We Choose Virtues Review

 We Choose Virtues is actually a very favorite company of mine.  I've been slowly acquiring products from We Choose Virtues for a couple of years.  We have the Kids Virtue Poster, Virtue Flashcards, a few of their free offerings (Memory Verses, Bible Heroes and Truths sheet, and Family Character Assessment), and a few other odds and ends.  For character education, you can't beat We Choose Virtues.  I was happy to add the Parenting Cards and the We Choose Virtues Download Bundle to the collection.

Heather McMillan created We Choose Virtues as a way to train the hearts and minds of children in her preschool class and church.  She learned from other teacher friends how difficult it was to maintain order in a classroom where students couldn't follow simple behavioral instructions.  Heather didn't just want students to follow instructions in the moment, but to have true growth and change in their hearts.  She originally created the virtues and catchphrases for use with her own children and the students she taught.

Pete and Linda Sutton are the creators of the illustrations for VirtueVille.  I love the colorful products and the whimsical illustrations!

Parenting Cards (KJV)   $38.49. 8.5x 5.5"
The KJV version utilizes only old testament verses.  The cards are also available in NIRV and even the Spanish language.  Thirteen high quality, double-sided cards are included.  The cover card explains the icons of VirtueVille; the caterpillar, butterfly, and magnifying glass and offers some demonstration ideas for introducing virtues.  Each virtue card practically shouts "I am..." for each virtue.  A character is introduced, a catchphrase, antonyms, and a Bible verse.

The back of the cards issue a challenge to the whole family, a sample apology, along with a short back story for the character and a chance to think about the application of the virtue.

The cards arrived.  Coloring ensued.

We Choose Virtues download bundle ($7.99) includes

• Teacher's Handbook
• Family Character Assessment
• Coloring Pages
• Butterfly Award
• Sing-along-Song sheets

The Teacher's Handbook is a must.  While it refers throughout to teaching a class, anyone can use it easily without requiring any real adaptations.  Everything you need, from preparing yourself to teach, introducing the virtues, activities, games, and common sense advice is in here.  We used many of the activities in the manual.  The boys particularly like I Spy.  We even play while we travel  You have to guess pretty quickly on the highway!  I marked the Teacher's Handbook up with PDF highlighter just like I would have in a print copy.  It's a sickness I have.  

I loved getting to see specific ways to use and apply the cards in our home.  The cards alone are terrific, but it was so nice to have that extra guidance.

The Family Character Assessment needs to be printed for each individual.  Here's where you get to record your caterpillar's metamorphosis.  Select where each family member is, on a scale of 1 to 10, on each virtue.  As you see them improving, the number goes up.  Set a goal number each month and try again.

The Coloring Pages are just for fun.  I like to offer them when I read about a virtue from some of the books we own.  For instance, I can read from one of the old Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories using the list in the back of each book to find appropriate stories.  The boys can color the corresponding picture.

The Butterfly Award is an attractive, colorful award to be filled out in recognition of virtue progress.

The Sing-Along Song Sheets have simple songs sung to common childhood tunes and help reinforce what the punks are learning.

These are all great parenting tools.  This is a terrific value for the price.  I highly recommend it.  Along with any set of cards, you have all you need (but maybe not all you *want*!) to teach your child to be a Virtue Kid.

Virtues do not come naturally to children (and many adults!).  They need to be taught to follow the three rules of We Choose Virtues.

1. Obey (Honor Authority)
2. Be Kind (Respect Others)
3. Be a Helper (Be Responsible)

Each of the 12 virtues (diligent, helpful, perseverant, gentle, content, attentive, honest, kind, self-controlled, patient, obedient, forgiving) are covered by one of these three rules.  The rules are listed in order of importance and must all be followed for the desired heart attitude of a virtue kid.

An unexpected way I was able to make use of the We Choose Virtues products was in blogging my ABC word studies.  If a letter has a virtue, I use it!

Like the caterpillar turns into a butterfly, we can all make changes for the better.

These are ideal for ages 3-11.  There is a compatible Youth Virtue Journal for ages 12-18.  Some of the Schoolhouse Review Crew has reviewed that, so click the button below to read about that new product.

There are secular versions of nearly all of the We Choose Virtues products.  These look great for public schools.  To see them, just look under Shop > Tools for Schools from the We Choose Virtues home page.

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