Conquest Junior Program

Program Description

K-4^th grade boys’ faith, virtue and leadership program with 3 series of 30 weeks of curriculum each. The Junior program is made to match the developmental needs of early elementary boys and assist them in learning and applying the basic truths of a virtuous life and what it means to be a man. Boys learn best through seeing the example of other men, so the program is designed to provide the boys with Adult Mentors as well as Middle School boys as mentors. The meeting structure is made up of sports, prayer, virtue activity and leadership talk, and utilizes the point system to motivate the living of the virtue.

Junior Curriculum

Virtue Centered

Our curriculum is virtue-centered. A virtue is “an interior disposition, a positive habit, a passion that has been placed at the service of the good. That means that we must change on our way to God” (Youcat 299) Most of the our spiritual life and living of faith is God’s action, what we can do from our side is respond by good actions, actions that repeated enough times become a habit. This creates a positive inner space in our hearts for us to develop our friendship with God. This good habit or good inner disposition is what we call virtue. Then there are “superpower” virtues that God gives as gifts too. Boys today need to see this virtue modeled by their Fathers and by other Middle School Mentors and to learn about it via different mediums. Each virtue in a series is organized as a CAMPAIGN. We aren’t necessarily used to using the word campaign in this sense as it is a military term used to describe an operation intended to achieve a particular objective, for a particular area and with a specific type of fighting or a term that describes an action of work organized and active to reach a particular goal. We use it in the context of virtue so that each virtue is seen by the boys as a conquest, with a particular strategy and goal to live it – a VIRTUE CAMPAIGN. Each virtue campaign is made up of guidance and instruction on the virtue, motivated by a point systems and code of conduct, and reinforced with various competitive sports and dynamic activities. Virtue is the strength of a man.

The Conquest Junior youth ministry curriculum helps the boys learn about virtue, leadership and about their Catholic faith in a fun way. Each year the curriculum changes and we focus on five new virtues and saints, making up the Series 1, Series 2 and Series 3 curriculum. Each virtue campaign also includes virtue stickers that the boys can add to their commitment cards. There are coloring pages that you can print and send home. The programs have point tracker booklets and point chips as well.

Download a Junior Sample Meeting

The Conquest Junior Series 1 curriculum features 30 weeks of content through 5 six week virtue campaigns: Honesty, Hard work, Respect, Courage, and Friendship.

The Conquest Junior Series 2 curriculum features 30 weeks of content through 5 six week virtue campaigns: Loyalty, Forgiveness, Discernment, Self-control, and Compassion.

The Conquest Junior Series 3 curriculum features 30 weeks of content through 5 six week virtue campaigns: Faith, Perseverance, Responsibility, Gratitude, and Attentiveness.

Weekly Meeting Description

It is suggested for the weekly meeting to be 1 ½ or 2 hours.

There are seven parts to a Conquest Junior meeting:

Conquest Products:

Getting started?

These are the products you will need to successfully get your program started. As K-4^th grade boys are in the developmental stage where hands-on is important for their learning and they aren’t yet able to think abstractly; there are different tools offered to help the virtue curriculum be attractive, accessible and tangible for their age.

Leader Curriculum

Guidebook

It can help to have a couple of copies to use between your Leadership Team.

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Member

Commitment Cards

The Member Card is way to help the boys live virtue at home and motivates them to form themselves as young men of integrity. It defines each of the virtues of the series and then offers a commitment section to encourage the boys to actively live the virtues at home each day and the code check. These are a great tool for the Dads to use with their sons. Each card serves for one virtue campaign. The virtue stickers can be used to identify which campaign the card is for.

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Virtue Stickers

These virtue stickers go with the series virtues. They can be used with the Member Cards or on their own to help the virtues stick!

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Points Trackers

& Point Chips

We believe in the power of positive motivation through competition. Points are awarded for acts of virtue and other good behavior during the meetings. Get your own trackers and point chips!

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More Conquest Jr Merch

Check it Out!

Tshirts are a great way to create a sense of belonging in the Conquest Junior Squad! Find Tshirts for your Adult Leaders and Middle School Mentors too.

Cinch Bags are a great way for the boys to carry around their belongings at a Conquest Meeting.

Canteens and Hats can serve as a great prize at the end of a virtue campaign or get one for all your members.