Let's GREET!
First lesson in the “Fruitful Manners” unit. As we strive to become fruitful, the best sons and daughters of God we can be, it all starts with how we meet and greet others. :) Simple but important. Children will practice good manners through a tea party or other fun learning activities. Manners can help us be our best and love others in God’s special way!
“Let’s Greet!” Unit: Fruitful Manners
LESSON PURPOSE: Learning proper Manners through Meetings & Greetings!
MATERIALS: Picture Book, learning toys, craft supplies
BOOKS: Excuse Me! / Please and Thank You Book / Please, Mr. Panda / How to Behave at a Tea Party
SONG IDEAS: This Little Light of Mine, Open The Eyes of My Heart, Put a Little Love
AS CHILDREN ARRIVE: Choose 1 Sensory Activity:
Tea Party Pouring Practice: Have children pour water from tea pots to tea cups!
Tea Party Sensory Bin: Have children place pom poms into teacups using chopsticks.
Tea Party: have children play tea party w/plates, cups, napkins, utensils and dolls or stuffed animals- saying “please” and “thank you”! ;)
Potty: toddler potty, toilet paper, sanitizer or play kitchen sink. Practice proper bathroom etiquette- go potty, wipe, flush, wash hands using dolls or stuffed animals.
SCRIPTURE: Display the weekly scripture reading, have an older child read it or use it in the lesson as you like.
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another.” -Romans 12:10
“It is important for you to know about heart in order to love each other... It means to be loving, caring, sensitive.” -True Father
INTRODUCE the Lesson:
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
SONG IDEAS: This Little Light of Mine, Open The Eyes of My Heart, Put a Little Love
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
Last month, we enjoyed learning about the 4 Realms of Heart & True Love. It is now March! And we will begin a new theme… (drumroll) “MARCH MANNERS!” Ask Children- what manners are? Listen to their answers.
ATTENTION GRABBER: choose 1:
SMILEY STICKERS: Greet each child w/a special saying- “Suzy, I’m so glad you’re here today!” “Welcome to Sunday School Liz!” “It’s so wonderful to see you Tom!” OR w/a song. As you say their name with a big warm smile, put a big Smiley Face sticker or badge on each child’s shirt!
INTRO:
The Bible teaches us that we should “become fruitful”. Just as a tree grows and bears beautiful fruit, we should too. This means we should grow to be the best son or daughter of God we can be! Manners can help us to be our best and love others in God’s special way! Today we are going to start at the beginning with MEETINGS & GREETINGS!
CHOOSE 1 OR 2: READ A STORY, SING A SONG OR POEM, WATCH A VIDEO:
VIDEOS: click on the link for educational, sing along or dance videos
3 Manners All Kids Should Know Video by Parents
Alligator Manners! short interactive educational video on raising your hand politely and sitting properly at storytime
Berenstain Bears Forgot their Manners Berenstain Bears episode on manners
Manners at a Party Video by Parents
READ ALOUD STORY VIDEOS:
SONG OR POEM:
Hello Song- Hello _________. Hello _________. Hello _________. Thanks for coming to play!”
Where Is? (Are You Sleeping) Where is ______? Where is ______? Please stand up, Please stand up, Do a little wave, Do a little clapping, Please sit down, Please sit down.
Good Morning (If You’re Happy) Good morning dear friends, how are you? (clap, clap) Good morning dear friends, how are you? (clap, clap) How are you this special day? I’m so glad you came to play! Good morning dear friends, how are you? (clap, clap)
*TEACH the Lesson:
TEACHING POINT 1: Meetings & Greetings
TEACHING WITH DISCUSSION:
We feel happy inside when someone greets us warmly! Right? Teacher Role Play or Puppets: demonstrate meeting someone carelessly or grumpy vs. polite & happy! We also look at someone and make eye contact when we’re talking to them. Can you show me your eyes? Good job! We show lots of love to our friends and respect to our elders through manners. Let’s play a guessing game together! Ask Children:
MEETINGS & GREETINGS: What do you say when you meet someone? “HELLO! How are you? What’s your name? It’s so nice to meet you!” Using a Greetings Printable- show and talk about ways we can say “Hello!” using our body: smile, wave, wink, handshake, high five, hug. (Can also have children guess the pictures). In Korea, people also do bows to show respect and say hello. How about when we say goodbye? “GOOD BYE! Thank you!” Give hugs.
What do you say when you’d like to play with your friend’s toy? PLEASE or MAY I?
