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{Homemade Place-Mat Printable} Encourage Respectful Behavior At The Table

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placematsWith small children who have a hard time sitting still or doing any activity for an extended period of time, meal times are constantly on my list of areas to work on.  In our case the biggest struggle is staying in your seat for the entire meal (or even three minutes in a row).  Whether it’s due to my flexibility allowing my children to eat their snacks most anywhere in the house, or their active natures in the first place, I will never know (and I will try not to fret over it)…

Regardless, I know as they grow in maturity we will hopefully begin to practice (and see) more table manners.  And to get the ball rolling, the other day I decided to make a list of regularly discussed points into place-mats with the kids’ pictures.  This way we have the “rules” in front of us in a fun, personalized way.  I do not expect this little place-mat to work wonders and suddenly create a respectful, easy, quiet table… but at least it will be a reminder for all of us!

 

Craft Activity

First we talked about manners and I took a photo of each child sitting nicely at the table.

Then we made a list together of the ways we try to show respect at the table (and typed them out):

  • Washing up before meals.
  • Sitting on my chair.
  • Eating my food politely.
  • Using “please” and “thank you.”
  • Asking to be excused.
  • Taking my plate to the kitchen.

Next we printed our “rules” which you can also download by clicking here (please note this is a Word Document so you can adjust the rules to your family’s needs).

Then I let the boys decorate the pages.  My four year old has been really into wind and lighting so that is what he drew.  I had intended us to draw maybe a table, some food items, a plate, some utensils but, because my goal is to follow the kids’ leads in crafts, we just went with it. 🙂

After decorating we glued on the photos, laminated, and had a snack using the new plate mats.  I had a little giggle while snapping a photo of my son drinking the milk from his cereal bowl since it is so typical that after discussing a subject (such as table manners) we see an example of the *opposite.*  The life of a parent is never-ending work, for sure!

 

Please note: If you do not have a laminator, feel free to use this activity simply as a poster to hang up near the family table.  And you do not have to add your children’s photos either – you or they could draw a picture just as well!

 

How do you encourage respectful behavior during meal times?  Do you have family *rules* for the table?

 

Find this activity on my list of 365 activities for your family to build character.

 

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Feel free to share your experiences with this activity and/or any variations you came up with. Links to related activities or to your post that links here, are most welcome also.

Thanks for your feedback – I appreciate all your comments!

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Filed Under: Blog, Character Building Activities, Craft Activities, My Printables Tagged With: Courtesy, Respect

About Chelsea Lee Smith

Author, certified parent educator, and mother of three with a background in Communications and Counselling, Chelsea provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Follow her @momentsaday on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

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Comments

  1. Sugar Aunts

    June 14, 2013 at 12:44 pm

    We will be featuring your post on a HUGE list of Rainy Day Summer Play activities on Share It Saturday this weekend! We will be sharing with all of our followers on our social media sites (including group boards and communities!!) Thanks for sharing with us at Share It Saturday!

    Colleen at http://www.sugaraunts.com

    Reply
    • Chelsea

      June 14, 2013 at 1:07 pm

      Thanks for including my post Colleen and I can’t wait to check out the other activities on your collection this weekend!!

      Reply
  2. chizobam

    July 21, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    there is no place to click in order to download the dinning mat. nice and creative posts

    Reply
    • Chelsea Lee Smith

      July 21, 2015 at 4:42 pm

      Find this sentence “Next we printed our “rules” which you can also download by clicking here (please note this is a Word Document so you can adjust the rules to your family’s needs).” and click “here” 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 60 Rainy Summer Day Activities! & Share It Saturday - Teach Beside Me says:
    October 19, 2013 at 3:19 am

    […] Make fizzy letters Sugar Aunts: Create a DIY light box Big Energy Little Learners: Paint the Rain Moments A Day: Make a placemat to learn manners Moms Have Questions Too: Match the font cut and paste activity And […]

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  2. 100 Kids Activities To Build Character - Moments A Day says:
    November 1, 2013 at 7:38 am

    […] 11.  We created homemade place-mats to discuss showing respectful behavior at the table which you can see (and download) here. […]

    Reply
  3. Free Character Education Printables | BitsofPositivity.com says:
    October 17, 2014 at 9:02 pm

    […] {Homemade Place-Mat Printable} Encourage Respectful Behavior At The Table from Moments a Day […]

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  4. 60 Rainy Summer Day Activities! - Teach Beside Me says:
    February 16, 2017 at 11:36 am

    […] Make fizzy letters Sugar Aunts: Create a DIY light box Big Energy Little Learners: Paint the Rain Moments A Day: Make a placemat to learn manners Moms Have Questions Too: Match the font cut and paste activity And […]

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Chelsea Lee Smith is an author, certified parent educator, and mother of three children with a background in Communications and Counselling. She provides resources to parents and teachers who want to incorporate personal growth into everyday moments. Browse the shop and blog categories to find practical inspiration for family life including tips, activities, printable pages, and resource recommendations.

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