We Choose Virtues {A Schoolhouse Review}

Character education is an important part of disciplining our children, whether we homeschool or send them out to school. For our family, it’s been something that tended to get put on the back burner (since we were already doing devotions!) and I didn’t need one more thing to do, but I found We Choose Virtues to be a simple, fun and inspiring way to instill virtues in our kids.
The Parenting Cards introduce and demonstrate the 12 virtues which are:
- diligence
- helpfulness
- perseverance
- gentleness
- contentment
- attentiveness
- honesty
- kindness
- self-control
- patience
- obedience
- forgiveness
The fronts are full color with delightful, engaging illustrations of the Kids of Virtueville. They include the virtue, words for teaching and a Bible verse. They are also available in Spanish. The cards are 8.5″x 5.5″. Versions are available in KJV and NIrV. The KJV offers only Old Testament verses. It was created for Jewish customers who only teach their children from the Old Testament. Both sets of verses include the same set of 12 virtues and all other content is identical. The age range for this product is from 3-11.
The back of the card helps you teach your children what to say after “I’m sorry”, a Virtue User Challenge and ideas for teachable moments with your family. It also introduces the Kids of VirtueVille. The cards are very easy to present and can be done in only 10 minutes a day.
We also received access to the supplemental materials which included the Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Book (a coloring page for each Kid and virtue), a Family Character Assessment (a form for family members to examine themselves, see where they are and what areas need improvement) a 50-page Teacher’s Handbook, and Butterfly Awards for Kids.
How We Used We Choose Virtues
My 13-year-old son has Down Syndrome, as well as ADHD and Oppositional Defiance Disorder. We work with a behaviorist but I’m always looking for ways to introduce biblical character qualities to him. For our family, I found it best to put the character cards on the refrigerator, one at a time. It can be hard to get him to sit down and focus on seatwork, but by having the card on the refrigerator, it provides teachable moments (since he’s at the refrigerator frequently!) throughout the day. It also gives me the opportunity to prompt him with the vocabulary on the card and pray the scripture for him.
Some of the vocabulary is a little over his head. The most appropriate ones for him to start with were Obedience, Content, Patient, and Self Control. I appreciate the simple language on the front of the card; it’s easy language to use with him which is what he needs. I also liked “What to Say After I’m Sorry”. For a long time I’ve struggled with him apologizing and not being sure if he really meant it or not! Now I have some language that I can use to help prompt him to think about his actions and what he’s really sorry for. I also found the four simple principles in the Teacher’s Manual to be helpful: (1) to expect excellence, (2) to explain with enthusiasm, (3) to emphasize every day and (4) examine every day.
Disciplining a child with special needs can be hard and it’s easy to fall into negative discipline and impatience. We Choose Virtues enables me to speak “Words of Hope” to him. I know he wants to be helpful and to please us; and I also know that God’s Word does not return void. It will produce results and by having the cards in front of me to refer to, I know I’ll remember to pray these virtues for my son.
Shop for your own set of Parenting Cards for $38.49. We Choose Virtues is offering some specials over the summer; just enter the following coupon codes in your order:
MAY-JUNE: *Promo Code BIG50 for 50% off our amazing set of 12 11×17 Kids of VirtueVille Posters! This is the first time we have ever offered these posters at this price. They are great for school classrooms, Kids Church, or your homeschool room. Kids love them for their bedrooms, bathrooms and kids’ hallways.
JUNE-AUGUST: *Promo Code BTS20 for 20% off anything in our WCV Store. This includes any kit. Let’s start School with Virtues this year!
*Only one promo code per order
Here are the social media links for We Choose Virtues:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/WeChooseVirtues/
Blog – http://www.wechoosevirtuesblog.com/