The words for thank you in every language your classmates know, stacked in linesAsk each person to write theirs, then copy the shapes with care. Stack the lines like a poem.
A door hanger for someone's bedroom door that begins thank you forDraw the long tag with its round cutout. Finish the sentence under the words in your own writing.
A teacher's desk at the end of the day, a stack of papers still to gradeDraw the desk with nobody at it and a cold cup of coffee. The pile is thirty kids' worth of reading.
A bare paper trunk taped to a wall, a thank-you note on every leafCut the trunk from brown paper and the leaves in fall colors. One leaf, one thing, signed.
A circle cut into eight wedges with one good thing drawn in eachTrace a plate, rule four lines through its center and fill the wedges. Hang it like a wheel.
A clear jar with a slot cut in its lid, half full of folded paper slipsDraw the jar tall and let a few words show on two slips. A real one takes a slip each evening.
A five-box page: something you saw, heard, smelled, tasted and touched todayDraw an eye, an ear, a nose, a mouth and a hand as the headings. One small picture goes under each.
A flower with your name in the center and one thankful thing on each petalDraw six fat petals so there is room to write. Color each petal to match what is on it.
A grid of thirty boxes, one small drawing a day for a monthRule six rows of five and number the corners. Keep each drawing tiny: a paw, a bus, a spoon.
A hunt sheet of six boxes: find something soft, loud, tiny, old, shared and yoursLetter the six words as headings, then go and look. Draw what you found, not what you expected.
A paper chain with one thing you are glad of written on each linkDraw the chain swagged across the sheet and letter three links. A real one grows a link a day.
A paper placemat for dinner that every person at the table draws onTrace a plate in the middle and leave the border blank. Each person fills one side before eating.
A rainbow with one thing you are thankful for in each color bandDraw seven wide bands. Something red goes in the red band, something orange in the next, and on.
A three-panel comic of the best part of your dayRule three equal boxes: before, during, after. Stick figures are enough if the middle box is clear.
An A to Z ladder down the page with one thing you are glad of on each rungLetter the alphabet down the left edge first. Q, X and Z are allowed to be silly.
People 12
A coach picking up the cones after everyone has gone homeA long field, one small figure and a stack of cones. The empty space shows how late it is.
A friend walking the long way home so you do not walk aloneDraw two small backs on a long sidewalk and the turn they did not take. The detour is the gift.
A grandparent's thumbs splitting an orange into segments for youCrop to the hands and the fruit, one segment already held out. The time it takes is the gift.
A grown-up fixing your bike chain, the bike upside down on its saddleWheels in the air and two greasy hands at the chain. Draw the smudge on their sleeve.
A teacher's desk at the end of the day, a stack of papers still to gradeDraw the desk with nobody at it and a cold cup of coffee. The pile is thirty kids' worth of reading.
A teacher's pen writing good thinking in a marginDraw the corner of a worksheet, the pen tip and the two words. Slant the writing like a real note.
An older sibling's hand-me-down jacket, their name crossed out and yours written inDraw the jacket flat with the collar label showing both names. Worn soft is worth a thank-you.
The bus driver's hands on the big wheel at seven in the morningDraw from the first seat: the wheel, two hands and the road through the glass. Same route every day.
The cook at the big pot, seen from your heightPut the pot rim at eye level, steam above and a spoon mid-stir. You see the apron and the elbows.
The family car in the pickup line in the rain, wipers goingDraw the windshield from outside with a blur of a face behind it. Somebody left work to be there.
The hands that pack your lunch, on the counter at six in the morningCrop to the hands, the bread and the open bag. Add the clock so the hour is part of the thanks.
Whoever does your hair in the morning: a comb, three clips and patient handsDraw it from behind your own head. The hands are the subject, so leave the faces out.
Small things 12
A bandage with stars on a scraped kneeDraw the knee as a simple bend and the bandage square across it. Somebody stopped and put it on.
A bowl of cereal on a slow Saturday morningDraw it from above: bowl, spoon and a comic beside it. No clock anywhere in the picture.
A coin found in the pocket of last winter's coatDraw the pocket as a slanted slit, two fingers and the coin halfway out. Luck you paid for yourself.
A favorite T-shirt, faded soft, with a hole at the hemDraw it flat, sleeves out, the print half worn away. The wear is the reason it is the favorite.
A flashlight and a book under the coversDraw a hill of blanket with one glowing patch. The light shows the shape of the reader.
A good stick found on a walkDraw it corner to corner with every knot. Say what it was that day: a sword, a wand, a cane.
A puddle exactly as deep as your rain boots are tallDraw the boots side on with the water one finger below the rim. Dry feet are the thing to be glad of.
A towel straight out of the dryerDraw it as a rounded heap with wavy heat lines rising. Two arms hugging it tell the rest.
An ice pop on the first hot day, one drip running down the stickDraw it upright and a little melted at the corners. The drip and a sticky thumb set the weather.
