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Below are some Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
related to the VOW program. If your still in need of assistance,
please feel free to complete our contact form.
Q: Can I do a VOW program in the home?
A: YES! When doing a VOW program out of your
home, your living room or backyard can be the "classroom". You need only a
place to get up and do group activities (of course choose activities such
as circle games, etc. that don't require too much room if your space is
limited or take those activities outside, if possible) and a place to do
arts and crafts (the floor, a coffee/kitchen or card table or even TV
trays!). Stories can be read with kids on pillows on the floor or on your
couch.
Classroom management and boundaries still should be
addressed and established. Even in
The Family Virtues Guide, there is a
section on boundaries to be established in the home.
As far as materials, a plastic tote or several if
needed (Dollar stores are great for finding these, especially the kind
with handles for easy carrying) can be pre-filled with arts and crafts
materials, props, costumes, musical instruments or whatever you want to
have on hand on a regular basis.
When doing a VOW program in the home, adapt the
curriculum and Lesson Plan activities to suit your time and space. Create
a sense of environment with each class to establish the difference between
social time and VOW class time as being in a home can have the advantage
of a homey, more comfortable feel, but can easily fall into a lax and
unfocused atmosphere too due to the comfortable atmosphere. This is where the
Greeting Song or other greeting "ritual" and the Farewell Song help to
delineate "VOW class time" from social time
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Q: How do I adapt the Lesson Plan Grids
for my space and time?
A: Lesson Plan Grids are created to be
adaptable. If you are doing a class for a small group in a small space,
you may not want to do ALL the categories of activities. You may choose a
more involved arts & crafts activity to do for the whole class time. Or do
all improv games or read more than one story. You decide what best fits
your "audience" (students) and how long you have.
Keep in mind, however, that the more diverse ways
you approach the virtue, through different mediums (art, drama, music,
etc.), the better chance you will have at reaching the different learning
styles of your students.
So remain flexible with your Lesson Plan and know
that if there is not an activity on the actual Lesson Plan that will work
for you or your situation, be sure to check out an index to see what other
activities are listed that apply to the virtue you want to explore.
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Q: How can I fund a VOW program?
A: Although it is ideal to have all the
materials listed in the VOW manual, you really only need some basic art
supplies and books from the library to get started. Arts and crafts can be
as simple or complex as you like. Adapt the activities to make them
simpler if needed until you can and want to do more involved projects. A
tote of various basic art materials (paper, scissors, glue) can be brought
out at each class.
For the improv (games and activities) very little if any props or costumes
are needed. There is real creativity that happens when children are given
the opportunity to mime actions and use their imagination.
If you do not have the books on the list, see if
you can find one from your library or in your own collection that touches
on the virtue you want to introduce and mix, match and modify games in the
index to support your book choice.
The same goes for songs. Many children's songs
promote virtues and the library is a good option for finding music as well
as from your own collection. Maybe there is a song from your childhood
that you could utilize or take a nursery song and change up the words to
adapt to your virtue. And don't forget
www.kididdles.com as a wonderful resource for songs.
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Q: What are some other ways to incorporate the
VOW program?
A: One great way to utilize the VOW program is to
do a virtue on a day of an observance or holiday. For instance you
could:
- Martin Luther King Day - Justice, Confidence, Determination, Faithfulness,
Purposefulness
- Valentine's Day - Love
- Memorial Day - Honor, Courage, Service
- Father or Mother's Day - Caring, Honor, Respect, Thankfulness, Love
- International Day of Peace - Peacefulness, Tolerance, Caring
There are many more. These are just some suggestions. What a
great "venue" for
doing a VOW class in your neighborhood or home with family, friends and
neighbors! Who knows, everyone may enjoy it so much, your group will begin
to meet on a regular basis. And what a great reason to meet!
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Q: Can I use the entire class time for one in-depth activity?
A: Yes! You can use the entire class time
for one arts & crafts activity, for example. This allows students to
really get involved with the activity without being rushed and can be a
very effective way of approaching the virtue. Remember that even though
the Lesson Plan Grids have many varied activities, you need not do them
all.
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Q: What kind of virtues events could we have?
