Over the past few years, I have heard the absolute BEST things about We Choose Virtues and have really been wanting to try this company and it’s products out. I was very excited to see it in our Schoolhouse Review Vendor list this year and knew it was going to be one I would sign up for. The product we were gifted for review are the We Choose Virtues NIV Parenting Cards, along with the We Choose Virtues Download Bundle which contained a ton of goodies for us to use with our cards. This set is designed to be used with children ages 3-11.
I was able to choose which version of the cards I wanted. The options were NIV and KJV. Normally, I would have gone for the KJV for myself but since I am using these for the kids, I chose the easier to understand NIV version. I’m not sure that would have made a difference in the cards since they are written for children regardless but in my head it made sense at the time of choosing.
Shipping on this product was really quick and we were able to get started right away. I chose to use a few cards each week as we discussed these Virtues. I usually picked whatever card seemed to fit our days at the time. The card I started with was Obedient, since we all seem to struggle with following direction without complaint or argument.
In the corner of each card, it begins with I am within a bright yellow circle. Then comes the word for the Virtue in large font across the card itself. An adorable child representing the virtue is presented below this word on the right each time so you can clearly see how they fit to the lesson of the virtue itself. Next comes a phrase to make the child think that is catchy in order to stick well into the memory to be repeated later on. Then there is a smaller bit of info on the subject to help explain it further, followed by the biblical scripture that it relates to below that.
On the back of each card, you find the Virtue User Challenge. Each of these is different and should be completed together, yet individually within the family. It’s like a family pact to make this virtue top priority for the length of it’s lesson.
Underneath the Virtue User Challenge, the virtue itself is featured and described so that it’s easy to discuss with the family. And beneath that, is an box that tells What to say after “I’m Sorry”. This section was my absolute favorite as I’m never sure how to explain this to my children and they are never certain what they are really expected to say. Please, forgive me for _______ has become a blessing to our family and our daily expression of love, gratitude and simple forgiveness.
On the right half of the cards, you find the Teachable moments for families section, in which the virtues are further explained by examples from others lives. These really get you thinking and sharing with one another. This particular section led us to great conversations that we were otherwise missing in our day to day life.
Below the Teachable Moments section, The Kids of VirtueVille are featured, explaining who the adorable child representing that virtue is and what they are all about. These little descriptions are adorable and really help children relate to the purpose of the virtue. Each one has their own quirky personality that my children were really able to see bits and pieces of in themselves.
Each of these awesome cards ends with What is that… do you think? What a topic starter! My children always had some thought provoking answer following this one great question each time we went over one of the 12 cards. There’s also a basic parent card with the set that tells you about the concept of the We Choose Virtues Parenting Cards and how to use them.
In the We Choose Virtues download bundle, there is a Teacher’s Handbook which further explains how to use the We Choose Virtues Parenting Cards and other parts of this wonderful program. This colorful PDF file breaks it all down for you so that you can better teach the Virtues to your children in a classroom or personal setting. Ideas and instructions for each tool of We Choose Virtues can be found in this wonderful document and implemented as you see fit.
A PDF of We Choose Virtues Sing Along is also provided in this file. This is a black and white printable file containing a little song to sing for each virtue being taught. I chose to print these off with each lesson and post them where the kids could see and sing them throughout the process of this review. The kids loved them!
Another provision in this file is the We Choose Virtues Family Assessment. I printed this right away and filled it out. What a great way to see where our family needed improvement so we could start with the Virtues we needed to cover the most right away! I was really impressed with this document and it’s help in planning for our use of this program. We completed an assessment for each member of our family, compared them and helped each other as we worked on these virtues together.
The Kids of Virtue Coloring Book was also a ton of fun! I printed copies of this book out for each of the kids to use and they enjoyed coloring in the Kids of VirtueVille as we talked about the corresponding cards each week. I think this one was Laycie’s favorite part.
The PDF file also contained a Butterfly Award to download. This printable is designed to help encourage children to follow the lessons they learn through the We Choose Virtues program. These can be awarded throughout the program as the child learns the importance of each virtue and blossoms into a better person.
The entire set of items works beautiful together to create a program that promotes the Virtues that children need to learn in this day and age to be better people. We absolutely LOVE We Choose Virtues and look forward to using more of their products in the future.
We Choose Virtues NIV Parenting Cards are available for purchase for $38.49. There are a total of 13 double sided cards measuring 8.5″x 5.5″ on heavy cardstock. These are full color cards.
The We Choose Virtues Download Bundle includes the Teacher’s Handbook for the program, the Family Character Assessment, Coloring Pages, Butterfly Award and Sing-Along-Song Sheets for $7.99. These come in a PDF file download.
You can also find We Choose Virtues in the following places online:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wechoosevirtues
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/WeChooseVirtues/
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