Teaching kids manners

But more specifically, teaching them about Thank You notes. Several posts ago, I mentioned my son's 6th birthday party. Sadly, it's taken us until today to get all of the thank you notes written. I felt that since he knows how to write and needs the practice, he should write the notes himself. That's quite a task considering he just started kindergarten and is exhausted at the end of the day. According to Emily Post, I should've waited a year on that (oops). To make them easier to write, I added ruled lines when designing the stationery (which can be done with any PaperCourt Press order - just let me know).

Emily Post offers the following tips to parents and kids regarding thank you notes:

• Explain that receiving thank-you notes makes people feel good. And it lets them know that the gift arrived safely and is appreciated.
• The sooner the better! Get those notes written as soon as possible. But don’t be embarrassed by a note sent a bit late, even a month after the gift was received. It’s far better to send a late note than no note at all.
• Spend a few minutes talking about the gift and what made it special: It’s a book you loved reading. You’ve already made three projects with the art kit. The toy is so much fun to play with you haven’t wanted to do anything else. You had a great time shopping with your friends and found the perfect sweater with the gift card.
• Have fun, age appropriate materials on hand to get your child interested in the project: colorful notepaper, markers, fun pens, stickers and stamps.
• If you have a camera, take a picture of your child and the gift. Include the photo with the thank-you note.
• Again, remember to keep it fun! If you view this as drudgery, so will the kids.