MVCS - Character Traits with Fifth Grade Quotes
1. Character traits were reinforced with Scriptures and illustrative stories each day for the week.
2. I gave a quote each day and had a collection before I sorted them by character traits. The next step would have been to put them in an order that had a progression of thought.
3. The original list came to Mingo with Carl Laws. I added the trait of "respect" to replace "tolerance." Tolerance was often misunderstood and is mostly contained in the concept of respect.
4. I assume that the current list has a few changes.
Obedience - doing what you are told with a happy submissive spirit
• He who will not answer to the rudder must answer to the rocks.
• It is a sin to do less than your best.
• Character is much easier to keep than recover.
• Character is a man’s best capital.
• Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men. ----Douglas Bader
Attentiveness - listening with ears, eyes and heart
• It is no advantage to be near the light if you keep your eyes closed.
• It’s better to be saved by the lighthouse than the lifeboat.
• The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.
• The greatest of all faults is to be aware of none.
• Attentiveness is more than listening.
Manners - behaving in a polite way
• Show courtesy to others, not because they are ladies or gentlemen, but because you are.
• Your young only once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
• Pigs don’t pray.
• Every tree is known by its fruit.
• Talk like Robin Hood when you can shoot like him.
Self Control - doing something even when I don't feel like it
• Our chief want in life is someone who will make us do what we can.
• Everyone knows how to keep their mouth shut, but few know when.
• Ignorance is bold, knowledge reserved.
• If you don’t want the fruits of sin, stay out of the orchard.
• “Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.” –Calvin Coolidge
• “Prudent, cautious self-control is wisdom’s root.” –Robert Burns
• “Self-help and self-control are the essence of the American tradition.” _Theodore Roosevelt
• “A man of self-control becomes the master.” –Sam Veda
Tenderheartedness - strong enough to feel the joys & hurts of others
• There’s nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.
• Conceit is a weird disease. It makes everybody sick except the one who has it.
• The most important things in life aren’t things.
• Let a man talk about himself, and he will think you are mighty interesting.
• Handle words carefully, they have more power than atom bombs.
Honesty - truthful words and ways
• Stretch the truth, and it will fly back to bite you.
• Lying brings rest only when it’s done in bed.
• The Devil has many tools and the lie is the handle that fits them all.
• Exaggeration is the first cousin to lying.
• Nobody can repeat what is not said.
• You can steal the chief’s horn, but where will you blow it?
Love - meeting another's needs unselfishly
• Love doesn’t make the world go around, but it makes the ride worthwhile.
• A little Christ like love will save a lot of friction.
• Charity begins at home.
• Between the great things we can’t do and the little things we won’t do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.
• Christ is the reoccurring theme in the symphony of the Scriptures.
Orderliness - everything in its place
• Most failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
• Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.
• The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.
• Hell is full of good intentions.
• Too many people scratch for what they want, but are too lazy to scratch for it.
Forgiveness - treating someone as though he never hurt me
• The old law about an “eye for an eye” leaves everybody blind.
• Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.
• God loves His children, not because of who we are, but because of who we are.
• Some people find fault like there is a reward for it.
• He who does not pray when the sun shines will not know how when the clouds roll in.
Loyalty - supporting someone even when the going gets tough
• When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most necessary.
• Be nice to your friends. If it weren’t for them you would be a total stranger.
• He who has nothing worth dieing for has nothing worth living for.
• A friend is a person who knows all about you and still likes you.
• Keep your tongue and keep your friend.
Faith - believing God will do what he says
• The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first.
• Where God guides He provides.
• Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.
• Faith is saying amen to God.
• Faith bears fruit.
Joyfulness - being happy inside and out
• A smile will increase your face value.
• Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to share it with.
• Optimism is a cheerful frame of mind that enables a teakettle to sing even though it is in hot water.
• Let a man talk about himself and he will thing you are mighty interesting.
• Losers whine; winners train.
