Middle school character/heart/virtue curriculum?

[Meadowlark]

This will be ambiguous-bear with me. I may be bringing my now 5th grader home from public school, or at least dual enrolling him. He's been away in public school for 2 years now, and was homeschooled before that. His issues don't stem from him being in school, but it has certainly exasperated them.

I am searching for curriculum for any subject, that will reinforce good character traits and virtue. I'm open to just about anything including Christian or secular.  Thinking specifically in the areas of Literature or history or anywhere else that I could pull things in from. I'm thinking there has to be some materials available for middle school that I'm just not aware of. With all of the crazy this world is throwing at him, I need to combat it with some powerful stuff-especially in the areas of morality, being a strong leader, not giving in to peer pressure, etc.

If anyone has any ideas, send them my way. Thank you!

[Lori D.]

I strongly recommend getting him into several extracurriculars -- gives him something to look forward to, and encourages great traits:
- martial arts classes -- a good studio/instructor will stress respect, responsibility, and other great character traits.
- 4-H -- another good organization for encouraging responsibility, care for others (if doing one of the animal programs), etc.
- robotics or rocketry team or club -- fosters pride in accomplishment and overcoming hurdles
- involvement in a sport -- maybe something ultimate frisbee (which stresses sportsmanship, fair play, and honesty through self-referee-ing)
- involvement in a craft/activity of high interest to DS to encourage pride in accomplishment, perseverance, etc -- wood-working, electronics, etc.

Also, volunteering regularly (as a family!) -- helping others in need who are less fortunate than you are can really be eye-opening in a good way. Or, getting DS an adult male mentor -- Big Brothers of America organization perhaps, or an adult male relative or a "grandfather" family friend / neighbor / church friend who would meet weekly with DS and do projects and model positive traits.

Some specific books to do as part of "together time" -- don't know if any of these are the specific issues that are cropping up, but these are secular:
What to Do When Your Temper Flares
What to Do When It's Not Fair
What to Do When You Grumble Too Much
What to Do When Bad Habits Take Hold

or -- these are Christian, but esp. the first one could be used more secularly:
The Young Peacemaker -- teaches tools for resolving conflicts, etc.
Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends
Do Hard Things -- better for about age 12/13 through high school, but we all found this very motivating; premise is that the teen years are the time when you have the most energy and ideals and the least burden of responsibility that you ever will have in your life -- so make the most of it

As far as curricula (History and/or Literature) to model or encourage good character traits...

- Sonlight (Christian) or Bookshark (secular) grade 5
Covers other cultures of the world -- perhaps use this as a spine and dig deeper into what life is really like for the vast majority of the world's population that struggles just to survive

- Moving Beyond the Page -- age 9-11 units cover some great character traits/themes:
concept 1 = relationships
concept 2 = diversity and interdependence
concept 3 = discovery and survival

- Build Your Own Library -- level 5
Not a particular focus on character trait/character building, but could make some good memories together with these great books that focus on the first half of American History.

Some positive character trait books to do together that are great for that age:
- The Cay (Taylor)
- The Master Puppeteer (Paterson)
- Adam of the Road (Gray)
- Hatchet (Paulsen)
- Call it Courage (Armstrong)
- Carry On Mr. Bowditch (Latham)
- Jonny Tremain (Forbes)
- The Great Wheel (Lawson)
- My Side of the Mountain (George)
- Voyage of the Dawntreader (Lewis)
- The Black Stallion (Farley)
- The Hobbit (Tolkien)

Wishing you all the BEST, both in transitioning back to homeschooling, but also in finding positive influences for DS for the next few years. Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited January 20, 2019 by Lori D.

[SoCal_Bear]

This is exactly what I have been thinking and praying on lately as we are struggling with emerging tween issues and wanting more for my son. Thank you for posting about this. 

I came across this a few years ago and have it bookmarked. She designed free lesson plans around William Bennett's Book of Virtues. http://www.shiveracademy.com/book-of-virtues.html

I just bought A Boy After God's Own Heart by Jim George. It's too young for you as it is targeted for ages 9 to 11, but I will share it here for others. https://www.amazon.com/Boy-After-Gods-Own-Heart/dp/0736945024 There's a teen version here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0736959785/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_lMTqCbPRB71WT

I also bought Kingdom Quest: Taking Faith and Character to the Next Level. This is the 11-13 version. There's a younger and older version. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1589978080/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_pNTqCbRD35Q5T

 

[HomeAgain]

I find most character curriculum to be hokey.  As a kid, it wouldn't have done much for me.  What did work for me and my kids:
-finding good, positive role models.  My oldest did scouts and his first troop had a great set of men leading them.  They were just what my kid needed in middle school, giving him high expectations and a firm line of right and wrong.
-giving him leadership opportunities in school and outside activities.
-family dinners.  This was actually something we were discussing last night that he brought up.  Family dinners offered a way for him to be part of a real discussion about the day or abstract ideas and be treated as an equal.  Which I guess brings me to
-respect, or more importantly, finding and making my own boundaries and ideas and then treating him with the same.
-volunteer expectations.  We stressed a lot of 'do right, don't tell', too, where you just do what needs to be done and don't fuss over it.

Nothing was very overt and in your face.  It was just a lot of ways to meet the needs, create strong boundaries, and treating our own selves well so that he would understand how to treat others well.  It's a growing process.  We had good years and bad, but I can say it really turned out okay for us.