Gratitude Meditation Script: The Thankful Turtle
This guided gratitude meditation script is all about thankfulness. Gratitude is an essential quality to instill in our children. People who are grateful tend to be happier and live more mindful lives. Plus they’re more fun to be around because they’re always looking for something to be thankful for!
Introducing the concept of gratitude at an early age is one of those gifts that has lifelong benefits. When we look for things to be grateful for, we spend our days focusing on the positive.
Essentially, we are looking for ways to be delighted rather than ways to be annoyed, offended, or disappointed. This meditation can help your child be more mindful of happy or fun things that happen during their days.
Naming three things you were thankful for today is a powerful way to fall asleep! Try keeping a gratitude journal near your child’s bed and help them write in it every night.
How to Lead a Meditation Session
Leading a meditation or relaxation session is easy, especially when you use one of these guided meditation scripts for kids.
Make sure your child is relaxed and in a comfortable position. Read this script in a relaxed voice, with joyful emphasis when needed. The more you use these scripts, the more easily your child will be able to relax and concentrate.
Read this gratitude meditation script aloud to your child via the text below. Or you can get the PDF version of this and 50+ other scripts by entering your email address below.
Another great option is to play this video. That way you can sit and think about what you’re grateful for along with your child.
This guided meditation for gratitude script is copyrighted by ShambalaKids and may only be used for in-person or live virtual reading. It may not be recorded for audio/video.
Gratitude Meditation: The Thankful Turtle
Let’s take a moment and simply feel happy and thankful before we drift off to sleep. Noticing what we appreciate makes our hearts feel so very full. It also gives us deep peace and joy!
So, get comfortable, and when you’re ready, close your eyes.
Let your body sink into your bed. Allow yourself to just relax naturally. Take in a few deep breaths and exhale slowly, as you begin to relax your body fully.
Imagine an extremely cute and cuddly little cartoon turtle. He’s not a real, of course – but you can see him very clearly in your mind. He can stand on his back legs and he has little turtle flippers, big eyes, a funny nose and a sweet smile.
You see a twinkle in his eye!
This is the Thankful Turtle. Isn’t he adorable?
He is here to remind us of all the things we have to be thankful for, even when our days are sometimes rough.
Can you think of something you were thankful for today?
— Pause to let your child name something. —
Yes, that’s great! What else can we be thankful for?
The little happy turtle reminds you that you woke up to a beautiful day of life – a life that holds adventure and many surprises. You think to yourself how very thankful you are that you simply woke up and had the opportunity to experience the day.
You also learned things today… maybe your day was wonderful. Maybe it was difficult. But either way, you know more today than you did yesterday.
The Thankful Turtle reminds you that you can be grateful for all life’s lessons – great and small. For that, he does a little happy dance and you feel happiness and appreciation dance into your own heart.
He has the simplest mantra. A mantra is something you repeat to help you feel good or to remind you of something positive. The mantra he shares is, “Thank you!”
Thankful Turtle looks at you with a gleam in his eyes now and smiles as he looks up at your strong body. You’re reminded that your body has moved and served you all day.
Your body is truly a miracle! You imagine your hands and feet and how active they’re been today in doing all you’ve done.
It’s so wonderful to experience all the things you’ve experienced today and the places you’ve been. Even if you’ve stayed home today, you have still traveled many places in your imagination, right?
You’re thankful for this!
Thankful Turtle does another little happy dance and that makes you giggle. He reminds you of all there is to be grateful for in life… big things and small things.
Thankful Turtle reminds you about your family and friends who care deeply for you. These people love you just because you are you! You feel so good in your heart knowing that you are loved and cared for.
Anytime you feel really happy or content with life, you can say his mantra either out loud or just in your own mind: Thank you.
So when you get extra recess time at school or your parents make your favorite dessert, take a moment to really experience that feeling of gratitude. The best part about when we are thankful is that it tells the universe we appreciate this moment and we would like more experience just like this.
Life is so much better when we take time to be grateful for all we have and all we experience.
When you’re ready, you can open your eyes and give your body a big stretch. Or let yourself drift off to restful sleep.
More Meditation Scripts for Kids
We receive emails every week from the thousands of parents, teachers, and counselors who use these meditations with their children and students. Here are a few others your child might enjoy:
Understanding & Releasing Anger
Figure 8 Breathing Meditation
Meditation for Grief and Loss
The Peaceful Butterfly
The Mindfulness Cabin (includes an adorable free printable)
Guided Imagery: Secret Garden
You can also access our full library of 50+ guided meditation scripts plus downloadable PDFs when you subscribe below.
What is gratitude meditation?
Gratitude meditation is a simple practice of being mindful about what we’re thankful for. And being conscious of good things in our lives begets more experiences to be thankful for. When we teach it to our children, we can’t help but be more aware of it ourselves.
How do you practice gratitude?
Start a daily or nightly gratitude journal. Each day, write down 3 to 5 things you were thankful for that day. Once you’ve covered all the big things like your family, friends, shelter, and your health… you’ll start paying attention for new things every day.
Pretty soon you’ll notice yourself spending more time looking for things to be grateful for – and you might spend less time noticing things that annoy you. The same goes for kids.
