Preschool Curriculum for Good Manners

Crafts

• Give each child a sheet of paper and some crayons. Tell the children to draw a picture of someone being polite. For example, they can draw a picture of some helping an elderly person across the street or two children sharing one box of crayons. Another idea is to have the preschoolers make two puppets using craft supplies and wood craft sticks. After they make their puppets, they can use them to act out a "manner" skit. Tell the children to have their two stick people carry on a conversation using manners.

Circle Activities

• Ask the preschoolers to sit in a circle. Select one person to go first and have him say a polite word like please. Each preschooler must go around the circle saying polite words, such as thank you, yes ma'am, no sir, I am sorry, pardon me and may I. The children can repeat words if needed. This will teach the child polite words to use when addressing others. Another idea is to ask each preschooler a question or explain a scenario to him. He must reply with the correct polite response. For example, you can ask him what does he say if he needs to use the restroom and he should respond with "May I use the restroom?"

Songs

• Teach the children songs and rhymes about manners. Sing "Share, share, share your toys, share them with your friends, it's so much fun to share your toys, share them til' the end," to the tune of "Row, row, row your boat." For a rhyme, teach the children "We say thank you, we say please, we don't interrupt or tease, we don't argue, we don't fuss, we listen when folks talk to us, we share our toys and take our turn; good manners aren't too hard to learn, it's really easy when you find, good manners mean just being kind."

Other Activities

• Make sure your preschoolers know how to act in a restaurant by having them participate in a show and tell. Ask the parents to help the preschoolers remember to bring home a napkin or cup from the last restaurant or fast food place they visited. Each child must talk about her visit and explain the good manners she used at the restaurant. Ask the preschoolers questions and teach them how they should respond. Say "What should you say if you walk in front of someone?" They should answer "Excuse me." Ask the children "When you receive something from someone, what do you say?" The preschoolers should answer "Thank you."