Thankfulness - being grateful and saying so
• Even thought we cannot have all we want, we ought to be thankful we do not get what we deserve.
• The only way to see a rainbow is to have a storm.
• If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.
• One kind word can warm three winter months.
Courage - doing what has to be done no matter how scared you are
• The greatness of our fears shows the littleness of our faith.
• When the outlook is bad, try the up look.
• When you’re through changing, you’re through.
• If you cannot win, bake the one ahead of you break the record.
• It’s not what they call you. It’s what you answer to.
Diligence - working hard to accomplish a task
• Great opportunities come to those who make the most of little ones.
• Success is a ladder that cannot be climbed with our hands in your pockets.
• Success is dependent on upon the glands—the sweat glands.
• It’s not pull that makes the difference in life; it’s push.
• The lazier a man is, the more he intends to do tomorrow.
Purity - keeping sin out
• Putting God first brings satisfaction that lasts.
• A guilty conscience needs no accusing.
• In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking.
• Sin will keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin.
• If you don’t touch the rope, you won’t ring the bell.
Generosity - sharing what I have with a happy spirit
• When your heart is converted, your purse will be inverted.
• The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but reveal theirs.
• Blessed are those who can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.
• You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
• We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. ----------W. Churchill
Thriftiness - wise use of what I have
• It’s hard to pay for bread that has been eaten
• It’s not what you’d do with a million if riches should be your lot, but what you’re doing now with the dollar you’ve got.
• Buy not silk when you owe for milk.
• We can best guard against losing our shirts by keeping our sleeves rolled up.
• Weed your own garden first.
Dedication - to become committed to something as a goal or way of life
• First we make our habits; then our habits make us.
• When you’re average, you’re just as near the bottom as the top.
• What a man is depends largely on what he does when he has nothing to do.
• The everyday Christian has a seven to one advantage over the Sunday practitioner.
• Fame is not found on feather beds.
Discernment - able to see things as they really are
• Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me.
• The consideration of the end will reconcile us to the difficulties and discouragements of the way.
• Forbidden fruit makes for a bad jam.
• Sin will take you farther than you want to go and cost more than you want to pay.
• The wolf offered to watch the flock for nothing.
• Birds of a feather flock together.
• Fool me once: shame on you. Fool me twice: shame on me.
Determination - finishing your job no matter what the obstacles
• The path of least resistance makes men and rivers crooked.
• Everything looks impossible to people who never try.
• The difference between history’s boldest accomplishments and its greatest failures is often, simply, the determined will to persevere.
• The drummer boy who never learned to beat a retreat won a lot of battles.
• Boys who try hard grow up to be men who are hard to beat.
Patience - waiting with a happy spirit
• God has a prepared place for a prepared person.
• Rome was not built in a day.
• All things are difficult before they are easy.
• Failure is never final.
• In clam seas we are all good sailors.
Initiative - making the first move without being asked
• The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
• Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.
• Where you go from here is entirely up to you.
• Too many people quit looking for work when they get a job.
• The wagons follow the ruts.
Godliness - putting God first
• What you laugh at tells about what you are.
• He who is born of God will resemble his Father.
• Don’t’ pretend to be what you don’t intend to be.
• The man who practices what he preaches is generally known for short, simple sermons.
• Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all. -----Augustine
• Reputation is what men say you are. Character is what we are before God.
Creativity - doing something in a new way
• Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• Change starts when someone sees the next step.
• Laughter translates into any language.
Sharing - giving what I have to others
• The got to be man’s best friend by wagging his tail not his tongue.
• One Bible stored in your mind is worth a dozen on the shelf.
• Our main business in this world is to secure an interest in the next.
Promptness - being on time
• Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.
• Lost time in never found again.
• People count the faults of those who make them wait.
• Five minutes in a crisis is worth years.
• God is seldom early, but never late.
Fairness - treating others equally
• The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.
• Seek not every quality in one individual.
• There is absolutely no commission on the sell you almost make.
• A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
• It is better to deserve praise than to receive it.
