Education in VirtueExtravaganza!

We held a contest!Back-to-School with Education in Virtue…

Asking our educators, “How do you use Education in Virtue?”

Enjoy their ideas!

From homeschool teacher, Trista…“Each week, we would read all the material including the saint stories for a specific virtue. Throughout the week, we would encourage others to live out that specific virtue and try to point out when each other exemplified it. We made a wall chart to hang each virtue as we covered it. We even shared the Virtue lesson for Docility with our homeschool co-op as a family presentation.”

From Saint Mary's Catholic School in Taylor, Texas..."Our school theme this year is, "Teach me Lord, your way, that I may walk in your truth." Psalm 86:11.

Along with the theme, we do a school-wide virtue of the month. Being the first day and their age, it was most important to me to have them realize they each have God's truth, beauty, and goodness in them. That is why I came up with this idea. On the first day of school for my three-year-old Prekindergarten full-day class, we learned that each one of us has truth, beauty, and goodness in us. Each student took a picture blowing a kiss to their parents. The picture was then emailed with the following

…I’m making new friends and learning God’s way. So wipe away your tears and catch this kiss from me to you. I’m doing just fine and see you real soon!"

An idea from Nancy at St. John the Baptist... Every month the school has a virtue it works on. As you walk up the first set of steps a bulletin board is on display that talks about the virtue of the month. Also, there is a hanging sign next to the bulletin for people to read about the virtue.

As the children learn about the virtue they are asked to practice the virtue. A sheet is sent home with each child on a way they lived out the virtue.

There is also a Bingo Virtue that will focus on all the virtues that will be learned and practice during the school year."

From homeschool teacher, Carly…"We are learning a virtue per week with a Catholic homeschool group."

This ‘Virtue Tree’ is in the 7th

Grade at Spiritus Sanctus AcademyStudents were asked,

“What virtue do you want to grow in this school year?”

From our Facebook Friend, Erin Fortin…We are creating a classroom tree of virtues! Starting this Fall, we will be introducing a monthly virtue from the Education in Virtue cards. After a month of hard work on a particular virtue, we will celebrate by hanging a green wooden leaf with the name of that virtue from the branches of our classroom tree, which is a Manzanita branch in a planter. The kids will be so excited to keep adding the leaves to our tree and watching it grow in virtue! I'm still in the process of setting up our classroom space, so I don't have photos of ours to share yet, but the tree will look similar to the one in the image below. Just imagine how beautiful it will be when filled with virtue leaves!

An idea from Laurie Cathcart, Principal @St. Michael Parish and School, Grand Ledge.“We fully adopted your program last year throughout our whole school Preschool-Grade 8. We have monthly assemblies recognizing students who demonstrate virtuous behavior and at the end of the year we give out Most Virtuous Student awards for each of the four Cardinal virtues at the year-end Awards' Assembly. The bulletin board below is displayed in the hallway when you enter our school.”

Check out this wonderful ‘virtue door’ from St. Michael’s School in Worthington, OH

Meg shares her ideas on implementing Education in Virtue…What is the purpose of life? Answer: TO BE A SAINT.

How do you BE A SAINT? To be a saint one needs to say yes to God all the time and NO to the things you need to say NO to. How do we say yes to God all the time pray and live VIRTUE!! I remind the kids this before every class. I love education in virtue. I volunteer at the Catholic School to give the teachers K-5 a 1/2 hour of prep time each week. I am not a teacher, so I purchased the posters to give me a teaching aid. Each week I bring in a virtue poster into the class room and have different kids read aloud what is on the poster, we take time discussing each example and have the kids tell examples of how they have lived the virtue. The kids look up bible passages and read them and then we discuss how the passage fits the virtue. While some kids are looking up bible passages I have other kids plan and do a skit giving either an example of living the virtue or an example of what happens if we don't live the particular virtue. This usually takes 2 class periods to get though the material. When I'm done in the class room the posters are hung though out the school.

Joan from New Boston, MI., has been using Education in Virtue for 2 years…

We were looking for a program to replace our after-school program for girls grades 2 through 8. When we brain stormed for a platform our pastor said it should teach virtue. We googled virtue and guess what came up. Yep you got it. Education in Virtue. The Archdiocese of Detroit happen to visit our school to introduce Education in Virtue. Our school secretary allowed us to use the teacher’s manual. Fast forward two years. We now have two age groups 1st through 5th grade and 6th through 8th grade. Our senior virtues group meets the first Saturday of the month in honor of our Blessed Mother. Our junior virtue group meets the third Saturday of the month.

We gather for prayer in our chapel then move to our class room where we study a different virtue each month and do a project related to that virtue. Then we move to the church where the girls lead the rosary before 4pm Mass and we all celebrate Holy Mass together as a group.

