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  • Home
  • Our Approach
    • Program Overview
    • Why Stories?
    • Implementation
    • The Morning Gathering
    • Suggested Book Lists
    • Telling our Stories
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Mary Beth Klee
    • Board and Staff
    • Core Virtues Schools
    • Newsletters
    • Our First Champion >
      • The Portsmouth Declaration
    • Contact Us
  • Virtue of the Month
    • Virtue Cycle Definitions
    • September
    • October
    • November
    • December
    • January
    • February
    • March
    • April
    • May
    • June
  • Cycle of Virtues
    • Year 1
    • Year 2
    • Year 3
  • Heroes-Lives to Learn From
    • September Heroes
    • October Heroes
    • November Heroes
    • December Heroes
    • January Heroes
    • February Heroes
    • March Heroes
    • April Heroes
    • May Heroes
  • Holidays
    • Labor Day
    • Veteran's Day
    • Thanksgiving
    • Hanukkah
    • Christmas
    • Martin Luther King Jr
    • President's Day
    • Black History Month
    • Saint Patrick's Day
    • Women's History Month
    • Passover
    • Easter
    • Ramadan
  • Core Knowledge Connections
    • Kindergarten
    • First Grade
    • Second Grade
    • Third Grade
    • Fourth Grade
    • Fifth Grade
    • Sixth Grade
  • Poetry
  • Additional Resources
    • Links
    • Anthologies
    • Chapter Books
    • Parent Teacher Bibliography
  • Store
  • Privacy Policy
  • Schools of Faith
    • Jewish Schools
    • Christian Schools
    • Islamic Schools
    • Eastern Faith Traditions

​The Core Virtues program employs a three-year cycle of virtues, highlighting a different virtue (or trait derived from a virtue) each month of the school year.  During the academic year, students focus on ten different virtues, and these are tied, in part, to the rhythm and seasons of the traditional 180 day northern hemisphere school year.   The virtue cycle alternates over a three-year period in order to embrace the broad range of traits that undergird human flourishing, and to avoid the "ho-hum" attitude that might set in if every October were a "diligence" month.  Having said that, every September, begins with “respect and responsibility” because in classrooms across the country, September marks the beginning of the academic year.  These twin traits are essential in community building, and establishing a positive classroom ethos with specific responsibilities. 

Month
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
​September
Respect & Responsibility
Respect & Responsibility
Respect & Responsibility
October
Diligence
Self-Control/Discipline
Perseverance
​November
Gratitude
Wonder
Stewardship
December
Generosity
Charity
Service
January
Courage
Courage
Courage
February
Honesty & Justice
Love of Country
Loyalty
March
Compassion
Faithfulness
Mercy
April
Forgiveness
Graciousness/Courtesy
Gentleness & Humility
May
Hope
Joy
Wonder
June
​Heroism
​Lives To Learn From
Wisdom
Fuller explanations of the rationale for each month's virtue are found in the overview text for each month on the Virtue of the Month page.

If you wish to alter the suggested rotations, because you are in the southern hemisphere or because your nation celebrates different holidays, or because it better suits your school calendar, feel free to adapt them. 

Keen observers of the chart above will notice that most of the traits for a given month in the three year cycle support a specific cardinal or transcendent virtue.  For example, October, with its emphasis on diligence, self-control, and perseverance, showcases the larger virtue of temperance or self-mastery.  December, with its focus on generosity, charity, and service, embodies the virtue of love. February focuses on justice. (See the Core Virtues book for fuller explanation.)  The table below clarifies which traits are supportive of the key cardinal and transcendent virtues.  Specific traits (such as compassion or wonder) may reinforce more than one virtue.
​Classical or Cardinal Moral Virtues
​(and some of the traits that comprise them)
JUSTICE
TEMPERANCE
(Self-Mastery)
COURAGE
PRUDENCE
(Practical Wisdom)
Respect
Responsibility
Loyalty/Faithfulness
Self-control
Self-discipline
  • Physical
  • Intellectual
  • Moral
  • Civic
Choosing the Right Means to a Good End
Fairness
Diligence
Steadfastness
Understanding
Courtesy
Perseverance
Resolve/Grit
Compassion
Gratitude
Forbearance
Hope
Stewardship ​
Love of Country
Patience
Magnanimity
Civic Virtues
Honesty
Humility
none
nIntellectual Virtues ​one
Empathy
Forgiveness
none
none
Civic Virtues
Mercy
none
none
Intellectual and Civic Virtues
INTELLECTUAL
CIVIC
​Wonder at the Unknown
Civility
Deduction on the basis of reason
Courtesy ​
Speculative Courage ie courage to ask questions
Respect for the rights of others
Fairness in evaluating arguments of others
Recognition of Human Dignity & Equality
Intellectual Honesty
Service to Community and Country
Open-Mindedness
Willingness to moderate desires and defer gratification
Humility in the face of facts
Respect for majority rule and minority rights;
Respect for the law; Respect for essential freedoms (speech, press, religion, etc)
Respect for representative govt as a means of securing the ultimate object of democratic society - liberty
Transcendent Virtues
Faith
Hope
Love
Reverence, Awe, Gratitude ​
Cheerfulness
Generosity, charity, service, stewardship, compassion, friendship

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