Teaching manners in the preschool classroom: During the preschool years, manners are a critical element of a child’s education. This is a time of discovery for the preschooler. Teaching manners in the classroom and at home needs to be routine. Preschoolers pick up on a teacher or parent that is polite and at ease in life. Keep reading as this article is about teaching manners in a fun and creative way for both teachers and parents.
Empathy: We have the ability to feel what other’s are feeling. This must be taught with intention in the preschool classroom. When the situation arises in your classroom, offer praise when someone shares or understands with another student’s feelings are hurt. The ability to empathize is the foundation for respect and self-respect.
2. Please, Thank You and Excuse Me: These magical words are the basis of good behavior and communication skills. In your classroom, use these words often and when a child uses them, praise the child. The preschool years are the perfect time to start with basic conversation skills. Teaching when to have a conversation and how to ask questions is important.
If they absolutely must interrupt, show them how to say “excuse me”. Tell them how it makes others feel when they interrupt.
3. Meet and Greet: Start the day with “good morning”. Many schools around the world, start with a handshake. This is a big part of our culture in the US. It is how we greet people. A handshake shows leadership and confidence. Teach this. Start while they are young.
4. Basic Table Manners: Wow, is this one is important! The basics: chew with your mouth closed, do not talk with food in your mouth and place your napkin in your lap. Serve food that requires a fork. Teach them how to hold a fork correctly.
5. Using Manners in Public Places: Expand a child’s horizons. Take them to museums, out to the park and to parties. Teach them to use their “indoor voice”, not to complain or whine, and to follow the group while on a school activity.
6. Party Manners: Being social is fun and so important at this age. In your classroom, have parties and teach them many of the life skills mentioned above. You can teach greetings, how to share, how to have a conversation and basic grooming skills.
We are a full service company offering lesson plans for preschools to teach manners and social skills. Our programs are taught around the world in the preschool classroom. As an early childhood educator, you understand how important it is to teach your students how to behave appropriately in different social situations. Any child, no matter how young, is capable of learning basic etiquette and social skills, such as greetings, introductions, table manners, saying please and thank you, listening when others are talking, and showing respect to others. The Manners To Go™ Preschool curriculum makes it fun and easy for you to teach these skills to your students and prepare them for success in elementary school.
Life Skills | Manners | Character Education | Social Emotional Learning
10 Tips to Teach Manners in Your Classroom
Now more than ever, teaching manners in your classroom is critical. Children today are looking to learn more about building relationships and creating community.
At Manners To Go, we believe that all children deserve to learn the social skills that will help them grow up to become healthy, happy, successful adults. Here’s your chance to make it happen. We owe it our children to teach them good manners.
Eye Contact
It is amazing what happens when you bring this to a child’s attention. Eye contact is the basis for feeling and showing that you are confident.
Greetings
What a great way to start the day. Greet your students every morning or end the day with “good morning” or a “good bye”. Make eye contact and smile.
Introductions
The best way to teach introductions is to organize a role-playing activity for your students. They can pretend they have never met each other. Teach them to say “hello, my name is”.
Posture
Sit up straight. Stand up straight. Having good posture shows that you are confident and interested.
How to Hold a Fork
Holding a fork correctly is important and shows that we have good table manners.
Napkin in Your Lap
Teach your students to put the napkin in the their lap during recess or lunch.
Conversation Skills
Do your students know how to start or carry on a conversation with each other or with someone they don’t know?
Be Fully Present | Put Down the Phone or Device
Isn’t it a beautiful gift when someone pays attention to what you are saying and shows they are interested?
Deference | Respect
Allowing someone to go first or opening the door. This is deference. This is respect. Model this in your classroom.
Greetings
Say good morning or good bye to your students or co-workers
Teach Manners in Your Classroom
Good Manners Set the Stage for Future Success
As an educator, you know how important social skills are for a child’s success. Children who are polite, well spoken, and attentive to others find it easier to get along with their peers and make a positive impression on the adults in their lives. As a result, more opportunities come their way, laying the foundation for future success in life.