The cool side of the pillowDraw a pillow with one corner flipped and a small blue shadow under it. A label can do the talking.
The corner piece of the brownie pan, lifted out firstDraw the pan from above with one square gone. Three crumbs mark where it sat.
The last page of a book you did not want to endDraw the book nearly shut with one page standing. Letter THE END small at the bottom.
Places and senses 12
A hill made for rolling downOne long slope, a stripe of flattened grass and a kid mid-roll as a blur of arms.
A new box of crayons with the lid just liftedDraw a row of sharp tips, all the same height. That only happens once per box.
The first cold drink of water after runningA tipped bottle, a chin and three drops flying. Red cheeks show how much it was wanted.
The house before anyone else is awakeDraw the hallway in gray-blue with one stripe of light under a door. The quiet is the empty floor.
The kitchen at the hour it smells bestDraw the stove from the doorway, lids rattling. Curl the smell out of the frame toward the viewer.
The park bench with the best view in your townDraw the bench from behind so the view fills the sheet. Whoever sits there gets all of it.
The smell of rain, drawn as a pictureDraw the first dark dots on a dry sidewalk and wavy lines rising off it. No cloud is needed.
The soft ear of a dog between two fingersCrop close: an ear, a thumb, a finger. Short strokes all going one way make it feel soft.
The sound of rain on the roof, drawn from under the coversGive most of the sheet to the ceiling and fill it with short tapping marks. You are warm and it is not.
The tree you climb, and the branch that is the best seatDraw the whole tree, then mark your branch with a darker line. A dangling shoe shows the height.
The window seat on a long drive, the view going by in streaksDraw the window frame and a cheek against the glass. Outside is only bands of color.
Your own corner of a room and everything in itDraw the two walls meeting and put each thing where it really is. Yours means nobody tidied it.
Thank-you lettering 12
A bookmark with thank you running down it and a tassel at the topRule a tall narrow strip and letter one word above the other. Hand it over inside a book.
A door hanger for someone's bedroom door that begins thank you forDraw the long tag with its round cutout. Finish the sentence under the words in your own writing.
A gift tag with thanks lettered around the holeDraw the tag with clipped corners and a loop of string. The letters bend to follow the hole.
A string of pennants spelling THANK YOU, one letter on each flagDraw the string as a shallow curve. Hang a triangle for each letter and leave one blank for the space.
An acrostic of THANKFUL down the left edge, a thing for each letterMake the eight capitals tall and color them in. The words beside them can be ordinary size.
The back of a postcard: a stamp square, address lines and three words of thanksRule the center line and the address lines first. The three words go large on the left half.
Thank you in one unbroken cursive line that ends in a small heartPractice it in the air first. Keep the pen down from the T to the heart.
Thank you spelled in fridge magnets, the Y borrowed from another wordChunky letters in mixed colors, a little crooked. Leave the other word with a hole in it.
THANKS in thick marker with a drop shadowLetter the word, then copy every stroke a little down and to the right in gray.
The word THANKS across the whole sheet, a tiny drawing perched on each letterBlock capitals with flat tops give the drawings somewhere to sit: a cat on the T, a cup on the H.
The words for thank you in every language your classmates know, stacked in linesAsk each person to write theirs, then copy the shapes with care. Stack the lines like a poem.
The words thank you written small until they fill the shape of a leafPencil the leaf outline lightly, fill it with lines of tiny writing, then erase the outline.
How it works
These gratitude drawing ideas start with the projects that hold a whole list: a jar of folded slips, a thankful tree, a paper chain. After them come people, small things, places and senses, and thank-you lettering.
Read the full guide
Gratitude projects for a class or a family
Each project is a container, so decide who fills it. A jar or a paper chain suits a family adding one piece a day. A paper trunk with a note on every leaf suits a class in one afternoon. The grid of thirty boxes is for one person and one month.
What to draw when nothing comes to mind
Go small and close. The People group is hands doing a job for you. Small things are objects you could hold. Places and senses are a smell, a sound or a quiet hour, drawn as a scene.
Letter who it is for in a corner. The words for my bus driver say more than the word thankful.
Questions and answers
What can I draw to show gratitude?
Draw one exact thing you are glad of: the hands that pack your lunch, a flashlight and a book under the covers, the tree you climb. A small true thing reads better than a big word.
What is an easy gratitude drawing?
A good stick found on a walk, the cool side of the pillow, or THANKS in thick marker with a drop shadow. The Easy group holds the rest of the simple ones.
How do you draw a gratitude tree?
Cut or draw a bare trunk with branches and tape it to a wall. Each person writes one thing on a paper leaf, signs it and sticks it on a branch. Leaves in fall colors fill the tree out.
How do you draw a gratitude jar?
Draw a tall clear jar with a slot cut in its lid. Fill it halfway with folded paper slips and let a few words show on two of them.