Monday, July 18, 2011

Purposefully Teaching Virtues

I'm a big fan of the Duggars - not because they are from AR or because they are famous. As a matter of fact, I initially thought they were nuts. However, after watching the show and having the chance to cross paths and be a "friend for a season" with them, I am in awe and in a good way. I have read both books and have been convicted of several things. One is that I need to be more deliberate about discipleing my children in Godly character and virtues. Yelling at them to obey when I have hit the end of my rope has not led to long term change; imagine that. Any success I have had in teaching character has been mostly accidental. Just because my child can recite Bible verses doesn't mean that he is always acting as he should (for that matter, neither do I but that's another confession). I looked up many of the resources listed in the Duggar's book and while they work beautifully for their family, I just wasn't "feeling it".
In that wonderful, mysterious way that God works, I saw an little ad on Facebook one day for "We Choose Virtues" and fell in love. This creator had essentially brought virtues and character into a modern era. Each virtue is Biblical and clearly defined. The graphics are charming without being cheesy. That's when it dawned on me - I was expecting my son to learn what these virtues are by osmosis when what I should be doing first is defining them clearly and then correcting behavior. Well, duh! I should know better...(yes, I do have a teaching degree; why do you ask?)
Anyway, I kept visiting the web site and I just could not shake the "I should buy this" voice. So I did. After all, these are the real lessons of life. Math and science are great but Godly character is priceless and has eternal value!   I'm so happy to have found something affordable and appealing and Biblical to help bridge the gap from knowledge to application. I'll blog later on how this will be worked into our school day and life in general here at Chez Loften.
Visit the site. Fan "We Choose Virtues" on FB. Read their story. Pass the word on. When you're ready to buy, use the code "AMY" at checkout for an $8 discount on the flashcards. You'll be glad you did! I'm looking forward to a generation that will turn it's face to God and model virtues for the next one.

2 comments:

  1. Would love to hear if you are still using these and what you think about them!

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  2. Follow up note: I am still using these and we really love them. My business has taken off this season so I've been negligent in blogging but hope to get back to it very soon.

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