This is a post from years past.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, Everyone!
It’s the week before Christmas. Kids are out of school on winter break and guess what?
My “Manners are Cool” Etiquette class was full this past weekend. Eight Kids between the ages of 9-13.
Normally the sessions are held at my Lisa Rose Doll House and Tea Room location, but since these girls were a little bit older and prefer a bit of sophistication, we conducted the class at a restaurant venue I have an arrangement with.
It’s a relaxed outdoor setting surrounded by carp pools and natural beauty which the girls really enjoy.
Actually, the date was reserved by parents a month in advance.
Parents and kids alike were more than ready to become reacquainted with some basic touchstones of responsible behavior and to reinforce social skills that had became all too rusty over past many months.
Everyone was in the Holiday spirit of cooperation which made our time together even more productive not to mention truly enjoyable.
I don’t know which I like better-my Princess Parties, or teaching these etiquette sessions?
It’s like with with your kids, you love them equally and play no favorites.
Despite the frustration of the past couple of years it’s been happening this way for over 20 years now, ever since I started offering Children’s Etiquette and Social Skills training at Lisa Rose.
Kids really do want to be shown the difference between right and wrong.
They see how appropriate behavior leads to positive outcomes with their friends as well as adults.
They are more receptive when you make it Cool.
Whenever the kids are out of school for a holiday, on weekends, and during the summer months, these classes are filled as soon as I advertise them through my newsletter. It doesn’t cost a penny and I am able to charge $60 per child for a class of 8-10 kids.
So, for 3 hours we had a good time teaching and learning that Manners are Cool. It is OK to address peers and adults politely and make eye contact, to look, listen, and learn how to behave at the dinner table and in your classroom, to say please and thank you, and well… you get the idea.
At the end, we had a little Tea Party which they’ve been so patiently looking forward to.
That’s another thing we teach which is sadly in short supply these days… the virtue of patience.
I am paid well to do something I thoroughly enjoy which is to encourage positive behavior and help set young kids on the path to having success in life. What more could one ask for in job?
All in all, it was a beautiful day in paradise. I schedule the classes in the morning so that by right after lunch everyone has the rest of the day to enjoy. Not too shabby, wouldn’t you agree?
It got me thinking too.
Maybe it’s time to offer an intermediate level class to help kids not only survive but excel despite the social turmoil of middle school. Positive guidance from the outside would serve them well, not to mention their parents and teachers.
This will involve a step beyond manners and basic training on how to interact with others. It may not prevent kids from being elbowed to the sidelines by fickle friends or being the subject of gossip, however, learning how to see things from the other side and not simply their own point of view will help them to give others the benefit of the doubt and keep the drama to a minimum.
It won’t solve all the problems one encounters in middle school, but if a few hours of learning the art of give and take results in someone being more inclined to be kind, then it is absolutely a good idea.
I think I’ll do it
This was a typical day in the life of a Princess Tea Party and Children’s Etiquette business owner.
Here’s what my students don’t catch on to… it’s really me who gets to wear the glass slipper.
