Build your chest
How to Build Your Own Character Treasure Chest
How do I begin creating a character treasure chest for my family? Here is a practical list of things to consider to get you started!
Ideas to get you started
Eight ways to create
The Character Treasure Chest
in your home
Find your chest & trinkets
First, start looking through your children's toys at home for trinkets that represent the stories. Goodwill, garage sales, Dollar Tree, Hobby Lobby, Amazon, Etsy, and Oriental Trading are all great places to start finding trinkets. Remember: your trinket does not have to be the exact trinket in the book. For example, I recommend a coat of many colors for Joseph but a toy camel that represents the caravan that took Joseph to Egypt would also work. If you can't find what you want right away, find a picture and laminate it until you find the exact trinket you want. Hobby Lobby often has nice wooden treasure chests available. Watch for their sales and buy it at a lower price. A shoebox will also work.
One trinket at a time
Build your character treasure chest by shopping for and adding one trinket at a time. Explain the purpose of their treasure chest and how your family will use it to learn some great stories. You can tell them the whole story before you go shopping, or "salt the oats" by giving them just enough information that sparks their curiosity! However you choose to present it, it will be exciting moment!
Or fill your treasure chest all at once
Create a list of trinkets and go shopping or shop online. You can do this as a family to create excitement and anticipation. When you get home, the children can put all the trinkets in the chest. Choose one trinket and place it on a fancy cake stand in the middle of the kitchen table or coffee table and start telling your first story. But if you prefer, you can give a full and complete treasure chest to your children ready to go. It will be a little like Christmas morning! But either way, they are going to love all the treasures and want to know what they all mean.
Keep it visible & touchable
In your home, place your treasure chest somewhere visible and easy to reach. I always loved it sitting beside a comfortable rocking, becoming an invitation to sit on Mom's lap and hear or review a story. My treasure chest now sits in front of my fireplace. My grandkids are welcome to play with the trinkets anytime. Their play might not center on the character stories, but you never know what's going on inside their little minds. I often ask, "What does that trinket stand for?" "Can you tell me that story?" Consider placing a small rug under the chest, with the rule that trinkets either stay inside the chest or on the rug. Occassionally, I'll find that someone ate the peanut or the train has traveled far away from its desiginated home. They love to hide the trinkets inside each other. It's okay! Remember: the treasure chest is strictly a tool and our goal is that our kids would embrace its stories.
Buy two of each trinket
When buying trinkets, consider purchasing two of each—one for your home and a simple one for the car. Grandparents, have your own treasure chest at your house, ready to pour in and reinforce these stories to your grandchildren. Place a set of laminated copies of the character definitions and the "Cheat Sheet" from the printable resources on our website on your refrigerator, at the kitchen table, by the night stand in your child's bedroom, and especially in the car.
Take it on the road
If you decide to keep a shoebox of trinkets in the car, attach a piece of Velcro to the center of the dashboard and to the bottom of each trinket. Each time you and the kids get in the car, whether for a short or long trip, have one of the kids pick a trinket and Velcro it to the dashboard, or be creative and hang it from the rear view mirror, or let the children just take turns holding it. Always start by saying the name of the person the trinket represents, the character quality and its definition, and the scripture verse related to the story. Then, they can share any facts they remember or however you choose to review.. I recommend purchasing the audio recording as a way of redeeming the time on the road as they listen to the stories over and over and over. Occasionally, stop the audio and ask "Dollar Questions" or "Quarter Questions"--giving each child one dollar or quarter for every correct answer. If your schedule permits, let them spend their new earned cash on their favorite treat.
Other Creative Ideas
Consider using small laminated picture cards and creating a flip chart on a ring so children can easily flip through them. It's a great activity for little hands and quiet moments but also a great way to review. Finding charms for a bracelet that represent the stories works well for little girls. A key ring, or a pin collecting activity to represent our special heros is another possibility. Activities similar to "Elf on the Shelf" create fun and excitement as we present and review the stories and trinkets. Ultimately, we are asking God to turn on our creative lightbulb to help our children embrace each scripture, each hero, each story, and the character stamp they represent.
Make it your own
Remember, as you walk this journey, you will personally find stories and trinkets you want to add to your chest. It's your chest, a symbol of God's work in your family's life! One friend told me she has a bag of marshmellows in her chest. I still do not know what that represents but her family does. It's part of their story. It's your treasure chest...make it your own!
Straight from Jeanne’s living room
This is what my treasure chest looks like after years of stories!
A corn cob, a wood duck, a tiny Bible, a birdcage, a snake, a brown-eyed doll — every trinket in Jeanne's chest is attached to a person, a scripture, a character quality, and a story her grandkids can tell you by heart.
Yours will look completely different. That's the point.