Hello Everyone,

Have you ever temporarily forgotten your manners? Has this ever happened to you? I know that it has happened to me and I find that it happens most during stressful times. For example, during times when I feel that I have absolutely NO time left to give and that anyone that asks me a questions is taking away from MY precious time. This is not a nice thing to admit, and what’s worse, is that it usually happens with the people that I love the most…

Now, that’s not the case for our friend Mr.Rabbit. No, he’s having a difficult time remembering his manners when it comes to people that he doesn’t know. However, in the end, someone is going to get hurt and, whether you know it or not, you’re ultimately hurting yourself as well.

This book – “Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller” – is a perfect little book to talk about manners and how we use them both in our classroom and out in the world with others. What kind of expectations do we have of others when we meet people for the first time? Do we address everyone in the same way? Do I speak to my mother the same way that I speak to someone in my group of friends? Can that change?

If you’d like to get a little introduction to this charming book, you can watch my Read Aloud here. As usual, I like to start my lessons with my sidekick Gobo. I cannot stress enough how beneficial it is to have a puppet in your classroom (or at home, if you are a parent). You will be BLOWN AWAY by the way your students (or children) speak to your puppet in a way that they would never speak to you. Puppets are wall breakers – it’s true and they don’t even have to try that hard. Try it, even though it might seem silly, and remember that your students are VERY good at separating you (their teacher) from their classroom puppet – so don’t worry about embarrassing yourself.

Wishing you a great day!

Danielle