5 Ways to Embrace Your Family’s Values
When a family embraces its values and sets clear expectations, children can be confident about what is important in their daily lives. Additionally, a family can use its values to determine how it will spend its time together and plan for its future. A family can identify its values through the following activity:
- Convene a family meeting about members’ expectations for your daily life with each other.
- Have family members share what they think are important expectations or values for your family.
- Make a list of all identified values, vote on four, and select those with the most votes.
- Create a family shield, crest, or symbol to represent your family’s values.
- List the four top values in an artistic representation and frame or post in a prominent location in your home.
For example, a family created a heart symbol to illustrate their following family values:
- Family is important.
- Each family member is caring and respectful of individual differences.
- The family gives back to their community through service activities.
- The family values education and learning.
Finally, the heart of the family’s values was posted on the refrigerator. Family members reviewed it when they struggled with being able to set priorities in their daily lives.
Review your list of values with your family each week during meal time. Embrace your family’s values in you actions and words. Consider adding or changing values over time as your family grows.
You can also review the blog on how parents can work and play with their children. Use the worksheet below and share your family’s values with us. Describe how you captured your identified values in an artistic creation. We will include various family values and themes in our future blogs.
Embrace Your Family’s Values Worksheet (word doc)
Much love and care for your children!
Warm regards,
Mary Ann
Copyright (c) 2016 by GenParenting
Mary Ann Burke, Ed.D., Digital Education Expert, is a substitute distance learning teacher for Oak Grove School District in San Jose, California and the author of STUDENT-ENGAGED ASSESSMENT: Strategies to Empower All Learners (Rowman & Littlefield: 2020). Dr. Burke creates digital language arts and substitute teaching K – 12 activities for teachers and parents. She is the Cofounder of the Genparenting.com blog. Burke is the former Director II of Categorical & Special Projects for the Santa Clara County Office of Education that supports 31 school districts serving 272,321 students in Santa Clara County. She is also a previous Director – State & Federal Compliance for Oakland Unified School District, the former Director – Grantwriter for the Compton Unified School District, and was the initial VISTA Director for the Community Partnership Coalition in southern California. Much of her work focuses on creating innovative digital trainings and partnership programs for teachers and families to support students’ learning. These programs were featured as a best practice at a National Title I Conference, California’s Title I Conferences, AERA Conferences, an ASCD Conference, the NASSP Conference, and statewide educator conferences.