Teaching children the meaning and importance of integrity can sometimes be challenging. Children are usually concrete thinkers, so they are able to understand what they can feel, see, smell, and so on. However, the idea of living with integrity is an abstract concept, which can make it challenging to explain to children. Regardless, we believe that living with integrity is an important life skill that parents need to help their children embrace and understand. To make that process a little easier, we offer these fun activities to help children grasp the concepts of integrity, honesty, and the importance of having good character.
Here are five simple activities that parents can use to help their children develop a strong sense of integrity:
The Compliment Circle
As a family, consider spending time once a week giving each other compliments. For this game, we suggest sitting in a circle, but families are welcome to sit with each other however they would like. Parents can invite their younger children to say a compliment out loud to the person sitting next to them. This activity can help young children feel motivated to share kind words with others and it can help them develop positive character qualities. During this activity, parents can guide their children by encouraging them to model positive body language like eye contact, clear pronunciation, and even a smile!
Parents with older children can also use this activity. Consider encouraging your older children to write down their compliment on a small piece of paper, then ask them to pass that piece of paper to the person next to them. Then, invite everyone in the circle to read the note that they received out loud. This activity can help older children practice their reading, writing and speech skills.
Create A Recipe For Integrity
Integrity involves many different parts or “ingredients.” For this fun activity, we encourage families to think like a world-class chef and create the perfect recipe for living with integrity. Parents can ask their children to write down all of the ingredients that they believe go inside the recipe for integrity. This is a great way for parents to have a discussion with their children about the meaning of integrity, the importance of being honest and other important family values. For this activity, the ingredients should describe actions, words, and deeds that demonstrate how to live with integrity. Parents can ask their children to place all of their ingredients inside of a bowl to be displayed on a table or maybe a countertop. Or, parents can help their children turn this activity into an art project by asking their children to draw, paint or color their bowl full of ingredients for integrity. We encourage families to display their recipe somewhere that is easily visible at home as a reminder to act with integrity every day!
Perform A Puppet Show
A puppet show is a great activity for older children. Parents can invite their children to create a script for a puppet show about integrity. The children can start by brainstorming to create the story for the puppet show. Parents can guide their children through this process to help them create a show that defines and demonstrates integrity. This part of the activity encourages older scholars to practice their reading, writing and storytelling skills. Next, consider asking the children to create and name their own puppets for the show. This is a great way to encourage artistic creativity and imagination. Last but not least, gather as a family and watch as your children perform their puppet show about the meaning and importance of integrity. This activity is a fun and creative way to get older children thinking about how they too can act with integrity!
A Random Act of Kindness
Being kind to others is an important part of demonstrating integrity. For example, if someone accidentally drops money on the ground, a kind person would return that money to its rightful owner. Parents can help their older children grasp this concept by doing a random act of kindness. To start, parents can ask their children to brainstorm some ways that they can be kind to others. Maybe they could pass out smiley face stickers, or maybe they want to hold the door open for the next person each time they walk through a door. They could even write down compliments on small pieces of paper and hand them out to people in passing. There are countless random acts of kindness that children can create. This activity can encourage children to understand the importance of giving to others, which can help them to live with integrity.
Play Honesty Bingo
This activity makes the classic game of Bingo all about integrity. For this activity, parents can start by creating a simple custom bingo game to help their children learn about integrity. To get started, create a basic Bingo grid (four columns and four rows). Parents will need to create a few grids if they more than one child. Then, inside of each square on the board parents can write down a kind act that demonstrates integrity like returning a lost wallet, giving someone a compliment, telling the truth, etc. Next, create a few sets of small bingo chips (feel free to get creative!) that have the same kind acts written on them. One set of chips should go to each child so that they can play the game. The other set is for the parents so that they can pull the chips randomly from a hat, and read them out loud as their scholars try to get four in a row on their Bingo boards. This activity can make learning about integrity more engaging and a little competitive. It encourages children to think about many different ways that they can demonstrate integrity. It’s a fairly simple game to make at home that can help children understand how they can act with integrity!
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Compass Charter Schools (CCS) is a WASC-accredited virtual charter school that serves families throughout California. Interested in learning more about CCS’ flexible academic programs? Visit our website, or contact our enrollment team at enrollment@compasscharters.org or (877) 506-8631.