Made for balance, not overabundance. Simple "self-binding" habits help children practice temperance and fortitude with loving adult guidance.
Virtue becomes coachable when it has words. Give each virtue a concrete action and a phrase a child can say ("I am not going to give up!"), then learn, live, and witness it every day.
Regulate, relate, then reason. A dysregulated child can't yet practice virtue. Calm rhythms, warm connection, and patience open the way, and God gives the growth.
Continue the journey with Openlight Media Plus
If you'd like to bring this way of virtue into your classroom week after week, Openlight Media Plus is the place to begin. Plus brings together ongoing formation, classroom-ready virtue resources, and new sessions for educators, all built on Disciple of Christ—Education in Virtue® and Raised in Grace®. Try it free and plant one small practice at a time.
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Raising Happy Saints in a Distracted World: An Old Way of Life for a New Kind of Childhood
Screens, endless rewards, and constant noise are shaping childhood in ways we're only beginning to understand. The Church's answer isn't a new program. It is an old way of life: the virtues, rooted in grace, and practiced every day. This free Summary & Deeper Dive handout from the MANS Great Lakes Unity Conference walks one clear path. It starts with naming today's distractions and moves through what virtue is and why its important. From there, it covers each cardinal virtue with its attendant virtues, the reason a child must be regulated before they can reason, and practical ways to teach virtue so it is truly lived. You'll find virtue charts with meanings, opposing traits, and ways to cultivate each virtue, age-by-age examples, "looks like / sounds like" phrases, and reflection questions for your own heart.
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