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Manners Theme for Preschool
Manners are a learned practice and this page will help you do both: Help your children learn and practice these skills in your classroom!
This manners preschool theme page is just a beginning of ideas.
You'll find more themes to help you with your planning on my preschool themes page.
I would love to add to this page so please Contact Me to send your ideas!
Let the Theme Planning Begin!
You can either scroll down through this page to see all of the preschool activities for your Manners Theme or click the link below to go to specific preschool activity types you are looking for.
Manners Themed Art
Use A Tissue!
Materials needed: Paper plates, markers, yarn (for hair), googly eyes, glue, tissues
Encourage the children to make a face on their plate, adding yarn for hair and eyes, a mouth and nose. The children glue a tissue on their nose as a reminder of good nose manners!
Helpful Collage
Materials needed: magazines, scissors, glue sticks, large poster board
Have the children find pictures of people using manners such as wiping their mouths after eating, washing hands, opening a door, helping to clean up, etc.
They cut out the pictures and glue to the poster board. Have this out at a center during your entire theme so children can add to it!
Manners Theme Block Area
Manners are many times lacking in the block area when four or five children want to use the same truck, car, farm animal, etc. If you have introduced new items to this area, sit with the children who come to the block area today and demonstrate how to use manners and wait their turn without grabbing a toy!
"Joey, may I have a turn when you're done?"
(You may need to watch the clock after this agreement is made. I typically will say something like "That is great sharing, Joey! Okay, Sue, in 5 minutes, Joey's turn will be over and it will be your turn. Then Joey can have another turn!)
Manners Theme Circle Ideas
Circle Time is such a great time for children to learn the social skills of being together as a large group AND to learn more about your theme!
Raising Hands
In advance, trace and cut out some hand shapes from paper. Give one to each child.
Remind them that at circle time, we all want to share ideas but need to take turns. If we all talk at the same time, we won't be able to hear what each person is saying. So, when you want to say something at circle time, please raise your hand and wait for me to call your name.
Let's practice. I'm going to ask a question. When you have an answer, raise your paper hand and wait for me to call your name.
Then ask questions like "What color is this paper?" How old are you?
Charades
Have the children act out different scenarios such as:
Two children pretend to bump into each other. Ask the children "What should you say?" (Excuse me, I'm sorry)
One child pretends to sneeze. "What should we do when we sneeze?" (Sneeze into your elbow!) and "What do we say when someone sneezes?" (God bless you).
Themed Ideas To Transform Your Dramatic Play Area
Table Etiquette
Materials: Set up a table with plates, cups, etc. The children can cook for each other using "Please" "Thank You" etc.
Have your dramatic play area/corner set up as a restaurant or cafe. The children take orders, place orders and pretend to be diners as well as serving and ordering food and drinks. (Thank you to Pamela for adding these ideas!)
Themed Ideas for Your Easel--
More Than Just Painting (Although that is always THE favorite in our classroom)!Turn Taking Spray Bottles!
Fill one spray bottle with water.
Hang one large coffee filter on the easel.
The children share the markers to try and cover the entire filter.
They then take turns spraying the coffee filter!
Themed Large Group Games
to help the children build their muscles while they have fun together!Mother May I?
Traditional game!
Hello!
Use your parachute to teach saying hello to a friend when they say hello to you!
Everyone holds the parachute. You say "Hello XXX (child's name)". When you say hello, they need to say hello back to you. When they do, everyone shakes the parachute up and down and says HELLO!
Themed Ideas for your Preschool Library
Book Suggestions for the Library
The following books may be available at your local library or you can click the title links below to find them at Amazon.
(I LOVE Amazon, and some of the links below will take you to the Amazon website. If you do choose to purchase yours through Amazon, they do send me a few cents--which supports my coffee habit! )
Manners by Aliki
Say please by Virginia Austin
The Jelly Donut Difference by Maria Dismondy
Eat Your Peas, Louise! by Pegeen Snow
Pete the Cat and the Missing Cupcake by Kimberly & James Dean
Themed Math and Manipulatives Activities
to help your preschoolers develop their math skills and those small muscles in their hands!Board Games
Any age appropriate board game will help encourage turn taking and manners here!
Partner Play
Provide a spinner or dice, bowls, and sorters (pom poms, teddy bear counters, etc.).
Each child has an empty bowl.
Place the sorters/counters in a bowl between them.
One child spins the spinner or rolls a die and asks the other child for that many items:
"May I have 3 pom poms please?"
The other child counts out three and places them into their partners bowl. The child receiving says "Thank you" the giver says "You're welcome"
They take turns with the spinner and counting out items for their partner, trying to remember to use their manners!
Themed Music and Movement Activities and Ideas
to get your Preschoolers Movin' and Groovin!We Say Thank You
We say thank you. We say please.
We say excuse me when we sneeze.
That's the way we do what's right.
We have manners and we're polite!
Themed Activities for Your Sand and Water Table
Smelling Jars
You've probably made these for other themes, but they work great for a manners/sharing theme as well!
Make jars (that you cannot see through) with different smells. Do this by placing a cotton ball in each one with a scent (vanilla, vinegar, etc.).
The children should offer the one they smell to their friend, "Would you like to smell this one?" "Yes, Please!" "Here you go!" "Thank you!"
Just Ask!
As children play at the sensory table, encourage them to use their manners rather than reaching over each other for shoves, cars, etc.
Themed Science Activities
for your Preschool Scientists in Training!Color Sharing
Materials Needed: clear paint cups or plastic cups (1 empty one for each pair of children and many filled with different colors of water), a pitcher of water, an empty bucket or bin, pipettes
The children work in pairs for this activity. Each pair has one cup to share and each child has a pipette.
The children take turns pouring water into their cup.
The pairs take turns using pipettes to drop a few drops of colored water into their shared cup, creating their own colors!
Create Colored Flowers Thanks, Mari, for this idea!
Use the water from the Color Sharing activity above and create colorful flowers by setting white or very light colored flowers in the colored water and then share the flowers with someone special.
Other Partner Science Activities
Provide other science activities where children must share and/or work together such as planting and caring for the plant as well as journaling about it together as it grows.
Writing Activity Ideas for Your Preschool Theme!
(Thank you to Pamela for the following ideas!)
Invitations
Materials needed: cards, paper, markers, stickers, etc.
The children write invitation cards for a pretend party.
Thank You Cards
The children write thank you cards for coming to the pretend party or for a gift received!
Go to Preschool Plan It's HOME Page
Hey there! Welcome to Preschool Plan It! I’m Cheryl, a preschool teacher of over 20 years.
I KNOW, I know, you spend hours of time developing your preschool themes, activities and preschool lesson plans each week. You are commited to planning preschool themes and activities that are engaging hands-on, interactive, fun AND meet the goal of supporting each child’s level of growth and development.
I am commited to providing you, the preschool teacher, with everything you need to develop preschool lesson plans and preschool activities for your classroom all in one place!
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