Willing to Wait: A Review of the Fourth Grade Character Foundation Series

Next to teaching the Bible, I think that character training is most important for a parent to teach to a child. The Bible commands us to, "train up a child in the way he should go, so that when he is older he will not depart from it." This means that the values we instill into our children now, are going to be the values they adhere to when they are adults.

In my search of a good character series I found Willing to Wait by, Jan Black. The series comes with a workbook and a teacher's manual. The series is based upon the book of Nehemiah. The book is divided into eight units. There are three sections within each unit and a ninth unit that summarizes learning from the beginning of the book to the end.

Each unit focuses on three character traits. That means your child will have learned twenty four important character traits throughout the series. Each lesson has fun activities, as well as silly tongue twisters. Children will learn Bible verses, and take a visit the book's "waiting room".

Children turn to the back of the book before beginning the course and fill out a page called, "My Early Ideas of Waiting". This page will be fun for them to review after they have completed the course.

I love the teacher's manual. It is easy to follow and much more detailed than I expected. This course can be completed in one of the student's four semesters. It it a perfect course for an elective. I would suggest using it in the beginning of the school year, so that your child learns how to wait for Christmas presents. It will also help improve behavior so that children are more likely to have a better attitude toward school work each day.