressing gratitude boosts happiness for the person receiving it and the person giving it. You might be surprised by how good it feels.
Next month, our Happiness Project will focus on Social Connections. We’ll be working with the Mastick Senior Center to learn how friendships and relationships help people stay healthy and happy. We are really excited to connect with new people in our community.
We hope you’ll keep following our journey. In our class, we believe little hearts can make a big difference. And together, we can make Alameda an even more grateful and joyful place.
This article was brought to you by Ryan Brazil and Love Elementary Fourth and Fifth Graders.
