Manners Crafts

Every young child gets excited at the very mention of doing a craft, which makes it the perfect way to teach and reinforce something like good manners. Many craft ideas are available to help encourage children to say "please" and "thank you," use good table manners, and behave appropriately at places such as school. Not only does this entertain children and allow them to be creative, they also get excited about good manners and see it as something fun and interesting.

  1. Star Faces

    • Provide colored paper, glue, scissors, yarn, crayons and markers and instruct students to draw a large circle on the paper and then draw a face. Allow them to be creative in decorating their face, and encourage them to use yarn for the hair. Display the completed faces in the classroom and explain to the students that every time they use good manners, they will receive a star to put on or around their face. You will find that they remind each other and encourage each other to behave properly. Consider giving the entire class a reward when all the children have reached a given number of stars. You can reward them with a few minutes of extra playtime or a class party.

    Thank You Notes

    • Teach your child or student the importance of expressing gratitude by making handmade thank you cards. You can purchase kits which include everything you will need, or you can also gather materials such as colored paper or scrapbooking paper, markers, stickers, glitter and glue. If needed, help your children write out a message of thanks and then encourage them to be creative in decorating the card. Deliver the card in person so your child can fully appreciate how much a thank you card means to the recipient.

    Aprons

    • Cut out an apron from either white paper or white fabric and glue or sew pockets to the front. Provide your child with items such as beads, buttons, glue, glitter and markers to use in decorating the apron. Explain to the children that the apron is a good reminder of the importance of table manners. Every time the child uses good table manners, give them a colored craft stick to place in their pocket on the apron. When the child says "please," place a yellow craft stick in the pocket, and each time she says "thank you," put in a blue craft stick. Give a reward once the child earns a set number of sticks.

    Storytime Crafts

    • Many books have been written to help children understand the importance of good manners. Read a book such as "Manners Can be Fun" by Munro Leaf which provides a positive outlook on manners. A good craft to accompany manners story time is a place mat inspired by the drawings in the book. Allow the children to draw food on the plate as well as silverware and a space for the glass. Laminate their work so the can use them as place mats when eating.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • Strategies to Help an Impulsive Child With Frustration
      Susan Stiffelman, marriage and family therapist and author of, "Parenting Without Power Struggles," acknowledged in a Huffington Post article that a child with impulse control issues acts younger than he really is because he hasnt yet achie
    • Games to Teach Kids About Personal Hygiene
      Proper personal hygiene keeps germs and bacteria from accumulating on our bodies and spreading to surfaces and others. Helping your child develop good hygiene habits when she is young will mean less resistance when the child is older. There are sever
    • Manners & Etiquette for Kids
      According to a popular phrase from Quote Garden, “Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners.” Your manner of speaking to your friends, relatives and neighbors clearly depicts yo