Free printables · ages 3 to 8
I am thankful for worksheets
Four boxes, four thankful things. Draw them, trace them or write them, with a because.
In our picture book Finding Gratitude, Fall takes out a big piece of paper and fills four boxes with what he's grateful for. These sheets are his board for your child: a draw sheet for little ones, “I am thankful for” to trace, and lines with a “because” for early writers. Or make a board with your child's name on it.
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Free “I am thankful for” worksheets
Three levels of the same four boxes (draw, trace, write with because), Fall's own board from the book with an empty one like it, a Thanksgiving board and “My thankful board”. Every sheet comes in US Letter and A4, in color and in black and white. No email, no account.
Draw it: four thankful boxes
A person, a thing, a place and a moment, each with a picture hint and a big box to draw in. A grown-up writes the words on the line.
Ages 3 to 5 · 1 page · PDF
Trace it: "I am thankful for"
The same four boxes, with "I am thankful for" to trace in each (a dot where every line starts) and a space to draw.
Ages 5 to 6 · 1 page · PDF
Write it, with because
"I am thankful for" and a "because" line in each of the four boxes, for early writers.
Ages 6 to 8 · 1 page · PDF
Fall's four boxes
Page 1: Fall's own board from the book, his list word for word. Page 2: an empty board like his, headed Fall, Spring, Summer and Winter.
Ages 4 to 8 · 2 pages · PDF
Thanksgiving thankful board
"This Thanksgiving I am thankful for": someone at my table, something yummy, something outside, someone to thank. One page to draw, one to write.
Ages 3 to 8 · 2 pages · PDF
My thankful board
Fall's four boxes from the book: a person, a thing, a place and a moment to draw or write, and the one your child likes most.
Ages 4 to 8 · 1 page · PDF
Free for home and classroom use. To pass them on, please share the link to this page and not the file.
Made in your browser
Make a thankful board with your child's name
Type a name, pick the four boxes and the level, and print. Fall's four seasons come first, like his board in the book. At the trace level, your child traces their own name at the top, in the same letters as our alphabet book.
2. The four boxes
3. Draw, trace or write
To keep a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.
The name stays on your device. The board is drawn right here in your browser. The name is not sent to us or anyone else, and it is not saved: close the page and it is gone.
The board, as it prints
From the book
Fall's four boxes
So, he took out a large piece of paper and painted four large boxes.
I'm grateful for:
- for my warm boots
- because I learned to stay still and enjoy a hot drink
- that Spring cannot do without me!
- for Winter's honey-cakes!
What Fall wrote in his box, as the book shows it
Look at what he picks: a pair of boots a friend lent him, one quiet minute with a hot drink, his sister, his brother's cakes. Nothing big. That's the idea to pass on: the small, everyday things count, and so do the people behind them. Then the book turns to the reader:
What do YOU think? What things are you grateful for today?
For grown-ups
Which sheet for which age
Ages 3 to 5
Draw it
Four big boxes with a picture hint in each. Your child draws, you write their words on the line. Ask "who gave you that?" while they draw.
Ages 5 to 6
Trace it, then draw
"I am thankful for" to trace in gray letters with a dot where each line starts, then a space to draw. Letter practice and a thankful talk in one.
Ages 6 to 8
Write it, with because
Lines for "I am thankful for" and a "because" line under each. The because is where a child starts to think about why someone did something kind.
How to do it together
Sit with them. The sheet is the excuse; the talk is the point. While they draw, ask about the person behind the thing: who made it, who gave it, who helped.
Fill one in yourself. Children copy what they see. Say your four things out loud, small ones too (“I'm thankful for the warm car this morning”).
Ask about the because. “Why do you think Grandpa fixed it?” is the Think step of the four steps of gratitude researchers describe: notice, think, feel and do.
Take every answer. A tablet, a cookie, the dog: it all counts. If the day was hard and nothing comes, that's fine too. Try again tomorrow.
In November
“I am thankful for” sheets for Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving board asks for someone at your table, something yummy, something outside and someone to thank. Print one per child and put it at their place: it keeps little ones busy before the meal, and it gives everyone something to read out over dessert. Thanksgiving is Thursday 26 November 2026.
In Canada, Thanksgiving comes in October. And a thankful board isn't only for November: the seasons board works in any month, and a new one each season is a nice way to see what changed.
For a thankful thing every day of November, there's a 30 days of thanks calendar and a thankful tree that grows a leaf a day.
Questions
Grown-ups ask
What do kids write on an "I am thankful for" worksheet?
One thing a box: a person, a pet, a thing they love, a place, a food, a moment. Small things count: a warm drink, a friend who shared, the bus driver who waved. Older children can add a because ("I am thankful for my sister because she helped me find my shoe"). The because is where they start to think about why someone was kind.
How do I help a 3 or 4 year old fill one in?
Let them draw and tell you about it, and write their words on the line under each box. Ask one easy question while they draw, like "who gave you that?" or "what do you like about it?". Four boxes is a lot at 3: one or two is plenty, and the rest can wait for tomorrow.
Is my child's name sent anywhere when I use the board maker?
No. The board is drawn in your browser, on your computer, phone or tablet. The name is not sent to us or to anyone else, not put in the page's address and not saved: close the page and it is gone. When you press Print, we count that a board was printed and which kind, never the name.
Why are the boxes headed Fall, Spring, Summer and Winter?
That is Fall's own board in our picture book, Finding Gratitude. The four seasons are siblings, and Fall fills his box with things he is grateful for: his warm boots, a hot drink he stopped to enjoy, his sister Spring and his brother Winter's honey-cakes. Children like filling a box for each season. If you would rather have a person, a thing, a place and a moment, the maker and the sheets have that too.
Can I use these worksheets in my classroom?
Yes. They are free for home and classroom use, in US Letter and A4, in color and in black and white. Print the draw sheet for your youngest, the trace sheet for kindergarten and the because sheet for first and second grade. Please share the link to this page rather than the files.
Is gratitude only for Thanksgiving?
No. Many families start in November, and Canada's Thanksgiving is in October, but a thankful moment works on any day of the year: at dinner, in the car or at bedtime.
Should I make my child say thank you?
Remind gently, but don't force it. A thank you said on command can feel empty. Say your own thanks out loud, and ask how the gift made them feel and why the person gave it.
More gratitude
Gratitude for kidsThe book's four activities, a short guide for grown-ups and every free sheet.
Thankful treeA printable tree and Fall's leaves, in words or pictures, and a leaf a day.
Things to be thankful for100 ideas and questions by age, for dinner, the car or bedtime.
Gratitude jarThe book's family box of gratitude: prompts, slips to print and a jar label.
Thank you notes for kidsCards to fill in or draw in, and the book's hide-a-note game.
Gratitude journal for kidsDraw three things a day, like Fall's notebook: 7 days or 30.
The four seasons for kidsFour siblings, four seasons: a chart, a wheel to spin and sorting cards.
Gratitude coloring pagesThe book's own line drawings, with a thankful box to fill on every page.
Free tonight
Fall's 7 Thankful Nights
A short thankful moment at bedtime for 7 nights, with Fall and a gentle voice, on a phone or tablet. Night 1 is free and opens right away. If your child likes it, we can email you the other six, one a night.
Open night 1Meet the book
Finding Gratitude
Our picture book for ages 4 to 8 · coming this October
Four siblings, the four seasons, meet for one snowy evening: Fall full of joy, Spring a bit annoyed, Summer melting away and Winter in a rush.
A story about the love that siblings share, and how Fall found gratitude by changing the way he looks at his days.
Fall, his siblings and every picture on these pages come from it. The book isn't out yet.