Ideas on How to Teach Virtues

          I have had to be creative with ways to go over vitures​ with my after school group because they are having a hard time remembering how to act. I have been stressing them more and because of that it seems to be working. They are behaving a lot better but I have to remember to keep doing it or they will go crazy. It is sad but true. It is the generation that is growing up.
           I have an idea that I haven't done yet. The idea is put a viture word on a piece of poster paper and then what it means. The group would read it together​ every morning before we did anything else. That would be one way to get it into their minds and make them remember. They can see it and say it. Two ways of learning. The other way that I have been getting these words in their minds is: asking them questions about the word and for examples about what the word looks like in action. They really like this way because if they can get the meaning right and tell me right examples they get a piece of candy to eat. 

            I make sure everyone gets a piece of candy throughout the week so that by the end of the week they had should have had a piece of candy. I give them one of two chances throughout the day to answer the questions but they have no idea when the chances will be because I mix them up. They don't even know when the word will change. Last week we learned about the word "Compassion" all week and this past Monday. Yesterday I changed the word to "Respect". I might give that word a couple more days and then change to another word like "Teamwork". I really do need to introduce these children to a lot of new things to keep their attention and reward them but while I am rewarding them they are learning something at the same time.

           They are not just getting rewarded for helping me clean up after a long day or after I tell them to do something for me. They are, hopefully, learning at the same time. It is a good learning way too because I have had some of them give me great examples when I asked for the meaning of the word. I, even, had one child that gave me an example of Compassion as: "It is like being in someone else's shoes" and I needed that that day for a lot of reasons. Then there are these kids that have no idea what Compassion means or can't give examples of the meaning. I had one child that kept giving me examples of what they thought Compassion looked like but it was really tattling on a person. I love those moments because that is when we get to talk about the difference between the two and I can even stress "Compassion" more to that certain child because I know now who doesn't get it. 

              It makes perfect sense too because you can see it in the way that child acts around other friends. There are times I have to keep reminding that child to use nice words and she does but then they are days where I feel like I am starting all over with that same child. I might do this project/ activity with every group I get as long as I have this job because it is a good thing to teach the children. It give me that time to use my teaching skills that I love and don't get to use very often right now in this moment of my life. Hopefully, it will change their life for the better if they are paying attention and can remember things. It can be sad too because you can really tell which parents teaches these things at home and which parents do not. 

               Anyways, this was entry was more for me then for you all out that because I wanted to remember this activity and some of the impact it had on the children I have now. I also do use this blog to write down things that I want to remember about my children and what worked at that certain job because I know it is a place where I will look back in the days a head and read just to see how much my life has changed but of course I'm going to have to wait like 5 more years.