Gratitude Jar for Kids: How to Make One (Free Printable Slips)
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A gratitude jar is exactly what it sounds like: an empty jar, a stack of little slips, and a simple habit. Every day, your child writes or draws one good thing that happened, folds it up, and drops it in. Over weeks and months, the jar fills with proof that good things keep showing up, even on the hard days.
It's one of the easiest ways to help kids notice what's going right. You don't need anything fancy to start, and you can grab the free printable gratitude slips below to skip the prep and get straight to the good part.
What is a gratitude jar?
A gratitude jar is a container your family fills with small notes about things you're thankful for. One slip, one good thing, as often as you like. It can be a mason jar, an old pasta jar, a shoebox, anything you've already got at home.
The magic isn't the jar itself. It's the daily pause it creates: a moment where your child stops, thinks back over the day, and picks out something good. Over time, that little pause becomes a habit, and the jar becomes a record of all the small wins that are easy to forget.
Why a gratitude jar works for kids
Gratitude can feel abstract to a young child. Telling a five-year-old to be thankful doesn't give them much to hold onto. A jar fixes that, because it makes gratitude something you can see, touch, and count.
When the jar starts to fill up, your child can watch their thankfulness pile up in real life. That visible progress is motivating in a way a lecture never is. And because you're doing it together, day after day, it quietly becomes a family habit instead of a one-time activity. Kids learn a lot from what the grown-ups around them do, so when you add your own slip about a good cup of coffee or a kind word from a neighbor, you're showing them how gratitude actually looks.
It's also a gentle tool for the rough days. When everything feels like it went wrong, finding one small good thing to write down is a soft way to shift your child's focus. You're not pretending the hard parts didn't happen. You're just helping them notice the good parts too.
How to make a gratitude jar (step by step)
- Pick a jar. Any clear container works. A glass jar is nice because you can watch it fill, but a tin, a box, or a vase is fine too.
- Decorate it together. Let your child make it theirs. Stickers, ribbon, a drawn-on label, paint, whatever they like. A jar they helped make is a jar they'll want to use.
- Write or draw one good thing each day. Keep it small and doable. One slip, one good thing. Younger kids can draw a picture or tell you what to write while you scribe.
- Fold it and drop it in. Folding the slip adds a tiny bit of ceremony, and dropping it in is the satisfying part. Pick a regular time, like after dinner or at bedtime, so it sticks.
- Read them aloud together. At the end of the month or the year, tip the jar out and read the slips one by one. Kids love hearing the good moments they'd forgotten.
Want a free workbook to start with today? Our most popular free download is the Anger Management for Kids calm-down workbook — grab it free today. And you'll find the Gratitude Journal for Kids in the SteadyKid catalog.
Gratitude jar prompts to get started
Some kids freeze when you hand them a blank slip. A prompt gives them somewhere to start. Keep a few of these on hand:
- Something that made you laugh today
- A person you're glad to have around
- Something your body let you do
- A food you really enjoyed
- A place you love being
- Something kind someone did for you
- Something kind you did for someone else
- A toy or book you're thankful for
- Something pretty you saw outside
- A part of today that felt cozy
- Something you learned
- A small thing that went right
Gratitude jar by age (3-5, 6-8, 9-10)
Ages 3 to 5
Little ones can't write yet, and that's fine. Have them draw a quick picture, or ask what was the best part of today and write their answer for them. Keep it to one thing and keep it short.
Ages 6 to 8
This is the sweet spot. Kids this age can write their own slips, even if the spelling is creative. Let them. Prompts help when they're stuck, and reading the jar aloud becomes a real treat.
Ages 9 to 10
Older kids can go deeper. Nudge them past my dog toward why something mattered. You can also hand over the whole routine and let them run it, which gives them a quiet sense of ownership.
Fun variations
Family jar. Everyone adds slips to one shared jar, grown-ups included. It turns gratitude into something you do as a team, and kids love reading the grown-ups' slips.
Gratitude chain. Instead of a jar, write each good thing on a strip of paper and loop it into a paper chain. Hang it on a wall and watch it grow longer across the room.
Blessing jar for the new year. Start a fresh jar on January 1 and fill it all year. On New Year's Eve, tip it out and read a year's worth of good moments together.
Frequently asked questions
What is a gratitude jar?
A gratitude jar is a container your family fills with small notes about things you're thankful for. Each day, your child writes or draws one good thing and drops the slip in the jar. Over time it fills up, giving kids a visible reminder of all the good in their lives.
How do you make a gratitude jar with kids?
Pick any clear jar, decorate it together so your child feels ownership, then add one slip a day about something good. Drop each folded slip in at a regular time, like after dinner, and read them all aloud at the end of the month or year.
What do you write on gratitude jar slips?
Anything your child is thankful for, big or small: a person, a food, a fun moment, something kind someone did, or a small thing that went right. Younger kids can draw instead of writing. A few prompts make it easier to get started.
How often should we add to the jar?
Once a day is a great rhythm, but there's no rule. Some families add a slip every night at bedtime; others do it a few times a week. Pick a pace you can keep up, because a habit you stick with beats a perfect one you drop.
Where can I get free printable gratitude slips?
You can grab free printable gratitude slips from SteadyKid. They come ready to cut out, with prompts to help your child get going, so you can start your jar today without any prep. See our free printables hub for more.
Ready to start? Download the free Anger Management for Kids workbook today, then explore the Gratitude Journal for Kids and the full range in the SteadyKid catalog.
Want to go further? Our complete guide to gratitude for kids covers the whole picture, and if your child prefers writing to slips, try the printable gratitude journal for kids.