We have had retreats both here at our school and at the Dominicans Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist monastery. We've visited the Carmelites in Clinton Township and the Dominicans in Farmington. We've also made a pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Toledo. And we have had bake sales to raise money for our Christian service outreach.

Wonderful ideas from Laura @ St. Paul…First, we focus on a different virtue each week. We share the "Virtue of the Week" in our weekly newsletter to families, along with examples of what the virtue sounds like and looks like. Each day at morning prayer we discuss the virtue of the week and learn about what it sounds like and looks like to practice that virtue. We also share with the students examples of saints who modeled that particular virtue. Sometimes classes share different ideas they have come up with to practice a particular virtue. Each teacher uses the "virtue language" as they work with their students each day to further develop their understanding of a particular virtue.

Our school also utilizes Marcia McEvoy's "Mean Behavior" policies. In this program, each developmental group has a rubric with consequences for demonstrating mean behavior. Included in that rubric are examples of virtues that need to be developed based on the behavior. In addition, students who made a bad decision and face a consequence for that decision according to the rubric, must also complete some work with the virtue they need to work on. This work is the worksheets from your website. Older students have an opportunity to reflect on scripture and how it should be applied to the situation they find themselves in. Younger students use the "looks like" and "sounds like" pages to reflect on their behavioral choice. In each instance this work is sent home to be signed by the parents in order to include them in the loop so they can reinforce the virtue work happening at school.

A couple of years ago we had a huge banner made that is attached to this email. Around the outside of the heart all of the virtues are listed. Each classroom was supplied with small heart shapes. Teachers and students could write on the hearts the name of a student modeling a virtue and what virtue their action showed. These hearts were shared at morning prayer and then displayed on the wall near the banner. This year we are changing that a little bit and calling the program "Virtue Inspiring Person," or, VIP.

Students and teachers will complete a form when they witness someone modeling a virtue. These will be shared twice each month after Mass, and a heart will be added to the wall with that person's name. Students will be encouraged to look for virtue examples that go above and beyond, challenging them to stretch their understanding of showing virtues. Yes, picking up your friend's pencil when dropped does show kindness, but helping your friend pick up their whole pencil case takes a larger effort and commitment.

Another thing in the plans for this year is to paint the risers of our stairs leading up to the second floor. We have four staircases, and two of those will be painted with the virtues, serving as a constant reminder of these important stairs to heaven.

We share all of our work with the virtues in our school newsletter and in our church bulletin. We are very proud of the growth and work our students have shown in the past couple of years as we have made it a part of our daily culture to focus on the virtues.

A beautiful idea from Jaymie Perry @the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Grand Rapids, MI..."I am blessed to teach yearbook and as a beginning of year activity I have my student pick a virtue and then think about how they can visually convey that virtue using photography. Photos are edited and the virtue is added as text on the photo. I then display their final work on a bulletin board and often their photos are used in our school's social media. "

This beautiful idea is from Sr. Mary Jacinta in Columbus, Ohio..."Virtue Incentive for Early Elementary Classrooms - Set up a bulletin board in the classroom with crowns labeled with the students' names. These crowns are symbolically representative of crowns for Our Lady. As the school year progresses, the students have opportunities to practice virtue. If the practice of virtue is witnessed by the teacher, and she chooses to use it as a learning moment for the class, the student may earn a "gem" for Our Lady's crown. The hope is that by the end of the year there will be visible evidence of the many virtuous acts that were done to give glory to God. In giving these virtuous acts to Our Lady, Queen of the Classroom, she purifies them and presents them to the Father on the behalf of the students. It is, namely, a way of reinforcing the ongoing practice of virtue by modeling and showing a good example to each other."

A middle-school rubric shared by Lea Ann a teacher @, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Middle School, Traverse City, MIEnjoy this picture of her class bulletin board as well as a rubric that she has developed in response to the novel: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Daughter of America. The rubric can be adapted to any novel that is read. This one is used by the sixth grade students in the Language Arts classes to connect novel character to the life of virtue.

Marigold Learning is beginning this school year with Education in Virtue…

We are a group of home schoolers on a mission to create the best educational experience for our children. We (the parents) want to really ensure that the faith is passed down to our children. We meet at Catholic school that was closed many years ago, and are blessed to have classrooms available to us twice a week. During one of those brick-and-mortar gatherings, we are working with the Education in Virtue curriculum. We have Virtue binders, where our students are keeping their work for review and posterity. We see the binder as a personal catechism; connecting the teachings of the Church with reflections on and communication with God in words and pictures, and thereby building, growing, deepening, and strengthening the personal relationship between God, the Church, and the student.

We interweave the Education in Virtue curriculum with the Works of Mercy, using the coloring book and the informational material in front of the Disciple of Mercy. The coloring book is available for all our students, and the journal is for those that are 11 and older. We don't have any plans to read or share the journal entries, unless the student wishes. This is meant to be a private conversation.

