HONESTY
We choose to live truthfully. We communicate and act in a sincere and respectful way.

Non-Fiction
Honesty by Lucia Raatma
This book is from the series Character Education and is geared to the Primary grade. It explains the virtue of honesty and how we can practice it at home, in the community, and with each other.

Fiction
Notes From a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko

For Antonia MacPherson, lying is a way of life. If it weren't for her best friend, Harrison, and a tiny ball of fluff named Pistachio, she would be miserable. No matter what she does, her mother thinks she's wrong. He younger sister, Katherine the Great, takes notes on Ant's misbehaviours, which she keeps in a spiral notebook for her parents. Her older sister, Young Highness Elizabeth, says Ant is in training to be a juvenile delinquent, Harrison smells like a salami sandwich, and Pistachio should be put out of his misery. With all those royal opinions, who's going to listen to an Ant? But when a teacher, Carol, takes Ant under her wing, Ant's way of life may have to change. Carol likes the truth and she won't take anything less.

Picture Books
The Wolf Who Cried Boy by Bob Hartman

This book teaches one of the greatest lessons of all time, it teaches one not to lie. It starts when a small wolf doesn't like his dinner and wishes he could eat a delicious boy.  The rest of the story is basically the same as the boy who cried wolf only reversed. This book is one that everyone would like. Children would like it for the cute names and pretty pictures, and adults would like it for the lessons it teaches children.

Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin

Ruthie loves teeny-tiny things, so when she finds a miniature camera in the schoolyard, she claims it as her own and lies about it when fellow student Martin tells their teacher, Mrs. Olsen, that the camera belongs to him. The rest of the afternoon is long for Ruthie, and at home that night, she ruminates over her crime until she finally comes clean with her parents. Having been counseled that honesty is the best policy, Ruthie, with much trepidation, tells her teacher and Martin what she has done. Mrs. Olsen praises her for telling the truth, and Martin forgives her too.

The Honest to Goodness Truth by Patricia McKissack

When Libby is caught in her first lie to mama, she makes a decision: "From now on, only the truth." Soon she's spreading the truth all over town -- about the hole in her friend Ruthie May's sock, and the fact that Thomas didn't have lunch money and needed to borrow some from the teacher, and how old Miz Tusselbury's yard looks like a jungle. By now, no one is talking to Libby. Perplexed and glum, she turns to her mama for another lesson on telling the truth. But it isn't until Libby gets a small spoonful of her own medicine that she really grasps the difference between the right way and the wrong way to tell the truth.

• speaking the truth
• keeping your promises
• being trustworthy and reliable
• being sincere in both actions and words
• doing what you know is right

• telling the truth about incomplete or lost assignments
• admiting to hurt feelings or problems when talking to friends or teachers
• returning school supplies to your classmates
• appreciating and supporting classmates who display honest and integrity

• taking responsibility for your actions and admitting when you are at fault
• keeping promises to family members
• admitting to problems and difficulties when they arrise
• discussing frustrations and concerns about school with parents

• notifying others when they drop something of value
• handing in found items to a Lost and Found or the local police station
• obeying laws and reporting any illegal activities

Happy New Year!

• being kind and thoughtful.
• helping those in need.
• showing sympathy and concern.

• Comfort family members who are sad or upset.
• Offer to help when family members are sick.
• Show attention and affection to household pets every day.
• Listen thoughtfully when siblings talk about their feelings.

• Offer to help a classmate having difficulty with school work.
• Be friendly and kind to all students.
• Help others who are hurt.
• Make new students feel welcome.
• Encourage and support a friend learning a new skill.
• Perform random acts of kindness for others.

• Help elderly neighbours with yard work or snow removal.
• Smile and offer kind words to others.
• Hold the door open for someone entering or exiting a store.
• Report injured wildlife to an animal care facility.