As we enter into our last week in November we decided to share a book with you all about how to be pro-active in teaching about manners in public.  This book  by Carrie Finn is one of a number in this series, such as “Manners at School” and “Manners at the Table”. The reason we chose this as the book of the week is because it is often the area of manners that you may not be pro-active about teaching your child. We often teach children how to have manners in school and at home. Furthermore, when your child is at school or at home, they are usually engaging with people that are using verbal and non-verbal cues to help them use manners. For example in my classroom if a student pushes through another student all I do is give them an eyebrow raise and suddenly I hear “I am sorry, are you okay?” My non-verbal cues prompted the use of manners. At school and at home, situations are controlled and managed.

The public world however can be a whole other playing field. We can’t control how other people interact with our children. Situations in the real world are random and unpredictable. Therefore we need to have conversations with our children about using manners in public.  This book is a great entry point into doing so.

This picture book is a great tool to help you be proactive in teaching your children the need for manners in the real world. We hope you enjoy!