Children 0-4 Years
Children younger than four years old will enjoy a variety of Nursery Rhymes, Finger Plays, and Nursery Tales without being tied to monthly theme.
The goal at this age is to help the child find joy in story, artwork, music, poetry, and dance. An enriched story hour that includes all these elements works well for the entire family or in home school co-ops. A morning and evening story hour can easily be scheduled each day. The following resources have some wonderful stories, nursery rhymes, and finger plays.
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The first three books can be found at Libraries of Hope. Stories and Rhymes for Young Children are part of the Story Hour Series. The other two books can be found in the "other" category. My Book House - In the Nursery is the first of twelve books from a wonderful story collection. Even though My Book House is out of print, they can be found at used book retailers and on Amazon. WeeSing has several resources for teaching children through music and fingerplays.
Children 4-8 Years
A combination of stories of character and faith, including stories from scriptures and family history are recommended during one or more story
periods each day. Even though stories are arranged by monthly themes in the Resource Guide below, please remember children learn best by gleaning themes and values from the stories on their own. Many stories offer examples of several valuable character traits wrapped up in the single character. It isn't necessary, nor is it recommended, to make a systematic study of individual values at this age.
LET the stories do the teaching.
periods each day. Even though stories are arranged by monthly themes in the Resource Guide below, please remember children learn best by gleaning themes and values from the stories on their own. Many stories offer examples of several valuable character traits wrapped up in the single character. It isn't necessary, nor is it recommended, to make a systematic study of individual values at this age.
LET the stories do the teaching.
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The Stories of Character and Faith Resource Guide lists some rhymes, tales, and finger plays that are available from the resources listed below. Stories have been listed in monthly categories to assist families as they plan lessons around a central theme. Even though one core value is listed on the monthly calendar, the resource guide contains several connecting values each month. There is no need to specify to the children what value is being taught, simply tell the stories. The rotation schedule is simply a tool that allows flexibility and variety of stories for young children while assuring parents that a wide variety of values are being presented each year.
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FREE online lessons from Character First Education. The Character First elementary curriculum presents timeless character traits in a bold, fresh manner. These lessons are designed for students in public school, private school, home school, day care, summer camp, or any other educational setting.
Stories to build character: When we seek learning from the best books, we discover characters who are examples of several virtues and attributes. These stories are best read or told independent of any specific attribute to allow the reader to see how specific character traits interact with each other as challenges are faced in life. A well told or well written story has the ability to motivate and change hearts. As listeners and readers ponder the message they will glean the specific application for their personal lives. However, some stories will spotlight one specific attribute and can be used as a learning tool to gain insights about individual character traits. Some of these stories will be included in the Stories of Character and Faith resource guide.
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The Story Hour Series from Libraries of Hope
My Book House by Olive Beaupre Miller
This story collections is out of print but available from many used book retailers |
William J. Bennett is the editor of several story collections filled with wonderful stories to tell children. You will find his books on Amazon and from other book sellers.
Collier's Junior Classics - 1962 edition
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A Story to Tell
Out of print but available from many used book retailers. These stories are not included in the Story Resource Guide but they are indexed in the back of the book to make it easy to find stories for a specific moral lesson. |
Children 8 years and older
Beginning at age eight, children are encouraged to begin a more in-depth study of history. (See our History Story Reading Guides). However, children will continue to enjoy stories of character and faith during family reading time. Stories more suitable for the 8-12 year old child are also included in the Stories of Character and Faith Resource Guide.