Naughty  or Nice ?

Good  or Bad ?

"Character Counts"  is Santa's answer!

Santa has many ways to find out who is naughty and who is nice.  

Some say, he gets notes and letters from parents and teachers.  They tell of those who have been nice and, sometimes, of those who are naughty.  

Other stories tell of Santa's special magic!  They say he can look through a magic telescope and actually see when you are good and when you are bad.  

Rumors also tell of special invisible Elves, who are all around us, every day.  The Elves see what we do and report back to Santa. 

And, of course, children send letters to Santa and visit him at the holidays.  

In their letters, or when they visit, they report to Santa on their good deeds and tell him what they want for Christmas.

You know that Santa always asks, "Have you been good?"  He knows that every child tries hard to be good.  

But sometime we forget to be good.  Sometimes we don't know what is good and what is bad

Santa reads the letters and he listens to what the children have to say.   

Then he says "I will see what I can do for you, but you must do your part too!" "You must work hard at being good."

Do you know what being good is?  Sometimes it is cleaning your room.  Sometimes it is listening and obeying your parents and teachers.  

But, there are other things that are part of being good.

Santa likes the six special parts of Character Counts.  He thinks you and your parents would like them too!  

The six parts are Caring, Citizenship, Fairness, Respect, Responsibility, and Trustworthiness.

If you go to this link: http://www.charactercounts.org/pdf/KFC-Pledge.pdf you can get a special "Kid for Character" Pledge Certificate.  Ask your parents to find this on the computer.

The Six Pillars of Character

Be kind • Be compassionate and show you care • Express gratitude • Forgive others • Help people in need

Do your share to make your school and community better • Cooperate • Stayed informed, Vote • Be a good neighbor • Obey laws and rules • Respect authority • Protect the environment

Play by the rules • Take turns and share • Be open-minded; listen to others • Don’t take advantage of others • Don’t blame others carelessly

Treat others with respect; follow the Golden Rule • Be tolerant of differences • Use good manners, not bad language • Be considerate of the feelings of others • Don’t threaten, hit or hurt anyone • Deal peacefully with anger, insults and disagreements

Do what you are supposed to do • Persevere: keep on trying! • Always do your best • Use self-control • Be self-disciplined • Think before you act — consider the consequences • Be accountable for your choices

Be honest • Don’t deceive, cheat or steal • Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do • Have the courage to do the right thing • Build a good reputation • Be loyal — stand by your family, friends and country

For more information on Character Counts visit their web site at: www.charactercounts.org