Each one of my children made a "Virtue Flower." Each child has a stem and a center, but the petals represent virtues. When the child has them for certain, we glued them to the center. But if a child is still working on that virtue, we taped the petal to the stem, and it can get moved up or down, as they are working on that virtue.
I learned so much! I thought the targeted virtues would be the same. But as it turned out, each child has different ones that it seems they are "designed" to have! It is thrilling that some love school (I think loving school is a virtue!), while others love time with friends (so is friendship!). Others are being outstanding when they tell the truth; others are most outstanding when they can bite their tongue and not complain. In addition to loving God very much, some people are just especially pious! While all the kids love us, their parents, some are especially great at telling us so! These virtues are just a delight to uncover.
It was a tremendous exercise for me to articulate, and hear them articulate, what is must true about each one of them. Clare chimed in about Leigh; Mary described Jacob. Jake was fantastic at describing everyone's virtues. The whole event was a genuine celebration. These children are truly wonderfully made!
Oh Kathryn I just love this exercise and would love to do it with my kids. Can you please email me and tell me the process. It might be great for you to post it also (like a tutorial). I have responsibility and behavior charts for the kids but this is a much more wonderful way to encourage the best in them while helping them to grow in the areas that need work. Thanks for sharing and much love and prayers for your beautiful new community. I just adore the Immaculate and Sacred Heart names.
ReplyDeleteLove and blessings, Alexie