What do we say when someone gives you a special gift? Gives you a turn? THANK YOU!
What do you say if you let out a burp? Or you want to get someone’s attention? EXCUSE ME!
What do you say when you accidentally dropped a toy? Or hurt someone’s feelings? I’M SORRY!
It’s important to greet everyone we meet! We want to greet our parents, elders, grown ups, teachers, aunt sand uncles, neighbors, friends & siblings with respect. And we may greet different people in different ways. We can always make someone’s day happy by sharing a smile with them. :)
TEACHING POINT 2: Being PolitE *OPTIONAL EXTENSION
TEACHING WITH DISCUSSION:
God loves it when his children are polite Princes & Princesses. Discuss more ways to be polite. Have children give a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” with each phrase!
Interrupt when someone else is talking? :/
Let others finish talking before we speak. :)
Say “Excuse Me Mommy, I have a question :)
Tug on Mommy’s shirt to get attention! :/
Forget to flush the potty. :/
Wash hands after potty & before meals. :)
Sneeze on your friend. :/
Sneeze in to your shirt sleeve. :)
Asking if you can have a turn with their toy. :)
Taking a toy from your friend’s hand. :/
Saying mean words. :/
Using kind words! :)
Manners Song (Twinkle) We say “Thank You.” We say “Please.” We don’t interrupt or tease. We don’t argue, we don’t fuss-- Listen when folks talk to us. Share our toys and take our turn. Manners are easy to learn!
CONCLUSION:
God, our Heavenly Parent, loves us so much! Jesus & True Parents teach us many ways to show God’s love to others. We can become fruitful and a better person- by showing Manners through kind Greetings! Big boys and girls can be Polite Princesses & Princes in so many ways! We will learn much more about Manners- but greeting others is how it all starts!
TITHING & PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent- Thank you for giving us our friends, teachers and families! Help us to be kind and use our special greetings and manners to bring joy to others and show kindness. Amen! Aju!
APPLY the Lesson:
GROUP ACTIVITIES: choose 1 :
Courtesy Games- Games like walking on the line, the silence game & more!
Mother May I- Game in which 1 person is “Mother” and faces all children. They stand in a horizontal line. Children take turns asking- “Mother may I- take a giant/baby step/hop/march forward/backward?” Mother responds: Yes or No. If child forgets to ask “Mother May I” has to take a step back. First one to touch Mother wins.
Mr. Manners- Play “Mr. Manners Says!” (Simon Says). “Hug a friend, give a high five, handshake, wave hello, wave goodbye, thumbs up, smile, wink, fistbump…” (Can use Printable-Greetings Matching pdf as a visual)
Table Manners- Have a formal tea party with real snacks! Pretend that you are at a meal with Jesus at the temple or with True Parents at the Palace! Practice the following:
Be Responsible- Wash our hands before eating.
Good Posture- Sit up tall, push in your chair.
Show Gratitude- Let’s say a prayer!
Be Polite- “Excuse Me, Pardon Me, May I, Please, Thank You, You’re Welcome!”
Be a Prince or Princess- Close mouth while chewing, no elbows on table.
CRAFTS: choose 1
Good Manners Tree: cut out brown paper hand prints. Glue it on a green sheet of paper- let children cut out their tree shape. (Individual trees: write greetings on each finger. Or large class bulletin trees- write just 1 greeting & drawing on each hand.)
Table Placemat: Have children color in drawings on a proper table setting placemat or glue on a small paper plate, cup, napkin, plastic knife, fork & spoon on to their paper “placemat”. Children can draw or write words or teacher can glue a saying on the plates.
Tea Party Fancy Hats: Before having a fancy tea party together- make fancy tea party hats using paper plates w/bowls and lots of flowers, bow decor & ribbon! Can be fun & silly in honor of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday Friday but must be used with polite fancy manners! ;)
Panda Bear: Have children make a panda bear plate craft w/reading “Please Mr. Panda”.
Coloring: Color in the fox manners printable.
SPECIAL: optional
FUN IDEAS: Have children stand at the Sanctuary exit & greet and say “Thanks for coming today! :)” to everyone as they leave the Sanctuary after Service before fellowship! Offer hugs, waves, handshakes, smiles...etc
Extra time- Social Skills Role Play: take turns showing proper greetings. Pretend you’re hosting a party. Have children ring the doorbell & practice greetings! Tea Party play. Manners play with toys.
SNACK IDEAS:
Enjoy the lesson! Feel free to submit photos to lgavin@unification.org Love seeing lessons come to life and each community
