Faith, Hope and Homeschool: We Choose Virtues--A Mosaic Team Review

I have heard the name We Choose Virtues praised and discussed often in Homeschooling circles. Imagine my delight to find out that the Review Team at Mosaic Reviews would get a chance to review some of their products! As believers in Jesus Christ, we want to instill Biblical values into our children. However, these products can still be used by anyone as there are not only options for versions of the Bible, but they have a secular choice as well. The main difference is that the Bible version has verses to go along with the cards.

For each virtue, there is a 'kid of VirtueVille' to help them remember it. The color and graphics are simply beautiful and so kid friendly!

I primarily used this with my 3 year old and 5 year old daughters. However, come assessment and game time, the 12 and 14 year old boys joined us! (shh--when I was teaching the girls the virtues, they were in the room and heard them as well. We have been discussing this with them through a study of Proverbs and other tools throughout the years.)

(How we introduced the card, virtue, kid, am not's, and the verse)

General Information and discussion about the products reviewed:

The Teacher's Handbook (PDF format)- full of wonderful ideas to use any or all of their products. It gives you, the parent, or the teacher (recommended for use in schools as well), ideas and explanations for using the products. It does not, however, go into detail about each virtue. That is on the back of the Parenting and/or Teacher's cards. (more about those later).
Printable Butterfly Awards- these come FREE in their kits in PDF form and are full of color! They may also be ordered separately. Award your child who shows consistent behavior in each virtue. My girls love butterflies so they were so excited when they got their award for being consistently "Gentle"

(The girls with their Gentle Butterfly Awards!)

Kids of VirtueVille Coloring Pages- These also come FREE in the kits, or available extra in PDF form for $3.00. Sixteen pages of fun coloring each 'kid of virtue' and a word search! My girls simply adored learning about Oboe Joe and then coloring his picture!
Family Character Assessment- These are FREE on their website: We Choose Virtues. Gets the whole family involved! This is a self assessment to determine where each family member's character is right now. We used this as a tool for discussion with the older boys. In many areas, I thought they were harder on themselves than need be. We discussed their strengths and weaknesses. We discussed their identity in Christ and that even though they were not a '10'- no one but Jesus is perfect. We discussed ways we could improve in this area.

(Self assessment in pencil, my assessment in ink. The older boys did this and it was a wonderful opportunity to build their confidence, discuss small weaknesses, and point them to Christ!)

Virtues Flash Cards (NIV version)- my absolute favorite part!! These are sturdy, full color, beautifully illustrated cards. Whatever version you choose-(NIV, KJV, secular)-will determine what all is on the back. The Bible versions include a verse, the secular ones do not. The positives and the "I am Not's" are on the back. On the front is the virtue, as well as the kid that represents that virtue. For example--I am Obedient is Oboe Joe! These cards also come with another card that has fun game ideas on it and other ways to use these.

The 'Scoop':

We Choose Virtues has multiple products and kits to choose from for any budget. They can be used in combination with other character building products or simply alone-no need to supplement. While we only used a few of the items, I am already starting to see more understanding in my children about certain character traits. Which ones are good, why they are good, and how to model the behavior. They also know the "am not's" and why they are not so good.

For information/questions about the product, email Heather: Heather @wechoosevirtues.com

For orders already placed, contact info@wechoosevirtues.com

They are running a promo special through the month of April. Use code HOME20 for 20% off of the Homeschool Kit!
Another great deal is code VIRTUE15 for 15% off--I assure you that you will not be disappointed in any of their products!!

How we used these products:

(I used a comb binder to turn the coloring pages into a coloring book. This is Miss E learning our second virtue, Gentle.)

(Little A and Miss E coloring Oboe Joe!)

We also played Charades, which is one of the games listed on the Family Flash Card Games card that came with them. (I tweaked the game just a little.) The older boys even got involved with this! Each took turns acting out the appropriate virtue, then someone else acted out the opposite of that virtue. They loved this and everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves to see what they could come up with!

We absolutely enjoyed this product. My girls will commend someone, and point out which one, when an appropriate virtue is expressed. They are quick to point out when someone is not responding properly as well!

'Quiet time' has often been difficult around here. The girls have a hard time winding down and often are just as busy during this rest period as they are any other time. Today, however, I told Miss E that the TV was going off and she needed to practice Self-Control. She did it right away! I was so blessed and amazed. Little A? We are still working on those with her but she is so big hearted and often portrays kindness, helpfulness and she is a very good girl when it comes to sharing!

The only tiny con that we encountered was some of the wording on the back of the cards due to their age. That was an EASY fix though, and I just used age appropriate words. This is one item that I see sticking around for a long time and we really enjoyed it!