Yet too many children are not being taught proper manners or other valuable social skills at home. Which means it’s up to us as educators to equip them with these important life tools – and help them grow up to be responsible, caring, successful global citizens.
Now you can help students improve their behavior in as little as 10 minutes a day… a week… or month.
Most likely we already share something in common. We believe that teaching children manners, character and social emotional skills are very important.
Manners To Go™ is a full-service company for those choosing to teach manners to children. You can make a difference. All children and teenagers deserve to feel what it is like to be confident, and use good manners out in the world.
Manners To Go™ is taught in public, private and charter schools around the world. The New York Times, Parents Magazine and Fox News have all featured Manners To Go and the many benefits of teaching social skills to children.
Whether you are an educator who wants to teach it in the classroom or someone who is looking to become trained and certified, we provide all the solutions.
My name is Lisa Richey, and I am the founder of Manners To Go™ . This brand has given me the honor of teaching manners to thousands of people around the world. The journey has taken me from Portland, Oregon to the Middle East. I believe that manners are not about judgment or rules. Manners are about self-interest. It really is about how using good manners makes you feel on the inside.
Manners should be a fundamental step in every child’s learning. It’s never too early to start learning manners! Teaching manners to preschoolers is powerful for parents and children alike! It helps children navigate their own social world and grow into healthy, happy adolescents and adults.
Without proper manners knowledge, children can find themselves isolated from others. Not knowing how to act or communicate can cause separation. This could hinder their social and work lives as they grow older.
Why Is Teaching Manners To Preschoolers Important?
Why should you worry about teaching manners to preschoolers?
The reasons are endless. But learning manners is a very important stage in childhood. As a preschool educator, you understand how crucial preschool is for students’ development.
Children learn necessary skills at a young age so that they can continue to grow those skills as they age. If they don’t have the opportunity to process those skills, they could be missing out on key lessons that they’ll need later in life.
Teaching your students how to behave appropriately in a classroom helps transfer those skills to real-life (outside the classroom). Students need to learn good manners and social skills at a young age. This can help them grow into healthy, well-adjusted adults.
Your job is to help them navigate the new world of manners. By showing them appropriate actions and words for situations, you’re setting a positive example for their future.
Learning Good Manners Makes Life Easier and More Fun For Preschoolers
Teaching manners to preschoolers can be fun for them. And as their educator, you should make every opportunity a fun, learning one!
Children are eager to learn. They like to copy the actions of adults because they are naturally curious. It’s your job to take that curiosity they have and redirect it to learning manners.
What are manners for preschoolers?
Basic manners start with greetings and how to introduce themselves. Preschoolers are at the age where they are learning how to interact. They want to make friends. By teaching them how to politely greet one another, you’re introducing a new, engaging way for them to communicate.
Respect is another big lesson that children learn at a young age. They should all learn to treat others the same way they would like to be treated. With a basic understanding of respect, children are more open to learning how to gain and show that respect.
You then have the opportunity to talk about the magic words, like please and thank you. You can also talk about the process of actively listening when someone is talking to them.
Teaching Manners To Preschoolers Makes Them More Polite and Well-Rounded
No one wants to deal with rude children. As a preschool educator, you deal with the trial and error of child behavior. But it doesn’t have to mean dealing with impolite behavior 24/7.
By giving lessons on manners, students have the opportunity to change their behavior. Many children act out in inappropriate ways because they don’t know how to communicate or show their feelings.
You can set a polite and appropriate example for them! Teaching manners to preschoolers gives them the resources they need to effectively (and graciously) communicate their feelings.
When children learn the cordial ways to interact with others, they are more likely to grow into considerate adults. As polite adults, they’ll be more well-rounded…which can open up many opportunities for their social and work life.
You’ll Give Your Students A Number Of Incredible Benefits
The best thing about teaching manners to preschoolers is that there isn’t only one benefit. As a preschool educator, you have so many opportunities to teach children so many different lessons. They have more of an opportunity to soak in all of the benefits of good manners.
Here are some qualities you can expect your students to exhibit when you teach good manners in your preschool classroom:
Increased sense of self-confidence
Higher self-esteem
Empathy for others around them
Understanding etiquette and social skills in the classroom.