I have included our somewhat incomplete lesson plans which serve as notes for the teachers in our different levels. As a matter of reference, level 2 are students aged 6-9, level 3 are students 9-10. and level 4 are students 11 and older. As I think back to the actual classes, our discussions and key teaching points were very much inspired by the Holy Spirit, and are not complete in the lesson plans I am submitting. But, the essence is there. We have included a picture of our Virtue binder; that has a clear sleeve on the front and back of the binder, so the student can create their own artwork for the binder, The Disciple of Mercy journal and the coloring book, are opened to the Work of Mercy that relates to the virtue that is the subject of the worksheets and "sound like, Looks like" pictures. The format is:

Introduce virtue, Cardinal Virtues and the specific virtue as listed in the Education in Virtue curriculum. Discuss, explain and explore the virtue and how to live the virtue. (1 class period - once a week at a brick-and-mortar Assign reflective and prayerful work during the week at home with parents or independentlyNext brick-and-mortar class review the virtue, collect homework, where applicable, and apply the virtue being studied to the particular Work of Mercy listed in the coloring book, Works of Mercy. Discuss the work of mercy, and brainstorm ways the students can live the Work of Mercy/particular virtue.Display the "looks like, sounds like pictures on the Virtue board that is in the middle of the hallway.

Continue with three points above for several weeks. At a midpoint in the semester, the students will select a service project based on their brainstorm sessions of how they can live the Work of Mercy, and then implement in the second half of the semester.

As we have just begun the program, we are changing and tweaking as we move forward.

We received this beautiful picture and story from John and Ellis... We use the Education-in-Virtue Virtue cards as part of our family reading time. In the evening, after dinner, we start out by reading through three or four virtue cards, discussing examples, clarifying ideas, talking about the lives of the associated saints, and reading the recommended scripture verses. Then we move on to reading our family book (we're currently finishing up The Penderwicks series by Jeanne Birdsall).

I was excited to find the virtue cards (and the whole suite of resources) because Aquinas's ethics and anthropology are so rich, and so illuminating, I was on the hunt (for years) for a resource to help ground our children in those ideas early on. The virtue cards offer an age-appropriate way to introduce the virtues and spark conversations about the underlying philosophical framework, which can be discussed in an age-appropriate manner, gradually unfolding the depths of Thomistic philosophy. It's really an incredible resource, and I hope more and more families find out about these amazing tools!

The picture below is a box my wife had made for our virtue cards set."

A homeschool co-op shared their ideas with us…Thank you to the Medrano family for sharing how they have incorporated EIV into their homeschooling environment. Not only do they use EIV materials for helping to form virtuous behavior (discipline) in their family, they have incorporated EIV into many of their subjects such as History as well as Literature. Enjoy these pictures that capture how they incorporated EIV into teaching history!

Gabe establishes the virtue vocabulary into their school work…Just like I had to sneak vegetables into my kids food when they were little, I slip virtue lessons into their school work.

•History -- "The founding fathers had fortitude."

•Math -- "I know fractional percents are hard for you, but your perseverance is humbling."

•Science -- "Thomas Edison was industrious."

So I use virtue vocabulary; teaching what they mean and prompting discussion about who else we have learned about that has these qualities and how we can foster them in ourselves. I try to always encourage and compliment them using virtues. I also use virtues when I correct them. The Education in Virtue educators guide has been a magnificent resource for me.

A great idea for middle-schoolers…

Establishing Community Norms, by Hydie Hess, St. Catherine of Siena School Siena in Vallejo, California

This was the first year we implemented Education in Virtue as a school and I can already see tiny fruits of this endeavor!

I would like to share with you how I incorporated Virtues in establishing classroom/community norms in the beginning of the school year.

At the start of each school year, I begin by establishing and defining classroom norms with my middle school students.

Establishing NormsAt the start of each school year, I begin by establishing and defining classroom norms with my middle school students…

Establishing NormsIn previous years, I would have students define various norms they see at home, within their friendships, and within the school as a whole.

Students would engage in a think-pair-share discussion and identify the common norms they have within those three categories.

Establishing NormsAfter looking at the norms in those three categories, they would write and come up with one norm to share that they feel is necessary to have in the classroom to ensure a successful year. For example:

“Do not disrupt a teacher when they are speaking”

“Do not laugh at someone while they are asking a question or presenting”

Establishing NormsI would write down their classroom norms on the board as a list for all the students to see. Afterwards, I would give them a copy of the "virtue cheat sheet" and with their partners, they would have to identify which virtue(s) go with each classroom norm. For example: "Do not disrupt a teacher when they are speaking" would connect with "Respect" "Modesty" "Self-Control" "Docility" etc. I was amazing with how receptive my students were in engaging in this activity and even more impressed to hear them using the vocabulary so quickly.

"Do not disrupt a teacher when they are speaking“

"Respect“ , "Modesty" "Self-Control" "Docility" etc.