- Practice gratitude & feel the benefits of it
- Have fun with a “hot potato” & memory style game
- Have teens arrange themselves in a circle. This can be done standing or sitting
- Ask everyone if they’ve ever heard of gratitude, and ask a volunteer to share what they think gratitude is
- Hint: Gratitude is another way of saying that you’re grateful or thankful for something
- Then, briefly share about why gratitude is important for mental health
- “Research has shown that practicing gratitude can reduce feelings of stress and anxiety. In fact, studies have found that a single act of thoughtful gratitude produces an immediate 10% increase in happiness, and a 35% reduction in depressive symptoms. Basically, this means that our mental health immediately benefits from simply practicing being grateful or thankful! However, these effects disappear within three to six months, which reminds us to practice gratitude over and over so we can continue feeling those benefits. (National Council for Mental Wellbeing).”
- Next, explain that you will be playing a game of “hot potato.” Teens will toss/pass the ball to the person next to them in a clockwise fashion (going to the right) while you play a song on your laptop or phone. With no warning, you will pause the music and the person holding the ball has to share one thing they’re grateful for. Then the music will resume and teens keep passing
- But here’s where it gets interesting: teens cannot repeat what someone else has already said, AND the next person who has the ball when the music stops has to not only share what they’re grateful for, but name what the people who had the ball before them are grateful for in order. Check out an example
- Teens are passing the ball and Miranda ends up with it. They say they are grateful for their parents.
- Music resumes and they pass again until you pause it. Chase ends up with the ball and says “Miranda is grateful for their parents and I am grateful for my best friend.”
- The next person who ends up with the ball would say “Miranda is grateful for their parents, Chase is grateful for his best friend, and I am grateful for my favorite video game.”
- If someone repeats what someone else already said, they have to choose something new to be grateful for! And if they forget what others were grateful for, start over!
- Once you get through 10 folks successfully, you can consider that round over. Keep going as long as time allows and do your best to make sure everyone gets a turn!