Pride in showing their parents what they have learned
How To Start Teaching Manners To Preschoolers In Your Classroom
I often hear from preschool teachers about how easy it is to teach manners in the classroom. For some, the process comes naturally. For others, it never hurts to be reminded of ways that you can start teaching manners to preschoolers in your classroom.
The first thing to remember is that eyes are always on you.
As the teacher of the class (and the only adult), your students are always going to belooking at you as the model. That’s why it is so important for you to set a good example. Show them what is possible to achieve with good manners.
If you demonstrate kindness and respect to others around you, your students are going to pick up on it. When you act with kindness and respect, don’t be afraid to point it out. By explaining to your students what you’re doing, you can walk them through the process. As a result, it will be easier for them to transfer it into their own behavior.
Emphasize the fun of manners! Teaching polite words and actions doesn’t have to be boring. You can create engaging activities that will make students excited to learn manners. Remember, if they see it as a chore, they’ll be less likely to use the manners you teach.
Feel free to contact us to ask questions about teaching or to share your experience.
Manners To Go Makes This Process Easier Than Ever
With the Manners To Go Preschool curriculum, teaching manners in your classroom has never been easier. Our materials allow the process of learning to be fun and easy.
The beautifully illustrated images help children of all ages connect to manners. Activities, like role-playing, help spark creativity and actually make a difference.
Our lesson plans are flexible. With 10-, 20-, or 30-minute sessions, they can fit into any part of your day. Our curriculum is a great way to immerse your child in the world of manners.
Teaching manners to preschoolers is key in setting up their foundation. Establishing appropriate behaviors and a polite attitude can be simple and engaging. Not to mention, it will help the children grow into gracious adults!
Here is a FREE Guide to Help YOU Start a Business Teaching Manners to Children
If you are looking to start immediately and save money on travel and time, then this is your best option.You choose the dates of our trainings. Most choose to have their sessions once a week, others twice. This is a “live” and private training. It is NOTself-guided.
PRIVATE Training. That’s right, we meet in person, the two of us and our focus is completely on your business. Click the image above or follow the button below to learn more and to see a list of cities available for your training.
Every child should have the opportunity of learning the ins and outs of social graces. Children need to feel comfortable being polite in social situations.
Teaching children about the important social graces will allow them to flourish and grow with the world. The social graces you teach impact children greatly and help support their journey through adulthood.
What Are Social Graces, and Why Are They So Important For Children To Learn?
Social graces are the polite manners that a child can use in certain situations. Grace can be defined as simple elegance or refinement of movement.
Teaching children social graces is essential because it ultimately helps children feel better about their actions! By using social graces, they are able to build their confidence and feel more secure in their actions. As a result, adults feel more comfortable with their children’s actions and feelings.
Learning social graces is not a difficult task. It can be taught to any child of any age. Social grace lessons may start during the preschool years with the general manners of “please” and “thank you,” but there’s more to social graces than just basic manners.
9 Social Graces You Should Teach To Children
Social graces are invaluable to have as a child and throughout adolescence and adulthood. No matter the situation they may be in, children will feel more comfortable with their actions and words.
That’s why taking the time to teach social graces matters. But what exactly should you focus on?
Let’s take a look beyond the basic social graces at the most important things you should focus on.
1. Eye Contact
Maintaining eye contact is very important. It not only shows respect for the person that you are talking to, it also shows that you are interested in the topic they are talking about.
Eye contact also portrays confidence. By demonstrating your ability to look into someone’s eyes, you’re displaying self-assurance in the environment you’re in.
Remind children that eye contact might feel intimate, and that’s because it is! It is a form of connection between people that cultivates commitment and appreciation.
2. Avoid Interrupting
Interrupting is a form of selfishness. If children are under the impression that interrupting conversations is okay, they’ll believe that it’s okay for their needs to surpass others—all of the time.
Teach children to refrain from interrupting. Fighting against that habit will allow them to establish patience. It will help them realize that their needs and desires aren’t always going to be the first priority. Teaching them to not interrupt also supports the idea of selflessness. They may be more likely to put others first.
