Character First - A Character Training Curriculum {Review}

I am always trying to instill good character values in my children.  I firmly believe that it is up to parents to teach and train our children, the results of course are up to the Lord. 

 

In saying that, I am always on the look out for books, videos and curriculum to help us along the way.   I was very excited when I came across a little gem called Character First!

 

Character First is a wonderful user friendly character training curriculum that can be used in a classroom or family setting.  The curriculum is divided into a 4 part series covering 36 character traits.  Here is the break down of what character traits are covered in each series:

 

Series 1: Attentiveness, Obedience, Truthfulness, Gratefulness, Generosity, Orderliness, Forgiveness, Sincerity, Virtue

Series 2: Responsibility, Patience, Initiative, Self-Control, Punctuality, Resourcefulness, Tolerance, Creativity, Discretion

Series 3: Diligence, Loyalty, Hospitality, Sensitivity, Enthusiasm, Flexibility, Discernment, Cautiousness, Boldness

Series 4: Dependability, Thoroughness, Determination, Thriftiness, Availability, Deference, Compassion, Persuasiveness, Wisdom

 

We were blessed with the Series 1 elementary materials from Character First, which included:

 

The Series 1 Elementary Teacher's Guide - 3 ring binder with lesson plans, coloring sheets, historical and nature stories, crafts, songs and memory work for each of the 9 character traits in this series.  This is the meat and potatoes of the curriculum. 
 
 

 
Character Cards - These 9 little cards, the size of a baseball card, have been great for us.  They fit right into our memory box for daily review of the trait we are currently working on, as well as the the ones we have previously done.
 
 

 
Student Guide Collection - We received the elementary guides for each of the traits in Series 1.  These are individual guides for the kids that include stories and activities.  The kids can write in them, color the nature picture and keep them in their own notebooks.  I was glad that these were included.  My kids enjoy these and are always excited to get a new.
 

 

Nature Mini Posters - These are 8.5"x11"mini posters.  There is a set for each series, each one contains of the 9 character traits.  Each mini poster corresponds with the nature lesson.  There is a beautiful picture of the animal and character trait on the front and the nature story on the back.  I laminated each of these because the are so nice.  I hang them up as we work through them.
 
 

 

Classroom Demonstration DVD - These DVDs help to teach kids the songs, memory work, hand motions and nature stories from each character trait.  There is a 5 DVD set to go along with each series.  This is an essential part of the program, in my opinion.  My kids really get a lot out of these videos, it helps to cement what we are learning from the teacher's guide. They LOVE to do the memory work, hand motions and sing the songs in the DVD lessons.  (Mama likes the teacher tips!)
 

Let me take you through one of the character traits. When studying Truthfulness the teacher guide explains the definition, an illustration, ideas for application and about how to praise kids for being truthful. 

 

You are given the I Wills of Truthfulness.  I will:

• tell the truth.
• encourage others to tell the truth.
• not cheat or steal.
• admit it when I am wrong.
• not exaggerate to make things seem different than what they are.

 

Next we read about lions. We learned that lions are truthful about how they feel, and show it with their mouth, tail and posture. Then we read two stories about a boy in Africa that wanted to prove his courage by killing a lion, one was true and one was false. We had to figure out which was which was which. Then we read about Abe Lincoln, now we know why he is called Honest Abe.  

 

Some of the other activities included in the truthfulness unit are:

 

• Truthfulness Mural craft that illustrate the five I Wills
• Definition Scramble
• If You're Truthful and You Know It... Song
• Truthfulness crossword puzzle
• Geese Fly game
• Memory Work poem,
• Truthful Lion craft
• Notes of Truth Project
• The Pocket Watch Story & Craft
• Pass It On game
• Lion picture to color

 

Then watched the DVD and used the mini posters and character cards for further reinforcement of Truthfulness.

 

 

The Pros: 

I really love this curriculum, they are like mini unit studies! I think what makes this curriculum great is that there are several activities for each character trait.  There is repetition, yet there is variety.  Certain things you go over and over, like the memory work and the hand motions, but there are other things that add variety.  The games, videos, stories, crafts and coloring keep the children interested and having fun all while building character. 

 

I feel that the teachers guide is very simple, straight forward and easy to implement.  I have had no problems or concerns with this curriculum. 

 

Character First is a great tool to build character for families.  Our children range in age from 4-12 and while we only reviewed the elementary series, I felt it was a good fit for everyone.  I will also keep in mind that they do offer the student guides for older kids. 

 

The nature and history stories are captivating.  The kids and I have enjoyed every single one that we have read so far.  

 

The Cons:

This is really not a con, more of a suggestion.  I do wish that CF incorporated Bible stories and scripture into the curriculum.  An add on booklet with scripture suggestions to go with each character trait would be an awesome addition to the program.  I have added in some scripture myself, which no big deal. 

UPDATE:  When I inquired about this, they pointed me to some resources for biblical content that related to the character qualities. Yay!   

