Building Character with the Family Honor Plate
Guiding our children in developing strong character and Biblical morals is at the heart of Christian parenting. It helps to have tools to make the job a little easier. The Family Honor Plate is a creative way to teach children the significance of good character.
We received a Family Honor Plate set to decorate together as a family. It comes in a kit complete with paint, brushes, palette, and plate stand for display. As soon as my girls saw it, they were ready to paint that plate. They always love creative projects!
This is no ordinary “paint a plate” project, though. This is a parenting tool and family activity combined! The nine fruit of the Spirit character traits {Galatians 5:22-23} are printed around the plate. You can discuss each one with your kids while decorating the plate.
There are also seven “Let’s Talk” conversation starter cards included to help the discussions along. {There is a bigger, spiral-bound set of cards available for separate purchase, too.} My girls and I talk a lot to each other already, but we think these kinds of things are fun and treat them as a family game. Talking about memories and good times we’ve had, telling the girls about things I did when I was little, and telling them stories of when they were babies. The cards also have questions to stimulate “What would you do?” critical thinking skills to strengthen their ability to make wise choices in life.
We used washi tape to divide the plate into three equal parts and let the girls each decorate their own section. I told them there was no wrong way to do it because it’s art, after all! We set up our (messy) crafting card table and let them just have fun with it.
About the Family Honor Plate
Step #1 MOM AND DAD – BE THE EXAMPLE. BE THE ROLE-MODEL:
The virtues are listed in the center of the plate for mom and dad to use as their anchor, their moral compass to guide them in how they need to show up for and to their children. This is how our children learn what character (Christ’s Character) is, what it looks like, what it feels like. Our children are watching us and learning from us.
Step #2 BE ON THE LOOKOUT:
Look for the good choices and attitude your kids/spouse are making and showing throughout the day. Track it back to the virtues and character it shows.
Step #3 CELEBRATE THEIR CHARACTER:
Turn dinnertime into a celebration when you catch someone making good choices and showing good character and present their meal on the FAMILY HONOR PLATE. This is when you:
- Talk about the choices they made and the virtues and character that it showed (Be specific).
- Talk about how they made everyone involved feel and the impact they had on people and how that is POWERFUL and BEAUTIFUL.
About the “Let’s Talk” Table Thyme cards
Every question is followed up with “Why?” to take everyone’s answers to a deeper more intimate level. That’s where the magic is and the real conversation starts. So now when even a simple question such as…”What is your favorite dessert?” for example, rather than someone answering “Apple Pie” and then moving on to the next person, the whole family gets to walk down memory lane because it reminds them of Grandma Smith who always made apple pies with them when they came to visit.” Her house always smelled of fresh baked pies and she gave the best hugs when we walked in the door.”
Communication is the key to connecting, building and maintaining healthy relationships. When we are raise our children to be confident in their ability to communicate with others and get their point across, situations are less stressful and they have better outcomes.
Our Experience with the Family Honor Plate
The plate is designed to be used for a special meal or snacks, but ours will just be for display to remind us of the fruit of the Spirit. I want my girls not just to memorize those characteristics for the sake of memorizing, but actually apply them in their lives daily! Having this visual reminder on display will be helpful and more meaningful because they participated in making it.
Learn More about the Family Honor Plate
You can learn more about the Family Honor Plate on their website and possibly get some for Christmas gifts!
- Christmas Unit Study Ideas - December 23, 2024
- Woodland Birds Christmas Ornament - December 21, 2024
- Christmas Lights Scavenger Hunt with free printable - December 18, 2024