A: Have a Summer Fest or Fall Fest and
relate each game to a virtue. We called our Fall Fest
VOW-o-Ween. Each student came dressed as a character or object that best
depicted a virtue instead of your typical Halloween costumes. What a
creative and positive spin on the holiday.
For our Spring Fest we had the traditional games
only related to virtues. Each area where the games were played had signs
with the name of the game and related virtue on it. For example, we had
the egg and spoon race (gentleness), three-legged race (unity), cake walk
(patience), spectator’s area (enthusiasm section), and snack area
(moderation).
Another VOW class made up of kids from the same
neighborhood block created a small float for 4th of July together in class
and had their VOW class name on the float as they paraded ENTHUSIASTICALLY
in the parade to HONOR Independence Day.
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Q: How do I utilize the Courtesy Chair?
A: The Courtesy Chair is a very courteous way of
dealing with behavior in the classroom. What happens is, that if a child
is unable to correct their behavior after a gentle reminder (using the
language of the virtues and this is why the reading of
The Family Virtues Guide is so important), then the child is addressed in this manner....
"I think maybe you might need to take some time to
watch how the class/activity or whatever is done. And when you think you
can respectfully/courteously or kindly join us, just jump right back on
in."
So the student is directed to take some time to
watch the class, figure
out what they need to change and then when THEY feel they are ready to
join back in, THEY join in on their own time. It is NOT dictated by the
teacher. Now a teacher may walk over to the child in the chair and ask,
what virtue do you think you need right now? Or how would that
situation have looked if you had used your courtesy, respect,
gentleness, etc?
The courtesy chair is a courtesy to others when someone is having a hard
time participating. If a child returns and the behavior continues, then
the teacher might respond with, "Uh, oh, I think you might need some
more time to watch the game/activity.” or whatever is going on at the
time.
Each time the student joins back in, it is important to say something
short that acknowledges their return, but doesn't stop the class and
draw attention to them. This could be something like, "We're glad you're
back" and then without a skip or beat, go right back to whatever you’re
doing or
saying with the class.
This approach is a combination of two worlds.
The Family Virtues Guide
on discipline and the
Love and Logic approach. This “method” can be just
as successful with kids from elementary school to high school.
The
courtesy chair is not a punishment. It is an opportunity for a student to
step back, look at their environment and all that is going on around them
(as opposed to being indulgent with some acceptable behavior that disrupts
others) and evaluate what it is they
need to do to JOIN what is going on around them. Don’t forget to call on a
virtue and use the language of the virtues. They have power and truly call
on a student's highest qualities.
Also keep in mind that the chair is not in some corner
far away from the group. The chair should be close to action of the class
and allow the student to watch what is going on from a courteous distance.
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Q: What is the Wall of Virtues?
A: The Wall of Virtues is basically the Virtue Cards
available through the Virtues Project (www.virtuesproject.com)
displayed in a pocket chart from a teacher's supply store that hangs on
the wall. It is a large plastic wall hanging with many individual
see-through plastic pockets. In each pocket, a Virtue Card can be inserted
as you introduce a virtue each week. You can also just display them all at
the same time.
Families can also have a Wall of Virtues at home. This is
a great way to reinforce the lesson of the week as well as remind the
whole family to use the language of the virtues. Put up one of these
pocket charts on a wall in a room where everyone goes on a regular basis
(kitchen, hallway, playroom). Invite family members to go to the Wall of
Virtues any time someone is in need of a virtue.
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Q: How can we have VOW t-shirts for our class?
A: Tie dying shirts for the arts and crafts
activity for Creativity is one way to create VOW t-shirts.
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Q: What is the Heifer Project and how can it be
incorporated into the VOW program?
A: The Heifer Project International's Read to Feed
program is a great program to incorporate with VOW. You can find out more
about the Read to Feed program at
www.readtofeed.org. Caring, generosity and service are great virtues
to introduce the Read to Feed program.
You can encourage your VOW students to keep track of how
many books they read at home as well as including the books you read in
your VOW program each week.
Although this is a great and simple way to do a service
project with young children, there are many other types of service
projects you may find in your area. Even raising money to promote your own
VOW program is a service to any community.
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