Conclusion:

I highly recommend Character First.  I plan on continuing to use Character First with my children, hopefully through the whole series.  It is a great addition to our studies, and I can see the fruit from using it. 

 

 

We received the above mentioned Character First materials at no charge to us in exchange for a fair and honest review. 

Grace & Truth Books -With the Children on Sundays {Review}

We were recently given a copy of With the Children on Sundays by Sylvanus Stall from Grace & Truth Books to review.  Written in 1893, With the Children on Sundays is known as one of the greatest Family Worship books ever written.  This book is full of wonderful stories that speak biblical truths to children in a way that captivates them, while sharing the truths of the gospel and of Christ.   It is great for all ages, but particularly good for children ages 4-10.

There are 52 stories in With the Children on Sundays, some of them include:

• Oyster and Crab- Conscience
• Worm in the Apple - Sin in the Human Heart
• Nuts - God Means that We Must Work
• The Polished Stone - Perfection Through Suffering
• Lanterns - The Best Light for Our Path
• White and Charred Sticks - Good and Bad Company

The children and I are enjoying reading through this book together. The stories are interesting, as well as thought provoking.  We have also delighted the simple illustrations that are speckled through out the book, as well as the discussion questions at the end of each story.  They have really opened doors to some wonderful conversations. 

One of the things that I love about homeschooling is that I have the privilege of picking and choosing what my children read. Whenever I can, I try to incorporate good books that offer character building stories and biblical truths. This is one of those books.  It is a rare gem that we will continue to use over and over!

With the Children on Sundays has been out of print many years and is not being printed by anyone at this time.  Currently, there are only a limited number of copies of it available. You can purchase your copy from Grace & Truth Books for $17.50

 

Other members of the TOS Crew reviewed this book and many others from Grace & Truth.  Check the reviews out here! 

We Choose Virtues {Character Training}

One of our FAVORITE things that we have EVER reviewed is We Choose Virtues! This is the second time we have reviewed for them. The first time, we reviewed the Virtue Clue Cards and The Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book.
This time around we received the Parenting Cards {faith based}, which are AWESOME! My kids were so excited to be hanging out with the Kids of VirtueVille again! They enjoy the fun characters and really do try to emulate them - which is totally the point!

We Choose Virtues is a tool for Parents, Homeschoolers and Teachers to use to teach character traits to children. The genius of We Choose Virtues are the catch phrases!

The Virtue: Each Virtue is preceded by the words “I am.” Not “I hope to be” or “I wish I was”. “I am” creates positive momentum and a sense of personal ownership. “I am Content” for example.

The Catchphrase: More than just a definition, the catchphrases are positive, practical and precise action statements that form the core of this system. Use them throughout the day to reinforce right attitudes and actions. “I am Content. I have my ‘Wanter’ under control”.

The Antonyms: The antonyms are a glimpse into the person they no longer want to be. These explain the negative form of the Virtue by using the phrases “I am not” and “I don’t”. “I am Content. I have my ‘Wanter’ under control. I am not bored, greedy or always wanting more and I don’t beg or whine!”

The VirtueVille Kids are cute, colorful and great role models. Their catchy names help the children to remember them and their character quality. Even my 3 year remembers their names and character qualities that they promote.

Meet the Virtueville Kids and the virtues they teach:

• Airplane Betty Jane - Attentive
• Piggy Bank Frank - Patience
• Feather Heather - Forgiving
• Cake Jake - Content
• Kettle Gretel - Kind
• Gerbil & Jill - Gentle
• Duck & Chuck - Diligent
• Hat Mat - Helpful
• Stop Sign Madeline - Self Control
• Oboe Joe - Obedient
• Hockey Stick Nick - Honest
• Penny Jenny - Perseverance

The Parenting Cards have been a wonderful addition to our day. Each day we pick a new VirtueVille Kid to talk about and be like, we alternate boy and then girl. I introduce each of the Kids, we read the corresponding scripture verse and the story about each kid.

We really enjoyed the Virtue Clue Cards {very much},but I am really glad that we have the Parenting Cards too. The Virtue Clue Cards are small, like a business card - great for keeping in our memory box to go over daily along with our memory verses. The Parenting Cards, which I laminated, are larger and allow for more information. The larger cards have the story of how/why each VirtueVille Kid got their name, teachable moments that give ideas to incorporate the current character quality, a Virtue Challenge and more! I think that the Parenting Cards and the Virtue Clue Cards work very well together.

We Choose Virtues Family Kit

My kids informed me yesterday that they want to go back over each child, again! They asked if when doing Stop Sign Madeline they could play Red Light, Green Light and have a tea party when we get back to Kettle Gretel. And of course, they want to bake a cake with Cake Jake!!

Now that we have them hanging up, we are going to just continue focusing on one VirtueVille Kid and character trait per week!

I would absolutely recommend We Choose Virtues! The prices are reasonable and their products are definitely worthy. There are several products to choose from:

• Homeschool Kit - Faith Based - $98.99
• Family Kit - Faith Based - $69.99
• Parenting Cards - $34.99
• VirtueVille Clue Cards - $5.95
• Virtue Flash Cards - $15.99 - this looks really cool, the kids can play games with these!