3. Basic Conversation Skills
Basic conversation skills are a fundamental part of communication.
Children may struggle with these skills because of their impulses of excitement. They may interrupt a conversation because they’re passionate about the topic. While they mean well, their actions are translated differently.
Without nonverbal cues, children lack basic conversation skills because they’re unfamiliar with certain gestures and what they mean. And that creates a recipe for social awkwardness and stress when making friends or working with others.
Luckily, there are ways for you to guide children around these social roadblocks.
By practicing scripted examples of strong conversations, children will understand the social graces and nuances that matter. They’ll learn that asking questions keeps your partner engaged and shows that you’re interested in what they’re talking about.
As an educator, you can help children brainstorm lists of phrases or words they can say in a conversation in order to sound engaged.
4. Pay Attention
As an educator, it is as important for you to be present in teaching as it is for children to be present in learning. While the process of learning social graces is ongoing, they are very aware of others’ actions.
Children can tell when you’re not in the present moment with them. This can result in a loss of connection between you and the children.
Social graces involve being in that present moment. Your job as an educator is to help support that! The more you are there with your students, the more they’ll pick up on how you act.
By demonstrating zero distractions and full attention, you’re teaching them to be present in conversations and situations.
5. Body Language
As I mentioned earlier, human beings read nonverbal cues during situations. That includes body language!
It is imperative that children understand that our bodies reflect our attitudes. Paint scenarios for them to demonstrate how positive and negative posture affects a situation.
Maintaining a tall posture, with shoulders back and your chin up suggests that you are paying attention to what is going on around you. In this position, children look more engaged and ready to participate.
Practice getting into attention postures with your students. These postures may also benefit the student’s engagement in the classroom.
6. Introduction Skills
By teaching children how to introduce themselves, you’re teaching them how to be confident and self-assured.
At first glance, children see introducing themselves as intimidating and uncomfortable. That’s why it’s your job to make introductions seem familiar and easy!
Teach your students the importance of eye contact and smiling during introductions. You can also teach them how to shake hands with someone appropriately.
It is important to practice these introduction skills with your students. By doing so, you’re able to help them in areas they may be struggling with while also letting them know what they are doing well.
7. Thank You Notes
Learning how to give thanks is crucial for children. Showing appreciation for others’ actions allows students to build awareness of selflessness.
Writing thank-you notes or emails is a foundational skill that teaches children the meaning of gratitude. By discussing the importance of appreciation, children can understand what it means when someone spends time doing something for them.
Inform them of what situations require thank you notes. Things like presents, cards, and even after interviews, all classify as reasons to give thanks to someone.
8. Table Manners
While children may not be eating in the classroom as much, it is important to remind them of the social graces of eating in public places.
Remind your students that they should be respectful and polite while eating their food.
By teaching children these rules below, you are allowing them to implement these skills in their own social life:
Keep your mouth closed while chewing food
Hold utensils correctly in your hands
No shoveling or stabbing at food
Wash your hands before eating
Do not touch your face or other parts of your body at the table
Use your napkin to wipe your face
Keep a tall posture at the table
Don’t put your elbows on the table
Avoid reaching across the table for a plate
Ask someone to pass you a plate or dish
9. Inclusion
Every child comes from a different background, and it is important for children to recognize that while this is the case, it doesn’t matter.
Children have different personalities. Some may be shyer than others, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t have friends. Encourage your students to be a friend to someone who maybe doesn’t have one.
As an educator, children look up to you so it is important for you to set an example of kindness and inclusion! Showing respect and kindness to everyone in the classroom influences how the children will respect and show kindness.
Lastly, empathize with your students. Empathy is a difficult emotion to understand but by allowing them to see examples of it, children may be more encouraged to practice it in their own lives.
How To Successfully Teach Social Graces
Now that you understand the ways to teach social graces, it is time to implement them. How can you guarantee the success of these skills?
It’s all about how children view the learning process of social graces. Make it fun for them! If you avoid making social graces feel like chores, your students will be engaged and interested.
