We need to be better about saying grace before meals in our house. It is something that my husband and I have been wanting to teach the kids for a while. A combination of trying to keep up with our kids and also the fact that neither my husband or I grew up saying grace before regular meals has left us unsuccessful at making sure we say grace with the kids at dinner. I created a simple way to help us remember to say a grace prayer before dinner, and keep the person saying it from feeling overly stressed about what to say.

Teaching Children to Be Thankful

I grew up with grace being said by my dad at holiday meals. It was not a regular thing we did-although we did always pray as a family before bedtime. We have always had that as part of our bedtime routine with my kids too. I want to teach them how to pray and teaching my children to be thankful stems from that.

Prayer is an important Stay at Home Mom Survival tool, I think. I can’t get through a day without saying a prayer. I pray off and on all day long! That is how I keep going on the tough days and make sure I am being thankful every day.

Whether you call it prayer, meditation, or quite time, focusing on our source of strength is important for stay-at-home moms-and all parents. I think that is why so many moms schedule in “me time” because time to clear our heads and regain our strength is needed with all the work we do each day. Motherhood is not easy, but when we teach lessons like the value of prayer, saying grace, and teaching children to be thankful, we set them on the right path to approach life with joy and a source of rejuvenation.

I know it seems like I am making a big deal out of a little thing like saying grace before dinner, but teaching children to be thankful is important.  No matter who you are, joy can carry you through the toughest of times. Without it, we can’t have hope.

I was getting worn out with the rush to get dinner on the table each night, and getting sidetracked away from my goal of teaching my children to say grace before our meal. The crying, whining, “I’m hungrys” and my exhaustion from a full day of doing the work of being a stay-at-home mom was causing us to dive into eating without saying grace. With picky eaters in this house, my husband and I are always trying to instill in our children that they need to be thankful for their food-because many nights they act like they would rather starve. Saying grace needed to be happening in our house.

It is one simple approach to teaching children to be thankful and teaching children to pray. Teaching gratitude is important. This easy gratitude game is another way to teach children to be mindful of what they do have and focused on gratitude.

Free Printable Grace Cards

What I created to make sure we are saying grace every night in my house, are printable cards with short prayers on them that can be used to say grace. They are a simple printable page and the cards can be cut apart so they can be a handy reference for saying grace and learning to pray.

 I am excited to offer these printable grace cards to you when you subscribe to my free newsletter! Once you sign up by entering your email address and clicking “Subscribe,” you will be emailed the subscriber-only link to download your set of printable grace cards. There is no charge for any of it. I am eager to share with you this tip that has helped us say grace regularly so we can teach our children the importance of being thankful.

How we use the Grace Cards

We store our grace cards in a small bag that we keep right near the table. This way I remember to grab it and pull out a card to help us say grace every night.

Often my oldest son picks a card and reads it to say grace. He reads it through, we then say it with him praying together before our meal. My oldest daughter also likes to try to read the card so she can say grace too! Saying grace is something they want to do because they get to have the special task of picking a card. It is always so funny (and encouraging) when the little things in life create such joy for kids.

Newsletter Subscriber Freebie

I look forward to sharing this freebie with you when you subscribe (for free) to my newsletter. You can sign up to receive all of my posts or just the posts sharing kids activities-you get to choose! I know these grace cards have made an impact on our family by helping us say grace before dinner, teaching our children the importance of saying grace and being thankful, and I am sure they will encourage my children to become more confident with praying in front of others thanks to the practice they will get from using the grace cards. I am excited for you to try them!

Is saying grace part of your family’s practice of being thankful?