Dear Parents,

Please be a tattletale!

For the next few months, while we teach the Tapestry of Faith Moral Tales curriculum, your children will be encouraged to keep track of and name their own acts of justice and goodness.

Each time the group meets, the children will have the opportunity to share about accomplishments. For each act of justice or goodness, the children will place a colorful gem into a collection container. When they collectively reach certain goal marks or fill the container, we will have a special celebration.

We are sending home a log book for each child to record their acts of goodness and justice. It is our hope that you will pay extra attention to your child's acts of goodness or justice, and note them in the log book. Simply write the date and a brief description of the action you are affirming. Before you bring your child to a Moral Tales meeting, please review the acts of goodness and justice with your child so their accomplishments are fresh in their minds.

Please think of justice and goodness broadly. Include acts of courage, generosity, kindness, determination, patience, thoughtfulness, respect, creativity, honesty, forgiveness, conflict resolution, and fairness. Include acts that involve care of the self, care of others, or care of the earth. You can increase the learning in the exercise by helping your child give the action a specific name. Instead of simply using the label "good," talk about courage or kindness, persistence or helpfulness.

Noticing and naming their own expression of these virtues will serve the children in multiple ways:
* The children will be empowered as agents of justice and goodness.
* They will learn to recognize goodness and justice in many different forms.
* They will gain practice in identifying and articulating the benefits of actively pursuing goodness and justice.
* They will learn to encourage and affirm others in their accomplishments.

So, in sum, please be a tattletale! When your child has done something particularly noteworthy, consider joining us when we gather our gem collection circle. Be a witness to your child sharing his/her accomplishment of goodness or justice.

Yours in Faith,

(Co-leaders)