Remember, as an educator, you are an example for children. They are going to be watching you and your actions in public situations. By practicing the social graces you teach, you’re maintaining an example for students to follow.
Teaching social graces takes time. There may be days where it is more successful than others. Find ways to point out social graces as a norm. By calling out public situations, students are seeing social graces in action.
Keep the positivity up. Remember to be appreciative of your students and the progress they make towards fully understanding social graces!
It is fundamental for children to know the ins and outs of polite mannerisms. Not only will it help them feel more confident but it will help them establish connections with the people they meet.
Teaching social graces may seem like a daunting task, but by setting examples in your own behavior and by keeping it fun, you’ll serve as a guide to respect and kindness!
Here is a FREE Guide to Help YOU Start a Business Teaching Manners to Children
If you are looking to start immediately and save money on travel and time, then this is your best option.You choose the dates of our trainings. Most choose to have their sessions once a week, others twice. This is a “live” and private training. It is NOTself-guided.
PRIVATE Training. That’s right, we meet in person, the two of us and our focus is completely on your business. Click the image above or follow the button below to learn more and to see a list of cities available for your training.
Recently, I had the opportunity to teach a manners program for her students. Leah is a special education teacher and her focus is on children with autism. She also has a blog, Teacher Talk, where she writes about her experiences.
When I was visiting your classroom preparing for the manners program, I noticed several boxes containing materials. My eyes immediately went to the box on life skills. Tell us about that box!
In our life skill box, I have a lot of resources that help teach students skills they need for life such as direction following, manners, greetings, and how to hold a conversation. The box contains activities and worksheets that help students learn and practice these skills.
My favorite life skills/manners activity to teach is how to greet a person properly. Proper greetings change depending on age, location, and familiarity of the person. I love teaching different greetings during morning meeting since first impressions matter. We also practice saying hello and goodbye when entering and exiting the classroom. In addition, we always reinforce and expect our students to say please and thank you.
My students love to participate in group projects where collaboration is needed to complete an end product. My students wrote and produced a video about Mozambique that shared how some students could not go to school since they could not afford a $10 uniform. My students loved practicing their lines and recording the video. In addition, my students have enjoyed morning meetings where they greet their classmates and their teachers, participate in a group activity, and then ask their classmates questions about their weekend or how to solve a math problem.
4. Of these activities, which ones do you believe have the most impact?
I think each social skills activity has had a beneficial effect on my students. Morning meeting has been a great social activity that has helped produce a “family” feel in the classroom among peers and teachers. Producing the video helped my students think outside the classroom and use their social skills to focus on helping other people. Focusing on saying please and thank you has helped my students be a role model to other students in the lunch room and to special teachers.
Would You Like Lesson Plans to Teach Manners in Your Classroom?
Good Manners Set the Stage for Future Success
As an educator, you know how important social skills are for a child’s success. Children who are polite, well spoken, and attentive to others find it easier to get along with their peers and make a positive impression on the adults in their lives. As a result, more opportunities come their way, laying the foundation for future success in life. Yet too many children are not being taught proper manners or other valuable social skills at home. Which means it’s up to us as educators to equip them with these important life tools – and help them grow up to be responsible, caring, successful global citizens.
Now you can help students improve their behavior in as little as 10 minutes a day… a week… or month.
Manners To Go™ is taught in public, private and charter schools around the world. The New York Times, Parents Magazine and Fox News have all featured Manners To Go and the many benefits of teaching social skills to children.
Whether you are an educator who wants to teach it in the classroom or someone who is looking to become trained and certified, we provide all the solutions.
Middle school is a vulnerable time for many students. As children grow into adolescents and start experiencing a whole new set of social, academic, and personal challenges, focusing on personal development is important. That’s part of the reason why it’s so important to teach manners and respect to middle school students.
As the last stop before high school, college, and the adult world, middle school prevents a pivotal opportunity to help students develop. There are lots of reasons to teach middle schoolers manners….but even more important, how do you do it?
Why Is Teaching Manners and Respect Important In Middle School?
