Etiquette Unit Study and Lesson Plan

We felt that all of the children could benefit from a little brush-up on their Etiquette skills! This was a fun little unit, ending with lunch at a (somewhat) fancy restaurant for practice, at which there was only one incident where a gentlemen shoved a lady off her chair, hissing "I was there first!" at her…so…pretty good? :)

You can look at the lesson plan for more specifics, but we really enjoy The Art of Manliness blog for gentleman's etiquette and just all-around interesting information. We watched MANY of their videos, but ones we particularly liked were:

• this one about the proper way to iron a dress shirt (which we practiced, but the little ones practiced on napkins. I remember my mom having me practice ironing on tablecloths and napkins when I was little, too!)

• this video about table manners, and
• this one on how to end a conversation (such a useful skill!)

But by all means do go and check out their other offerings on such subjects as how to chop wood and how to unclog a toilet! :)

Here is a nice formal place setting from our fancy dinner at home

And some more links:

Article about opening doors for women

A funny old (but still good) instructional video about manners

This page links to several etiquette guides from earlier eras. These were fun to read.

Jeeves! The ultimate expert on sartorial etiquette.

This old WWII-era film on handkerchief etiquette was quirky

Daisy, at the aforementioned fancy restuarant