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
Hobby Lobby and Amazon are great places to start finding trinkets. If you can't find what you need 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
Options: Build your character treasure chest (CTC) by shopping for and adding one trinket at a time. "Salt the Oats." Explain the purpose of the CTC and that they will learn some great stories. Let your child help you shop for the trinket and place it in the CTC when you get home. That's a great time to start the story.
Or fill it all at once
Or you can go shopping as a family, browse, and fill your entire chest with trinkets from my list. This will create excitement and anticipation. When you get home, the children will 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. Start telling your story.
Keep it visible & touchable
In your home, place your treasure chest somewhere visible and easy to reach. My grandkids are welcome to play with the trinkets anytime. Their play might not center on stories, but you never know what's going on in their little minds. I often ask, "What does that trinket mean to you?" Consider placing a small rug under the chest, with the rule that trinkets stay inside the chest or on the rug.
Buy two of each
When buying trinkets, consider purchasing two of each—one for your home and a simple one for 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. 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.
Flip-chart for little hands
Another idea for the car is to laminate picture cards and create a flip chart on a ring so children can easily flip through them.
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!
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.