Teaching life skills, manners, and respect to middle school students is imperative to their well-being. In fact, these elements are the key to giving students a happier adult life long-term!
First, students are making impressions on each other in a deep, lasting way throughout middle school. The impressions they create in middle school often follow them into high school and impact their ability to excel, both academically and socially.
Many middle school students don’t learn about manners and respect (or other key life skills) at home. In those cases, school is the only opportunity they’ll have to receive a manners education that will shape their adolescent years for the better.
Actually, middle school students know they need these skills and are eager to learn them. When given the opportunity, many students will rise to the challenge and embrace learning manners and respect at school. This is especially true if you can show them how valuable these skills are, both long-term and short-term!
Manners, etiquette, character education, life skills, and social-emotional learning are all intertwined. However you categorize these topics at your school, education can (and should) include many aspects of human behavior.
Manners and respect are a foundational piece of human behavior, and socialization is so important. So focusing on manners and respect alike, along with skills like math, literacy, and culture, is essential.
How To Teach Manners and Respect To Middle Schoolers
Where should you begin teaching manners in middle school? Let’s explore how you should actually go about teaching manners and respect to your middle school students.
Start With The Basics
The best place to start when teaching manners and respect is with the basics. Don’t assume what your students know—not every student is comfortable with fundamental social skills or basic manners.
Remember, every student has a different home life. It’s our responsibility as educators to meet them where students are, not expect them to jump to where we expect them to be.
Every middle school student needs to have a certain set of skills that will help them socially and academically. No matter what subject you teach, focusing on manners and respect in your middle school classroom is very important….and easier than you think to add to your classroom.
An added bonus is that teaching manners and respect actually makes your job easier! When your students respect you, themselves, and each other, your classroom will be easier to manage. Add in basic manners across the board, and your students will perform better and feel better equipped to deal with daily life.
Some basic manners and respect hallmarks to focus on with your middle school students include:
How to make (and appropriately maintain) eye contact
How to introduce themselves
Conversation skills
Using appropriate language when speaking with others
When to put devices away and be completely present
Digital decorum
How to navigate a place setting
How to manage (and present themselves well on) social media
Expressing gratitude
Good posture when sitting or standing
Good hygiene
Receiving these basic skills will help every middle school student navigate the world more smoothly. All of these skills are easy to teach. But each one is also incredibly valuable and will last a lifetime!
How To Add Manners and Respect Topics and Activities to Your Middle School Curriculum
Manners and respect don’t have to be the entire focus of your classroom. It’s easy to add small, teachable moments to your lessons, no matter what subject you teach!
First, make sure you model great manners and respect in your classroom. Consistently model the social behaviors you’d like to see your students learn.
You should point out moments where you practiced specific etiquette skills. Remember, you should always point out and celebrate when a middle school student in your class is using amazing manners and respect. Whether it’s skills from a lesson you’ve taught or something you haven’t covered yet, celebrating small wins helps your students see the value of manners right away.
Everyone’s home situation, background, and lifestyle are different. Create an even playing field by showing and telling what’s right (and explaining why it’s right!).
You’ll also want to highlight the true benefits of good manners and etiquette for middle schoolers in your classroom.
Why should your students care about this? In middle school, young pre-teens are focused on the now, so tailor your explanations to social issues they’re currently facing. Then, as you make progress in teaching manners and respect, you can shift to prioritize long-term benefits!
Teaching manners and respect in your middle school classroom is an amazing decision. Especially since so many students are facing new struggles (and likely aren’t receiving these valuable social skills at home), you’re providing them with skills that truly last a lifetime.
Here is a FREE Guide to Help YOU Start a Business Teaching Manners to Children
If you are looking to start immediately and save money on travel and time, then this is your best option.You choose the dates of our trainings. Most choose to have their sessions once a week, others twice. This is a “live” and private training. It is NOTself-guided.
PRIVATE Training. That’s right, we meet in person, the two of us and our focus is completely on your business. Click the image above or follow the button below to learn more and to see a list of cities available for your training.
Lisa Richey provides etiquette programs to businesses, schools, and individuals.
