My November 2020 Friend arrived last week – it’s always one of my favorite days of the month! I was browsing the pages and came across the song Thankful by Shawna Edwards. I sat down and played it (okay, who am I kidding – more like plunked – it but I’m trying!) on the piano and fell in love!
It has a sweet melody with a simple message about counting your blessings – quite literally! You can find Thankful on the church’s website HERE. Download the music HERE (although the last stanza is cut off – I’ve left feedback on the church’s website to inform them). The music is also available in my Resource Library in the meantime – see details below for accessing it).
If you are looking for a great way to share a thankful message with your primary this month, I might suggest using this song! There’s a video posted on the church’s website HERE.
Or it’s also on Shawna Edwards’s YouTube channel here with. It’s darling!
Teach Thankful
If you want to teach Shawna Edwards’s Thankful to your primary, it might be fun to assign a few children a number and have them draw what their number talks about in the song:
One for each blessed day.
Two, every breath I take.
Three for my family.
Four, all they mean to me.
Five, just to be alive.
Six for the earth and sky.
And seven for heaven,
Eight for the chance to grow;
Nine, heart and hands and soul.
Ten for the eyes to see All God has given me.
Let them listen to the song as they draw. Then go through each picture as you sing each line. For more repetition, have children remove pages as they tell something else they are thankful for that’s not listed in the song.
UPDATE: Heather shared a WONDERFUL document HERE (also available in my Resource Library) to have the kids color as they listen to the song. She also said she’s challenging her primary to listen to the song for 10 days before Thanksgiving and to color one picture each day as they listen. Thank you Heather!!
Also, Shawn Edwards has ideas for teaching Thankful on her website HERE.
Also, also, check out these clever hand actions HERE
I absolutely LOVE incorporating anything I can find in the Friend into singing time!! You can see more of what I’ve used from the Friend HERE if you like!
These printables are filed on my Resource Library page under Song Title > Thankful.
7 thoughts on “Thankful by Shawna Edwards from The Friend”
The printable numbers are awesome! Thanks so much!
I know, right? My thoughts exactly!!
~Camille
The song is missing some final notes. Can you repost the music again?
Hi April!
You’re right! The music to download on the church’s website doesn’t include the final stanza in the music. I’m not sure how to correct that on their end. Maybe send them a comment on their website. If you go to the first link that has the full page and lyrics below it, the music is all there but I’m not sure how to get that into print format. I’ve put in feedback on the church’s website but that may be a long shot. I’ll see if I can play around with the image and get a good printout for the music. Thanks for the heads up!
~Camille
Hi April!
I added a printout of the correct music to my Resource Library. I hope that helps.
~Camille
Hi Camille –
I am trying to print the music and it’s not working from the church website. When I went to your Resource Library there’s no link to print it. I plan to work on it this Sunday. Any ideas how to print it?
Thanks!
Emily
Hi Emily!
My link wasn’t active in my Resource Library but I’ve corrected it. I’ll also email you the link. Thanks for letting me know!
~Camille