Kindness

Yesterday I shared about prayer and my commitment to pray daily for my children using the book  

While They Are Sleeping: 12 Character Traits to Pray for Your Child.  Today, I had an inspiration of how to help develop the character qualities in my children using the poster and certificate set that corresponds with the book.   Each poster has one of the character qualities, what it means, and also a verse that goes along with it.

I covered the posters with contact paper and hung them near the table where we do school.  The character quality will not only be the focus of my prayers for my children, but it will also be the focus of the teaching for the same amount of time. 

FamilyLife also has some beautiful certificates to go along with each of the character qualities.  But, with seven children, the organization of award certificates is more than I realistically wanted to deal with...so I decided to cover the certificate with contact paper as well and place it on the wall next to the poster.  When I see a child consistently exhibiting a particular character quality, I will write their name on the certificate with a dry erase marker.  That way I can reuse the certificates and give incentives for my children to actively participate in the quality we are studying. 

I also thought I would allow my older children to look for ways other siblings are showing the character quality and let them write a name on the certificate as well.  Not only would it help them learn to look for kindness (for example) but it would help them to continue to cultivate kindness in their hearts as they look for it in the lives of their brothers and sisters. 

How do you help your children grow in kindness?