With Thanksgiving around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to brush up on (or learn) good manners. I held this story time at both the public library for K-5’s, and the elementary school library for two classes of transitional kindergarteners, omitting the pumpkin craft at the school due to time constraints and skill level.
Students enthusiastically participated in the story, “Yes, Please! No, Thank You!” by calling out the polite way to answer together throughout the story.
They also were very engaged in guessing well-mannered ways to respond to situations (“thank you,” “excuse me,” “I’m sorry,” “you’re welcome,” etc.) posed in Suppose You Meet a Dinosaur, A First Book of Manners, by Judy Sierra.
No Slurping, No Burping, by Kara LaReau, is a hilarious new picture book, published this year, with a role reversal twist that makes kids giggle. A brother and sister have to help their father with his mealtime etiquette, and then a special surprise guest comes for dinner. The students were so eager (and a little nervous, too!) to see if he could remember all the manners he had learned when grandma arrives. When it’s time to have dessert, it became clear that she could use a little refresher on her manners also, and everyone dissolved into laughter.
We reviewed a picture of a simple place setting, and then had a relay race with 3 teams, each with a bag containing everything needed for one place setting: plate, cup, fork, knife, spoon, napkin, place mat. Students had to run up to the table with the bag, one at a time, quickly set a place setting, and once it was correct, put everything back into the bag and run back to the end of the line. The teams livened up the race by supporting each other, calling out encouragement, chanting names, and chiming in with helpful pointers. “Put the place mat down first!” Who knew setting a table could be so exciting?
We finished up this story time by making a paper pumpkin to use as a Thanksgiving table decoration. The most exciting part of making the pumpkins seemed to be the novelty of getting to use the hole punches.
orange card stock, cut in 12 strips, 1 1/2″ wide X 10″ long
green pipe cleaner
pumpkin leaf outline copied onto green card stock
Punch holes at each end of all the orange strips, and in the leaf to put the pipe cleaner through. Crunch up a small section of the pipe cleaner at the bottom and top of the pumpkin, so the orange paper holds the desired shape. Spread out the strips of paper in a circle. Finish by curling the top of the pipe cleaner.