I have learned over the years of homeschooling, that occasionally there is a temptation to try and prioritize your home school based on traditional school core subjects. We can worry so much about whether the traditional core subjects are covered sufficiently, regardless of their real value to our child, that we neglect investing the time in what is really most important. We spend a lot of time, trying to get our children ready for the life God intends for them, by making sure they can correctly apply the Pythagorean Theorem and understand the function of choanocytes in a sponge. At the end of the day, I ask myself if we have spent enough time learning about our foundational beliefs and how they should play out in real life.
What if virtue was a core subject in all schools and more importantly, in all homes? Do you think the world may be a different place? Just wondering….
Here’s a quote I found on the “We Choose Virtues” website:
“It has been said that character is not one more thing to add to your plate, character IS the plate.”
This product was a surprise! When given the opportunity to choose, I didn’t think this would be a good fit for us. It is designed for younger kids, and both my kids are teenagers…
But we were pleasantly surprised!
We received a 56-page teacher manual, full of ideas and activities to incorporate Character training into our daily routine. This manual is based on 4 Simple Steps for teaching virtues: Expect Excellence, Explain with Enthusiasm, Emphasize Everyday, and Examine Everything.
We were also given several available tools to use for focusing on virtues, which can be purchased either as a complete kit or as individual items. There are posters, flashcards, coloring sheets, achievement awards, etc.
Our favorite tool was the flashcards. We started by reviewing all of them while going through the Family Character Assessment forms. We had some fun…and a few laughs as we discovered our less than favorable traits, that’s right even the adults! We all need to work on something, right? Let’s face it…some of the cards just nailed it! Like this one….
The program focuses on 12 main virtues…Attentiveness, Contentedness, Diligence, Forgiveness, Gentleness, Helpfulness, Honesty, Kindness, Obedience, Patience, Perseverance, and Self-Control.
For each one of us, one thing rang true…there are some virtues that seem to come naturally to us and others that we will undoubtedly spend a lifetime working on.
I’m sure that with just 15 minutes each day focused on developing these great virtues, our children will become better students, better employees, better friends and someday better spouses and parents.
We Choose Virtues is available in NIV Version, KJ Version, and secular version. So there is a fit for everyone. (The verses on the flashcards we were given, were written in NIrV, which is an easier reading NIV for children.)
Ages: early childhood through elementary
(There is a product currently being developed for teens :-))
As of this writing, the current pricing is as follows:
$30 for one child kit,
$70 for a family kit….up to
$245 for a deluxe classroom kit. Please visit We Choose Virtues for full information.
We Choose Virtues has generously offered a coupon code just for you! Just enter VIRTUE15 at checkout for a 15% discount. If you are purchasing the Homeschool Kit, enter HOME20 for a 20% discount on the kit. Offer expires April 30, 2013.
Don’t forget to check out the We Choose Virtues Blog for more tools and ideas for training in virtue.
Other members of the Mosaic Reviews team were given the opportunity to review this product. For more opinions on this product, please head over to the Mosaic Reviews website by clicking the icon.
Disclaimer: Members of the Mosaic Review team were given this product free of charge in exchange for our honest review. No other compensation of anykind has been received.
Mindful Ramblings 