Building Character in Our Children with Lads and Ladies of Wisdom Bible Curriculum {A Review}

A year ago, I had the privilege of being a part of the launch team for Kathie Morrissey's Preschool and Early Elementary Curriculum called, Little Lads and Ladies of Virtue. Kathie Morrissey is a fellow homeschool mom of 8 children. She started Character Corner to provide Biblical parenting resources to other parents. Now, Kathie has released a followup for older children called Lads and Ladies of Wisdom. This curriculum was designed for children who are in grades 1-6.

I received 2 ebooks to use with the children during our Bible time. This curriculum is similar to the the Virtues curriculum in that there is a curriculum book and an activity book. The Lads and Ladies of Wisdom ebook sells for $15.00 and the companion Little Lads and Ladies of Wisdom Activities & Copywork ebook is also $15.00. You can purchase them as a set for $26.00.

This character building curriculum is designed to take 5 months to complete. Each week children learn more about wisdom through Bible readings, memory verses, Wisdom Keys, activities, object lessons, role playing, copywork and various worksheets. Besides having to print out the needed sheets and gather some easy to find supplies, the curriculum is pretty much open and go. There is an introduction and instructions followed by a materials-needed section. So far, I have found the materials needed are quite easy to come by, which is a great plus, as is having the materials listed out in the beginning of the book so the parent can easily prepare for each week's lesson.

Let's take a closer look at the main curriculum book. As I already stated, the book begins with an introduction, instructions, and a resources/materials needed section. From there we move into the 20 weekly lessons.

Each lesson has a memory verse and 3-4 Wisdom Keys shared on the first page of that week's lesson. The memory verse isn't written out because the parent is being given the opportunity to use whichever version of the Bible they prefer to use. You will need to have your Bible handy during the study. We then move into the lesson. Each day, there is a list of verses to read, again, just the reference is given. The children are being asked to listen to the verses and see how they relate to the lesson theme. For instance, in Day 3 of Week 1, the children are to listen for the blessings that come to a wise person. 

We then take the time to practice the memory verse, and on each of the following days we work on the verse, plus the Wisdom Keys that have been introduced thus far. 

I have found that the children learn the Bible verse a lot easier when we add motions to it.

Here the children were learning the memory verse from week 4: 

Proverbs 1:5- Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance

There is then an activity to help reinforce the day's lesson. These activities come in the form of object lessons, activity cards, activity pages, and games. The children had fun the first week when they had to go on a treasure hunt. Daddy helped by making up some fun clues to lead them toward the treasure. They have also followed directions to make a shape person and have drawn pictures of Miss or Mr. Arrogant. 

We used rocks and cotton balls to show the heaviness verses lightness of a parent's heart when children are foolish as opposed to wise. 

Sometimes the activity uses cards that I print and cut out for us to act upon. 

This past week, we learned that "A Wise Person Chooses Wise Companions." On each of the cards, there was written a scenario. We each took turns drawing a card and flipping a coin. If it landed on heads we were to respond to the scenario wisely, if it was tails, we were to act foolish. 

Following these lessons you will find the printables section. There is a Treasure Chest Chart with Treasures to cut out. The children earn these treasure pieces at the end of each week when they can demonstrate knowledge of what was learned during that week. I have the children each take turns reciting the memory verse and the keys for the week.

The Activity Cards described above are also found in the back of the curriculum book. I recommend printing them on card stock, so they will hold up to children using them. Sometimes the activity cards are used for discussion, other times we get up and move to play the games. 

The last thing you will find in the main curriculum book is the coloring pages section. Each weekly lesson has a coloring sheet. 

In addition to the main curriculum book, we received the Lads and Ladies of Wisdom Activity and Copywork book. Each week there are 2-3 activity pages for the children to complete to help reinforce what is being learned. The girls have been enjoying such activities as word searches, crossword puzzles, word unscrambles, and match ups.

Each day the children have copywork pages as well.  The copywork consists of the memory verse and the Keys learned during the week. These are offered in both print and cursive, which was perfect because Tabitha could use the cursive and Amelia could use the print. I have them trace the dotted words and then write it out below.

We have been having fun while learning about wisdom using Lads and Ladies of Wisdom. We have learned the definitions of Wisdom and Foolishness, plus looked at the blessings of Wisdom and the Consequences of Foolishness. From there we began digging deeper into the characteristics of a wise person. The majority of the study is devoted to learning about and internalizing these characteristics, after the short foundation in learning about what wisdom is and why we should desire it as opposed to foolishness.

I did have a couple of concerns. I have to admit, there were times when verses didn't appear to match up, then I realized that we were probably using a different version of the Bible, which would cause us not to find the exact same word.  There were times when reading multiple verses that I had to do quite a bit of flipping back and forth to find the verses. If I had realized it didn't really matter which order they were read in, I would have read them in order.

All in all, this is a wonderful character building curriculum for young children. I was able to include the youngest children who are 3 and 5 years old. I didn't expect them to learn all the Wisdom Keys by heart, though they did repeat them after me, and they memorized the memory verses. They were able to join in with most of the activities and had fun with the activity sheets, though I also didn't expect them to do the copywork. We are looking forward to continuing this study.

If you are looking for a character building curriculum for younger children, I also highly recommend Little Lads and Ladies of Virtue. I invite you to read my review for details of that program.

I am thrilled to be able to offer you the chance to win a set of the Lads & Ladies of Wisdom ebooks. The winner of the giveaway will receive both the curriculum and the copywork.

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs June 15 through June 30.

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!

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Disclosure: I received the Lads & Ladies of Wisdom ebook Curriculum and Copywork in exchange for my honest review. I received no further compensation. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.