Character building activities give teachers and parents one more way to address children's behavioral issues. While acknowledging the usefulness of videos for kids to watch, and CD's with songs for them to sing, I must confess that I would never feel I had completed my job if I failed to use character building activities. Many of our kids, at whatever age, just do not learn with videos showing how Bob and Sue feel about good character. They may even mimic the lack of character instead.

A guidance counselor told me recently that we need to educate teachers to change their approach in character building from threatening to non-threatening. I agree, and would include parents as well. I think character building activities are part of the solution. The trick is to select activities that are not, in themselves, threatening.

Character building activities that involve role-playing between siblings can be threatening to kids. They feel singled out, or "picked on." I feel that the same lesson can be taught in a non-threatening manner with a puppet show that lets puppets play the roles. As you find activities in books or on Internet sites, assess their "threat" factor before using them.

Character building activities help us reach the kids that need to talk with their hands, too. I mean the kids that have to be moving to learn. After they listen to or read a good book about a character trait, these kids are ready to move! Crafts turn that energy into a reinforcement of what they just heard or read. Crafts let them express their feelings about the character trait they are studying.