Meekness - patience without anger
• If we must disagree, let us not be disagreeable.
• When a man’s temper gets the best of him, it reveals the worst in him.
• Anger is one word short of danger.
• Bible verses will save you from spiritual reverses.
Responsibility - doing what I know I ought to do
• The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
• He who kicks up a storm should expect rough sailing.
• Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a manner of choice.
• It is easier to build a boy than mend a man.
• We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails.
Wisdom - thinking God's way
• It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
• “Lord, teach us to number our days that we might apply our hearts to wisdom.”
• Nobody gets wise by chance.
• He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose.
• You can steal the chief’s horn, but where will you blow it?
• He who asks a question may seem to be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever.
Respect - reverencing God by showing the proper esteem and regard for others.
• Question authority, but first raise your hand.
• If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.
• One can easily pick a wise man by the things he doesn’t say.
• Nothing is a difficult to gracefully as getting down off your high horse.
• Is it progress when a cannibal uses a knife and fork?
• He who has no battles will have no victories.
Serving (helping) - meeting the needs of others by the things I do
• Most people’s idea of service is “serve us.”
• If thou wilt spin, God will find thee yarn.
• When you row the other guy across the stream, you get there yourself.
• Loving-kindness has converted more sinners than eloquence or learning.
• Hit the ball over the fence and you can take your time going around the bases.
Contentment - happy with what I have
• A shortcut is often the quickest way to somewhere you weren’t going.
• Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and cheerfully take what God chooses to send.
• God can make a great finish out of a slow start.
• A good violinist is the one who has the ability to play first chair and willingness to play second.
• Enough is as good as a cartload.
1. Character traits were reinforced with Scriptures and illustrative stories each day for the week.
2. I gave a quote each day and had a collection before I sorted them by character traits. The next step would have been to put them in an order that had a progression of thought.
3. The original list came to Mingo with Carl Laws. I added the trait of "respect" to replace "tolerance." Tolerance was often misunderstood and is mostly contained in the concept of respect.
4. I assume that the current list has a few changes.
Obedience - doing what you are told with a happy submissive spirit
• He who will not answer to the rudder must answer to the rocks.
• It is a sin to do less than your best.
• Character is much easier to keep than recover.
• Character is a man’s best capital.
• Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men. ----Douglas Bader
Attentiveness - listening with ears, eyes and heart
• It is no advantage to be near the light if you keep your eyes closed.
• It’s better to be saved by the lighthouse than the lifeboat.
• The most important thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.
• The greatest of all faults is to be aware of none.
• Attentiveness is more than listening.
Manners - behaving in a polite way
• Show courtesy to others, not because they are ladies or gentlemen, but because you are.
• Your young only once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
• Pigs don’t pray.
• Every tree is known by its fruit.
• Talk like Robin Hood when you can shoot like him.
Self Control - doing something even when I don't feel like it
• Our chief want in life is someone who will make us do what we can.
• Everyone knows how to keep their mouth shut, but few know when.
• Ignorance is bold, knowledge reserved.
• If you don’t want the fruits of sin, stay out of the orchard.
• “Industry, thrift and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character.” –Calvin Coolidge
• “Prudent, cautious self-control is wisdom’s root.” –Robert Burns
• “Self-help and self-control are the essence of the American tradition.” _Theodore Roosevelt
• “A man of self-control becomes the master.” –Sam Veda
Tenderheartedness - strong enough to feel the joys & hurts of others
• There’s nothing stronger in the world than gentleness.
• Conceit is a weird disease. It makes everybody sick except the one who has it.
• The most important things in life aren’t things.
• Let a man talk about himself, and he will think you are mighty interesting.
• Handle words carefully, they have more power than atom bombs.
Honesty - truthful words and ways
• Stretch the truth, and it will fly back to bite you.
• Lying brings rest only when it’s done in bed.
• The Devil has many tools and the lie is the handle that fits them all.
• Exaggeration is the first cousin to lying.
