Good Manners Craft Ideas for Preschoolers

Most young children enjoy doing craft projects, which makes the preschool years the perfect time to teach children about manners. Hands-on crafts give the children a chance to have fun while developing good manners, like learning to say "please" and "thank you." Display the finished craft projects around the classroom to remind the preschoolers to use their good manners.

Websites like Free Manners Lessons have printable manners coloring sheets you can print for your preschoolers. Children can use crayons and markers to color the manners coloring sheets. If you do not mind a mess, give the children nontoxic paint to color the pictures. After each child colors a page, have him stand up and explain the picture by telling everyone how the picture represents good manners.

Divide the preschoolers into groups of two or three and give each group a few magazines. The preschoolers must find pictures of people using good manners. For example, the children could find a picture of two people shaking hands or children playing happily together. Give each group a large piece of construction paper and have them glue the pictures they find to the paper. Each group can stand in front of the class and talk about why each picture demonstrates good manners.

Pass out greeting cards for the preschoolers to look at and explain how people use the cards to say "thank you" or to celebrate a special occasion. Give the preschoolers construction paper to make their own greeting cards for people around the community. Some examples include making a card for a bus driver or mail deliveryman. Help the children deliver the cards. Alternatively, the preschoolers can make thank you cards for their parents, grandparents or Sunday school teachers.

Give each child a paper plate and have him use colors to draw a face on the plate. Have him outline his hands on a sheet of construction paper and help him cut out each hand. Ask the children to glue a piece of tissue paper over the nose on the plate. They will then tape the two hands over the tissue paper. This will represent someone covering his mouth and nose to sneeze or cough. Another idea is to write down a good manners song on paper and have the children learn the song. Sing "Share, share, share your toys; share them with your friends; It's so much fun to share your toys; sharing has no end," to the tune of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." They can draw pictures on the page around the song of children sharing their toys with friends.