The Character Training Resource We Love (And You Will, Too!)

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What do you think of when character training comes to mind?

I think about the privilege we have to teach our children traits and habits that will help them grow to be successful members of society, not just academically, but socially. This involves teaching things like good manners, showing kindness and helpfulness, being obedient and diligent, and taking initiative.

We often spend a lot of time planning core curriculum like math, science, and language arts, and while these are definitely important, success will not always be dependent solely on academics – we have a responsibility to help our children become well-rounded individuals. Character training is an essential part of education, whether it happens as a separate “study” or integrated into other subjects we teach.

So we know character training is important…but where do we start?

Top Character Training Resource

We discovered Character Badges about three years ago at the Teach Them Diligently Homeschool Convention. I (and my kids!) fell in love with the character training system and think that it would be a great addition to your homeschool to teach character training.

(This post is not sponsored and we received no compensation for reviewing – we just love the program so much that we want to share it with you!)

What is the Character Badge Program?

Character Badges was created by Sean and Caroline Allen, who own The Well Ordered Homeschool. They created this character training system to help parents teach their kids obedience consistently, and to give parents the tools they need to encourage and motivate their kids to practice good character.

The program consists of different character traits to focus on each month, as well as other responsibilities in the home, and includes a reward component which is really motivating for kids!

What I Like Best About Character Badges

I love that this product was created by a family-run business, and that Sean and Caroline recognize the importance of God’s guidance in character training. Their program includes scripture references to use as you are teaching the different character traits.

I also like that you have to pick one trait to focus on each month. It helps my kids build good habits working on one trait at a time, and really understanding what it means to embody that trait.

Everything is included with this system that you will need to learn about and teach the following character traits: Initiative, Kindness, Obedience, Cheerfulness, Diligence, Tidiness, Helpfulness, and Respectfulness.

Each time my kids demonstrate the traits or responsibilities on their chart, they get a sticker. Good habits are developed as they practice these over and over throughout the month.

What My Kids Like About Character Badges

My kids use their charts and booklets each day, and love earning stickers and badges, and checking things off their lists! Here is what they love (straight from their own mouths):

“There are fun stickers that we get to put in our book when we earn badges!” (Carly, 6)

“They help us remember our responsibilities so we can keep our house tidy.” (Emma, 6)

“I liked being able to put stickers in the book and earn my Initiative Badge. I leaned how it’s important to do things without being asked if you see that they need to be done.” (Luke, 8)

How We Use the Character Badges System in Our Homeschool

We started with the Character Badges base set, and I purchased additional charts for my two other kids. They also now have a printable version you can print yourself and use for all your kiddos! (Maybe not as much fun as the magnets, BUT a very cost-effective option if you have multiple kids!)

So, at the beginning of the month, I clear off their charts and we sit down and decide on what character traits and responsibilities we want to work on for the month. The system has Character Tabs you place on your charts so you can easily change them out each month!

The main character traits are marked with a purple circle, and other responsibilities have blue circles on the tabs.

One Character Training Focus Per Month

Each of my kids chooses one main character trait they want to focus on, and puts it at the top of their chart. We then go through and take turns picking out the other responsibilities they will have that month. The charts and tabs are magnetic, so we stick them right up on our whiteboard in our schoolroom!

Many of the other responsibilities are chore-type activities, but there are also daily habits in there that are important to practice (like making the bed, flossing teeth, brushing/fixing hair). We choose to stick with more of the habit-forming actions for this part of the chart, because we use a different system to track our daily chores.

Each time one of the responsibilities is completed, or my kids show an example of the character trait they are working on, they get to check off a box on their chart. Once they get to a circle with a star, they get to put a sticker in their book (see below – they LOVE this part!).

Once they fill up the top row, they have earned their badge for that character trait, and get a special badge sticker to put in their books:

You’ll notice in the booklets that they can earn coins once they get to the end of each row. You can set up a rewards system with the coins (having different rewards they can “pay” for), but we use ours to correspond to extra screen time they can buy.

Go Further with Character Training

There is so much included in this system; their base set also includes a disobedience chart, a consequence chart and a rewards chart that helps parents stay calm and have a clear plan of attack on how to deal with difficult behavior issues. We used this part when my kids were a little younger, but since we’ve really developed a good system here, we don’t use the consequence charts anymore.

To take your character training even further, you can look up books and stories, and/or examples from the bible that show characters exemplifying the traits you are working on. Discuss how their lives are affected (both positively and negatively) by how they are behaving and how the traits are shown in the stories.

Printable Character Training Cards

Another add-on resource I love are these printable character cards you can grab from their website! I laminated and cut mine, punched a hole in the corner and put them on a binder ring.

These are so handy for explaining each trait and what you are expecting of your kids to accomplish for each one. They help you teach the what and how for each trait, plus they give a scripture reference (and there is a fun little anecdote on the back to go along with the trait).

What do you think, would this system work well in your home? Drop a comment below and share any of your favorite character training resources you think homeschool moms should know about!

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