• Nobody can repeat what is not said.
• You can steal the chief’s horn, but where will you blow it?
Love - meeting another's needs unselfishly
• Love doesn’t make the world go around, but it makes the ride worthwhile.
• A little Christ like love will save a lot of friction.
• Charity begins at home.
• Between the great things we can’t do and the little things we won’t do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.
• Christ is the reoccurring theme in the symphony of the Scriptures.
Orderliness - everything in its place
• Most failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
• Those who make the worst use of their time are the first to complain of its shortness.
• The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.
• Hell is full of good intentions.
• Too many people scratch for what they want, but are too lazy to scratch for it.
Forgiveness - treating someone as though he never hurt me
• The old law about an “eye for an eye” leaves everybody blind.
• Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.
• God loves His children, not because of who we are, but because of who we are.
• Some people find fault like there is a reward for it.
• He who does not pray when the sun shines will not know how when the clouds roll in.
Loyalty - supporting someone even when the going gets tough
• When faithfulness is most difficult, it is most necessary.
• Be nice to your friends. If it weren’t for them you would be a total stranger.
• He who has nothing worth dieing for has nothing worth living for.
• A friend is a person who knows all about you and still likes you.
• Keep your tongue and keep your friend.
Faith - believing God will do what he says
• The faith that fizzles before the finish had a flaw from the first.
• Where God guides He provides.
• Worriers spend a lot of time shoveling smoke.
• Faith is saying amen to God.
• Faith bears fruit.
Joyfulness - being happy inside and out
• A smile will increase your face value.
• Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy, you must have someone to share it with.
• Optimism is a cheerful frame of mind that enables a teakettle to sing even though it is in hot water.
• Let a man talk about himself and he will thing you are mighty interesting.
• Losers whine; winners train.
Thankfulness - being grateful and saying so
• Even thought we cannot have all we want, we ought to be thankful we do not get what we deserve.
• The only way to see a rainbow is to have a storm.
• If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.
• One kind word can warm three winter months.
Courage - doing what has to be done no matter how scared you are
• The greatness of our fears shows the littleness of our faith.
• When the outlook is bad, try the up look.
• When you’re through changing, you’re through.
• If you cannot win, bake the one ahead of you break the record.
• It’s not what they call you. It’s what you answer to.
Diligence - working hard to accomplish a task
• Great opportunities come to those who make the most of little ones.
• Success is a ladder that cannot be climbed with our hands in your pockets.
• Success is dependent on upon the glands—the sweat glands.
• It’s not pull that makes the difference in life; it’s push.
• The lazier a man is, the more he intends to do tomorrow.
Purity - keeping sin out
• Putting God first brings satisfaction that lasts.
• A guilty conscience needs no accusing.
• In the multitude of words, sin is not lacking.
• Sin will keep you from the Bible, or the Bible will keep you from sin.
• If you don’t touch the rope, you won’t ring the bell.
Generosity - sharing what I have with a happy spirit
• When your heart is converted, your purse will be inverted.
• The greatest good we can do for others is not just to share our riches with them, but reveal theirs.
• Blessed are those who can give without remembering and receive without forgetting.
• You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
• We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give. ----------W. Churchill
Thriftiness - wise use of what I have
• It’s hard to pay for bread that has been eaten
• It’s not what you’d do with a million if riches should be your lot, but what you’re doing now with the dollar you’ve got.
• Buy not silk when you owe for milk.
• We can best guard against losing our shirts by keeping our sleeves rolled up.
• Weed your own garden first.
Dedication - to become committed to something as a goal or way of life
• First we make our habits; then our habits make us.
• When you’re average, you’re just as near the bottom as the top.
• What a man is depends largely on what he does when he has nothing to do.
• The everyday Christian has a seven to one advantage over the Sunday practitioner.
• Fame is not found on feather beds.
Discernment - able to see things as they really are
• Fool me once; shame on you. Fool me twice; shame on me.
