Add Teaching Character With Beautiful Books To Your Homeschool

There comes a time for every Christian homeschool mom to address character issues at home. This doesn’t mean you are a bad mom; it means your children are human. Of course, as you already know, the Bible is the best resource for teaching character. Still, occasionally we need resources that will assist us in teaching excellent character traits to our children. The sooner, the better to begin a routine that includes an open dialogue about well-mannered behavior. But what is the best way to address this?

I prefer to approach character training from a helpful perspective. Teaching our children to have a quality character takes time; they have to develop these traits with our help. Throughout their childhoods, they will need assistance in cultivating moral, civic, spiritual, and healthy habits when it comes to character. Often, we help them develop these skills through teachable moments. But books are an excellent tool for this as well.

I am ever so lucky to discover Beautiful Feet Books and have fallen in love with the concept of teaching character through literature in the early years. Beautiful Feet Books offer specific character training book packs that make teaching character simple.

Why Teach Character With Books

Since I want to remain “helpful” to my children as they grow, my goal is always to establish open dialogues about behavior. It creates an ongoing conversation, and my kids know that they can ask me anything. They also trust me and know I am not there to judge or condemn, but rather to coach and learn right alongside them too!

Books are a fantastic resource for learning together and reinforcing that open door for conversation – at any age. However, I do believe the earlier you begin being mindful of character development, the easier your journey will be. It’s never too late to start talking about temperament and integrity, but earlier may save you and your children from unnecessary situations.

Beautiful Feet Books are easy to use and teach through literature. I adore that! The longer I have been homeschooling, the more my approach has shifted. We are eclectic homeschoolers, but I do love some aspects of the Charlotte Mason style. We use a lot of Charlotte Mason inspired curriculum, and Beautiful Feet Books falls right into that category.

If you are a fan of living books and the concept of life-long learning, you will love Beautiful Feet Books. Beautiful Feet Books encompass all of the core values that most of us Charlotte Mason-ish homeschoolers appreciate.

With Beautiful Feet Books, I can rest assured that we are covering a multitude of character issues by simply reading to my children. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

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Teaching Character With The Best Stories From Beautiful Feet Books

So we decided to try the Teaching Character Primary Reading Pack from Beautiful Feet Books. An age-appropriate pack for children ranging in grades K-3rd. However, I should also mention that I included my preschooler. We read a lot in our homeschool, so he is doing Kindergarten right alongside his brother. These books aligned perfectly with our family read-aloud time.

Both boys have enjoyed every single book from the pack. I am so glad we chose this one. We have had the sweetest little conversations about each of the stories included in the literature pack. These meaningful conversations are exactly what you will accomplish using Beautiful Feet Books too.

The teacher’s guide lays the framework with simple assignments that include reading a book from your pack along with correlating scripture and asking a few intentional questions. The lesson plans are entirely open-and-go. You will work on scripture memorization on most days as well. I found that these lesson plans are the perfect fit for Christian homeschool families. We quickly added this right into our daily family bible time.

I should admit, I have teared up on a few of the books too! They are just precious books that we will continue to read again and again. The stories are perfect for not only teaching character but also igniting wonder. My boy’s curiosity peaked with each read.

A few of our favorites were Miss Rumphius, of course, When God Made You, and Last Stop On Market Street. The truth is, we loved every single book from the package, but we are reading those few quite a bit lately.

If you need a bit more guidance when using this type of book pack in your home, no worries. Beautiful Feet Books includes a teacher’s guide that will help you with lesson plan ideas for incorporating the books into your homeschool routine.

The best part, you can use them at your own pace. There is no particular amount of time you need to complete the pack or character study. The books and teacher’s guide are entirely versatile for you to use; however it works best for your family.

Beautiful Feet Books has done a wonderful job of making their literature curriculum extremely easy to use.

A Teacher’s Guide Worth Mentioning Again

Maybe because I am dedicated to life-long learning or possibly because I have helped write some curriculum, I am a sucker for teacher’s guides. Or perhaps, the fact that I have purchased a lot of curriculum over the past dozen years with experiences where I was so excited about a curriculum, however, the guide was not easy to follow. Either way, I am super nerdy, I know! But, I thought there were a few things worth mentioning about the Beautiful Feet Books Teacher’s Guide.

Teaching Character Through Literature is what you will receive along with the Teaching Character Through Literature pack from Beautiful Feet Books. It covers how to use the guide along with explanatory notes that I found to be extremely helpful. I appreciate a guide that helps you understand the purpose of their curriculum.

The teacher’s guide comes complete with guided lessons. You can not get more open and go than this, yet at the same time chock full of purposeful lesson plans. You are encouraged to read the books over a few times, too, before the actual discussion questions. This shows their emphasis on slowing down and enjoying the book as a family, and I love that. I know you will too.

There is no pressure to complete the lessons in a certain amount of time, instead, relish in the beauty of the books first. Then dive into questions and discussion once your children have a better understanding and connection with the book.

In addition to easy to use guided lessons, you will find their favorite authors. Many of them were ours already, but many of them were new to us. I am so thankful to have more quality authors and book recommendations that have already been vetted.

The Beautiful Feet Teacher’s Guide will equip you to raise curiosity-driven children by using their simple guided lesson plans.

What Else Can You Find At Beautiful Feet Books?

You will find literature packs by age and/or subject. They also have teacher guides that take all of the guesswork out of giving a solid education at home. Of course, books just for reading and even maps and timelines.

History lovers will be overcome with excitement when you see all they have to offer. I promise you will have no trouble at all filling up your virtual shopping cart. 😉

The bottom line, you will find easy-to-use literature-based curriculum. You don’t have to be a Charlotte Mason homeschooler to use it either! All you need to have is a strong appreciation for teaching with a literature-based curriculum.

Tips For Teaching Character At Home

• Make a list of character qualities that you and your spouse feel are essential to instill in your children. Your list may have words on it like integrity, honesty, patience, humility, self-control, and compassion. Next, look up the actual definitions of these words. I find it easier to help my children learn about these traits if I am completely clear on what they mean, and they are too. You could even post the words and definitions somewhere in the house where you can all reflect on them.
• Have regular meetings with your husband to evaluate your children’s behavior. Reward them with encouraging words when you see that they are progressing. Create an action plan if they need more work in a particular area. Making sure that you and your husband are on the same page is critical in shaping them into who God created them to be.
• Try not to discipline them when they make mistakes harshly. Again, character training takes time and intentionality. We can’t flip out on our children if we aren’t helping them to the best of our ability. If they blatantly disobey, that is one thing, but if they honestly don’t know what they did wrong – discipline with grace. Use that experience as a teachable moment for you both. Sometimes we have to ask ourselves what we could do better as parents too.

Want to learn more about choosing beautiful literature? Check out this fantastic free guide from Beautiful Feet Books.

Grab some literature from Beautiful Feet Books that you can read with your kids. You will be so glad that you did. Like me, you will find yourself tearing up at so many of these heart-felt reads and treasuring the moments with your children. Giving them answers to their questions and helping them along.

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