Character Development and Free Printable Worksheets

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I told Sadie, 5, that I was working on a curriculum for character development for our homeschool.

She said:

“I want my character to be Dora!”

“No sweetie I don’t mean a cartoon character. Character development means the kind of person you are.”

“I know what kind of person I am!”

“I know honey. I mean being an even better person, the best person you can be.“

If you’re like most homeschoolers, your children’s character development is every bit as important to you (perhaps more important) as their academic success.

photo credit: jimmiehomeschoolmom

I decided that this year we were going to spend one week delving into one character trait. Initially I wrote down a whole list of character traits that I wanted to study. But then, I stumbled upon this site:  Character Counts. I realized that the characteristics I had listed all fell under the 6 pillars.

So I created a curriculum for us. It’s really quite simple, and I am sharing the character development worksheet I typed out. (It’s a Google doc.)

Our character development curriculum will look something like this:

1. I introduce the character trait of the week by reading a definition of it.
2. We discuss and fill out the worksheet together.
3. Through the week we read stories and books (aloud as a group and separately) about people who demonstrated this trait – whether that be Bible stories, fictional characters, or biographies of real people in history. (Even animals demonstrate character in a sense – ants are diligent, lions courageous, etc.) Since we go to the library once a week, I’m going to reserve books ahead of time so they’ll be waiting for us when we go.
4. Sadie (who is too young to fill out the worksheet) will draw a picture of someone demonstrating the characteristic. (A kid cleaning their room would demonstrate Responsibility, a sister sharing is demonstrating Caring, etc). The other kids can do this in addition to the worksheet if they like.
5. During the week we look for examples of how we can demonstrate the character trait and of how we may have failed to do so (that part is mostly my job. I’m hoping that this repetition will help the kids internalize the meaning of good character as well as help them with vocabulary.

I got a file folder for each of the kids and inside it put 6 copies of the worksheet (one for each character trait) and the printout of the definition of the 6 pillars.  They can also put notes, booklists, journal pages, drawings etc in there.The kids will keep these all year for review as needed. ( Read: when they’re being naughty and need a reminder!)

Please feel free to share the worksheet with anyone you wish, you can also edit it if you like (not via Google docs, you’ll have to copy and paste it to create a new one).

Here’s the link again: Free printable character development worksheet for homeschoolers. (If you aren’t Christian, you could easily remove the references to God and scripture and replace them with something appropriate for your family.)

How do you do character development in your homeschool? Do you have any resources to recommend?