• The consideration of the end will reconcile us to the difficulties and discouragements of the way.
• Forbidden fruit makes for a bad jam.
• Sin will take you farther than you want to go and cost more than you want to pay.
• The wolf offered to watch the flock for nothing.
• Birds of a feather flock together.
• Fool me once: shame on you. Fool me twice: shame on me.
Determination - finishing your job no matter what the obstacles
• The path of least resistance makes men and rivers crooked.
• Everything looks impossible to people who never try.
• The difference between history’s boldest accomplishments and its greatest failures is often, simply, the determined will to persevere.
• The drummer boy who never learned to beat a retreat won a lot of battles.
• Boys who try hard grow up to be men who are hard to beat.
Patience - waiting with a happy spirit
• God has a prepared place for a prepared person.
• Rome was not built in a day.
• All things are difficult before they are easy.
• Failure is never final.
• In clam seas we are all good sailors.
Initiative - making the first move without being asked
• The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
• Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.
• Where you go from here is entirely up to you.
• Too many people quit looking for work when they get a job.
• The wagons follow the ruts.
Godliness - putting God first
• What you laugh at tells about what you are.
• He who is born of God will resemble his Father.
• Don’t’ pretend to be what you don’t intend to be.
• The man who practices what he preaches is generally known for short, simple sermons.
• Jesus Christ is not valued at all until He is valued above all. -----Augustine
• Reputation is what men say you are. Character is what we are before God.
Creativity - doing something in a new way
• Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.
• Necessity is the mother of invention.
• Change starts when someone sees the next step.
• Laughter translates into any language.
Sharing - giving what I have to others
• The got to be man’s best friend by wagging his tail not his tongue.
• One Bible stored in your mind is worth a dozen on the shelf.
• Our main business in this world is to secure an interest in the next.
Promptness - being on time
• Nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.
• Lost time in never found again.
• People count the faults of those who make them wait.
• Five minutes in a crisis is worth years.
• God is seldom early, but never late.
Fairness - treating others equally
• The smallest deed is better than the greatest intention.
• Seek not every quality in one individual.
• There is absolutely no commission on the sell you almost make.
• A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.
• It is better to deserve praise than to receive it.
Meekness - patience without anger
• If we must disagree, let us not be disagreeable.
• When a man’s temper gets the best of him, it reveals the worst in him.
• Anger is one word short of danger.
• Bible verses will save you from spiritual reverses.
Responsibility - doing what I know I ought to do
• The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
• He who kicks up a storm should expect rough sailing.
• Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a manner of choice.
• It is easier to build a boy than mend a man.
• We can’t direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails.
Wisdom - thinking God's way
• It’s better to keep your mouth shut and have people wonder if you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.
• “Lord, teach us to number our days that we might apply our hearts to wisdom.”
• Nobody gets wise by chance.
• He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose.
• You can steal the chief’s horn, but where will you blow it?
• He who asks a question may seem to be a fool for five minutes, but he who never asks a question remains a fool forever.
Respect - reverencing God by showing the proper esteem and regard for others.
• Question authority, but first raise your hand.
• If you are all wrapped up in yourself, you are overdressed.
• One can easily pick a wise man by the things he doesn’t say.
• Nothing is a difficult to gracefully as getting down off your high horse.
• Is it progress when a cannibal uses a knife and fork?
• He who has no battles will have no victories.
Serving (helping) - meeting the needs of others by the things I do
• Most people’s idea of service is “serve us.”
• If thou wilt spin, God will find thee yarn.
• When you row the other guy across the stream, you get there yourself.
• Loving-kindness has converted more sinners than eloquence or learning.
• Hit the ball over the fence and you can take your time going around the bases.
Contentment - happy with what I have
• A shortcut is often the quickest way to somewhere you weren’t going.
• Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and cheerfully take what God chooses to send.
• God can make a great finish out of a slow start.
• A good violinist is the one who has the ability to play first chair and willingness to play second.
• Enough is as good as a cartload.