May is free Shipping Month at WCV, so you better hurry!  You can also join the WCV Facebook Page to keep current on new products and promo codes.

What does your family do for Character Training?

Disclaimer: I received this product, at no cost to me, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are mine. Also note that I am an affiliate for We Choose Virtues and there are affiliate links in this post : )

TOS Review: We Choose Virtues

When asked if we would like to review for We Choose Virtues I believe "Pleeeeeze pick us!" was my response. 

I have wanted SO very badly wanted to incorporate character training into our daily routine but hadn't really figured out how I wanted to do that with out revamping everything else in our schedule.  After checking out the We Choose Virtues website, I knew this was something my kids would like and be pretty simple to implement, both a plus in my book! 

We Choose Virtues is a character training program geared for children ages 3-11.  The We Choose Virtues products can be used a in a Family, Homeschool, Classroom or Church setting.

We received the Virtue Clue Cards, the Kids of Virtueville Coloring Book, and the Teacher's Handbook. 

The way that we used the Virtue Clue Cards was that every other day we would choose a new child from Virtueville to learn about, act like and picture we would color.  We generally would alternate boy then girl.  My kids {and I do mean ALL of them, even the 11 year old} really looked forward to this part of our day.  I would allow the children to take turns introducing the new Virtueville Kids, they get so excited about doing this that sometimes they would fuss with each other.  The fussing shows two things, one how much they love We Choose Virtues and two how much we need to be learning virtues of the Bible.  : )  After going over the new card we would go back over the previous ones that we had already learned.

Each of the of the 12 virtues has a different Virtueville Kid character that represents it, and each of the Virtueville Kids has something with them.  For instance there is Cake Jake, who helps us to remember to be content.  He has a cake sitting in front of him with only one piece missing, this helped my children to see that Cake Jake was content with just one piece, he was not being greedy.

The Cake Jake Virtue Clue Card says...
I am Content.  I have my "wanter" under control.  I am NOT bored, greedy, or always wanting more and I do not beg or whine. 

The back side of the clue card encourages the children to go the whole day and not whine or complain and adds that Cake Jake knows you can do it.

Now that we have gone through all of the Virtue Clue Cards {and my kids are TOTALLY HOOKED} we are going to start over, this time going more slowly and work on one Virtue/Virtueville Kid per week.  We are going to do the memory verses that go along with each virtue, get more into the teacher's handbook and also add in some read alouds/stories that go along with the virtue we are studying.

Meet the Virtueville Kids and the virtues they teach:

• Airplane Betty Jane - Attentive
• Piggy Bank Frank - Patience
• Feather Heather - Forgiving
• Cake Jake - Content
• Kettle Gretel - Kind
• Gerbil & Jill - Gentle
• Duck & Chuck - Diligent
• Hat Mat - Helpful
• Stop Sign Madeline - Self Control
• Oboe Joe - Obedient
• Hockey Stick Nick - Honest
• Penny Jenny - Perseverance

Are they working?  Well, my kids are not perfect but I think I can honestly say that they learned from We Choose Virtues.  I think that they relate well with the characters and want to imitate them.  Just the other day Little Bits, my 3 year old, told his 5 year old brother in a very LOUD but calm voice that "Stop Sign Madeline says to STOP!!"  His older brother was harassing him a bit.  I was in the next room when I heard this, I had to try my hardest to keep a straight face when I went into the playroom to talk to them.

Just this afternoon my 5 year old son was helping me to get our bread maker going and make some pumpkin bread.  I said "you know, you remind me of someone."  He of course asks me who?  I say "you know that boy that wears the chef hat and helps out a lot."  He immediately smiled and ran to get the Hat Matt card to remind me of the boys name.  I already knew the name but I just wanted to see if he would get what I was saying and he did : )

Did I mention how much they liked to color the pictures!  That was a huge highlight for them.

We Choose Virtues has a wide variety of products to choose from.  You could get the whole kit and caboodle if you buy the Homeschool or Family Kit  which range in price from $69.99 - $99.99.  You could keep it simple with the Virtue Clue Cards, available for $5.99.   Whichever product you choose make sure you pair it with the Virtueville Kids Coloring book, available via download for $3.00.   You may also want to check out their CLEARANCE section, they are currently cuts prices on several of their products.

No matter which We Choose Virtue products you choose I am sure that you will not be disappointed, and neither will your children. 

When placing your order be sure to use one of the following PROMO CODES:

• VIRTUE15 for 15 % Off Shopping Cart 
• SHIPFREE for Free Worldwide Shipping

Please take a peek at what others on the TOS Crew are saying about We Choose Virtues!

Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

{UPDATE - We loved We Choose Virtues soo- much that I becomae an affilate with them.  We also did another review, this time of the Faith Based Parenting Card.  You can check that review out here.}

As a reviewer for the TOS Crew, we received free products from We Choose Virtues for review purposes only.  We were not paid in any way and the opinions expresed here are my own.