Just have to share this great idea.  Matthew Whoolery, a professor at BYUI was a guest columnist in last week’s newspaper and he wrote about “The Lost Art of Good Manners.” It was a great article outlining the advantages of good manners, but the part I want to share is what he and his wife did to help their children learn social manners.  Every FHE they had a short lesson on an aspect of Good Manners.  He stated, “As we went through these lessons, we had one of the children write out a list of the main points for that particular rule of civility.  They enjoyed being in charge of making the summary paper, and we hung it up on the wall for the week and talked about it at dinners during the week.  It gave us a set of ideas and vocabulary for discussing these issues in their lives at school and with friends.”  They used a book by Professor Forni, Johns Hopkins University, called, “Choosing Civility:  The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct.”  This book addresses the actions and attitudes of good manners, such as listening, thinking the best of others, caring for guests, and speaking kindly."

I have taught a few etiquette classes in the past and here are some of the books I used in those classes:

Dude, That’s Rude! by Pamela Espeland & Elizabeth Verdick  - a great little book for kids that teaches manners in a fun way

Emily’s Everyday Manners by Peggy Post (Emily Post’s great granddaughter-in-law) and Cindy Post Stenning  (Peggy’s sister-in-law) – another one that is good for young children  

Excuse Me, But I Was Next – How to handle the top 100 Manners Dilemmas – Peggy Post – this one is for all of us!!