Earlier this month, I read about Heather at Women in the Scriptures' new "Mom's Missionary Training Center" that she is doing with her kids this year. I read her post about Teaching Kids Honesty that she so generously shared, and I decided to hop on board. She basically is taking nine attributes of Christ's character as outlined in chapter six of Preach My Gospel and teaching them month by month to her children so that they can better emulate the Savior as they form their character.
I grabbed a bunch of her suggested books from the library and have them around the house for the kids to read or for us to read together and casually discuss. We just finished reading Shiloh by Phyllis Richards Naylor, which Guy loved. What a tender and wise story. It really treats the subject of honesty on a mature level that allows kids to explore the implications of being honest (or dishonest) on a life, a family, a community, or a society. What an excellent read with a lot of heart.
It has struck me over the last 24 hours how much the world suffers now because of a lack of honesty and integrity. From famed athletes falling from grace for lying or being deceived, to loan officers and business people doing less than their best or outright stealing, to "yellow journalism" or just plain lazy reporting, to the ridiculous scam email I received this week from "Jess" in Manila claiming that she was in a pickle and needed me to rush her $1,980 to get her out of it!
This world needs a generation of children who know how to tell the truth and how to be true...at all times. I can see that as the years pass this will only get harder and more unpopular. And more complicated. And perhaps that is why it's such a wise thing to start with teaching our children this now. Honesty is the first virtue...the one that leads to all others. Let's instill this in our kids now...any way we can!
Since we are in the middle of a move, I don't really have time to plan out all the fun lessons that I like to do normally with my kids...that's why I am so grateful to Heather for putting together and sharing this lesson plan which is really RICH with resources and easy to tailor to the way you'd like to teach this in your home. So please go check out her Mommy's MTC. It's a very valuable thing to invest time in...I promise you! :)
PS - Just by way of explanation...I use the duct tape to color code our moving boxes. It's a great way to make sure boxes make it into the right room on the right floor...saves lots of time and work, plus it's just fun!
I LOVE your photo of all those duct tape packages!! So sweet! And I love that they come in so many styles :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks Carin. I use them for color coding our moving boxes. It helps get the boxes in the right rooms and saves time....plus its just fun to have fun duct tape around the house! I used to work for the company that makes these!
DeleteOh my goodness!! Manila is in the Philippines, what a shame!! I received one like that too- the person hacked my friend's email-- who said she was vacationing in Europe & was robbed in the hotel and asking for some money from us ( her friends) the story itself looked so fraud so we ignore. My husband and I were just talking about it and the consequences people suffer because of dishonesty and what's sad is it happens even to those people who know better.
ReplyDeleteSo much packing packing to do!! I'm scared when my turn comes!! Haha...still looking for one though.
Love the colored duct tape. Gotta do everything you can tomake moving more fun. ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this link - we've been wanting to tackle that subject a bit more in our FHEs and I'm sure this will help!
Thanks for sharing this great resource for honesty lessons. As my kids have gotten older, I've found that many of the issues they/we face boil down to honesty. We've spent a lot of time talking about how honesty is black and white. You either tell the truth, or you don't. We couple it with the concept of integrity and making the right choice, even if it isn't always easy. So, situations like deliberately failing the spelling test to qualify for the spelling bee, why I won't allow my kids to have a Facebook account before they're 13, why I didn't send my daughter to YW camp before she was 12, etc. I think it is becoming more essential to differentiate ourselves as people of integrity and to stand above the declining morals of the world.
ReplyDeleteThose are all excellent examples of why we have to teach it young ans practice it with perfection!
DeleteOh great, this had to come on the day I sent my kindergartener to school with a hastily filled out homework sheet because I failed to remember to print it out at the beginning of the month and initial each day that we read together (which is most days anyway). I just gave it my best guess, figuring that it was giving a pretty good idea of how often we read and worked on homework, but now that I think of it, that probably wasn't the best lesson to teach my five-year-old. Now I have guilt.
ReplyDeleteI will repent and use these wonderful resources to teach my kids.
Oh, and I'm totally trying out your duct tape idea. I don't know why I never thought of that. We move twice a year, you'd think I'd have some sort of system.
Thanks for the ideas!
oh please DON'T feel guilty. If I had the time to do a proper job on this post, I would have listed the many ways I fail at honesty. I know it seems cut and dry and mostly it is...but it's harder than that!!! Our intent should always be to be perfectly honest in all things...knowing sometimes (as with everything) we fall short...but we try our best! I'm guessing sending in a note saying "I didn't feel like filling out your silly chart," might have been the most honest, but not the wisest! ha ha! You move so much! Let me know how it works out. We did this last time we moved and it worked like a charm. Saved us a lot of time and energy! I just started labeling my boxes...picked the mustache one for my kitchen!
DeleteThanks for sharing a great resource for family life. I will check it out BUT what a great idea to organize the boxes. I needed one like that. :~)
ReplyDeletegood idea with the duct tape-you are certainly ambitious with a new baby and moving and all that you do...
ReplyDeleteÅmen. It's getting out of hand, and I'm glad mothers like you (and Heather) are out there!
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I loved this post. You are so right about the importance of teaching our children about honesty. I am excited to look into this one. I have a Grandpa and Grandma's Twittering that I could use these kinds of posts on it.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and thanks for the links and ideas.
That duct tape idea is brilliant and fun! Good luck with your move! And love the shout out for honesty!
ReplyDeleteI love the duct tape idea! It made me smile, looking at all those colors, and wondering how they were connected to the mommy MTC! I'm thinking I should look into this too...
ReplyDeleteSo glad that it has been helpful to you! Best wishes with your move!
ReplyDeleteAre you gearing up for Service Month? I've been stewing over some ideas for our family, but I'm interested in what direction you're going to take it this year.. You always have some amazing ideas (that I would never think of) that get me thinking of more ideas.
ReplyDeleteOh Angela! There you go getting me started! Actually I hadn't thought about because all I have on my mind is the move....but thanks for the reminder...let me think on it!
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