Connoisseur Kids: Etiquette, Manners, and Living Well for Parents and Their Little Ones

By Jennifer L. Scott and Clare Owen

From Jennifer Scott—author of the New York Times bestselling Madame Chic series and founder of the Daily Connoisseur blog—comes this playful take on manners and being a good global citizen. Parents and younger children work together to read about a wide range of topics: communication, table manners, tidiness, thinking of others, grooming, and health. Activities, learning games, fill-in-the-blanks, letter-writing exercises, recipes (for food and for slime!), and some fun songs and rhymes help kids learn concepts and practice good behaviors. Featuring charming illustrations and go-to advice from a trusted source, this is a timely guide for raising well-mannered, neat, and gracious children for parents, grandparents, and children of reading age.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Chronicle Books Digital
• Release date: Sep 10, 2019
• ISBN: 9781452179193

Jennifer L. Scott

Jennifer L. Scott is the bestselling author of the Madame Chic books, the blogger behind the Daily Connoisseur, and the mother of four children. She lives with her family in Los Angeles, California.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Life as a kid is so exciting. Kids are constantly learning new things and experiencing fresh adventures. Life can be daunting, too, as we are expected to fit into a world that has a lot of rules.

Kids will learn to answer the following questions, and more! What do you do when you meet someone for the first time? How do you act at the dinner table? What sorts of things do you need to do to stay clean and take care of your body? Is it even possible to keep your room tidy for more than one day? How do you express yourself when you are feeling angry? There are so many pressing questions, and when kids get these answers, they can put them into action and start to enjoy everyday adventures with confidence and joy.

This book is about becoming a Connoisseur Kid. What is a Connoisseur Kid? To answer that, let’s first look at what a connoisseur is. A connoisseur is defined as an expert judge in matters of taste. It means that there is a certain field that you know so well that you are an expert in it! If you love art and have studied it well, you could be a connoisseur of fine art, for example. If you love to ride horses, have spent a lot of time around them, know how to care for them, and know what makes them unique, you could be a connoisseur of horses.

Connoisseur Kids become experts in the art of living. Being a kid is one of the most wonderful phases of life. Adults always look back at their childhood to reminisce about, or think back to, their fondest memories. Connoisseur Kids enjoy everything that goes along with being young and gain many new skills that will carry them into adulthood with ease.

The skills kids will learn regarding etiquette, manners, tidiness, hygiene (keeping your body clean), health, and thinking of others will fit beautifully into everyday life, helping to guide each day. Have fun jumping right in to explore these topics. This book is also full of unique crafts, recipes, games, and challenges that will keep you and yours busy and inspire you to share with others.

How to Use This Book

This book is meant to be read with both child and parent, together, or to be used as a script for parents to share this information with their kids. Spend quality time with family as you delve into each chapter and challenge. If your kids are old enough to read this book by themselves, allow them to do so, or have them read out loud to the family. If not, enjoy reading together. The activities in this book will challenge kids, hopefully make them laugh, and activate their enthusiasm for living well.

Embark on an exciting journey of newness and discovery as you uncover what it truly means to be a Connoisseur Kid . . . starting now.

Etiquette: What Is It?

Etiquette is polite behavior. It’s how we act in front of people and also by ourselves. Etiquette is very important. Can you imagine a world without etiquette? Having no rules might sound fun at first, kind of like one big party! But think about it: a world with no rules and no manners would be a very unpleasant place to live. No one would say please or thank you. People would just grab something if they wanted it. Cutting in line would be totally normal. A world without etiquette would leave everyone very frustrated, indeed!

The word etiquette comes from France way back in the 1600s. Etiquette meant to keep off the grass at the royal court. It was a code of conduct that everyone was expected to follow. Well, just like they followed etiquette in the royal French courts hundreds of years ago, we will strive to follow it today. Etiquette doesn’t have to be stuffy or intimidating; it can actually be fun to practice! And, don’t worry, you won’t be learning it alone: your entire family is going to practice with you! So, let’s get started with the area where your manners will shine the most: when you communicate.

CHAPTER 1

COMMUNICATION

Parents, the goals in this chapter are to: 1. Learn how to best communicate; 2. Practice good communication skills on a daily basis; and 3. Enjoy communicating with others.

Communication is the exchange of information with other people. It is also a means of connection with others. We are going to start with communication because our days are framed by communicating with other people. As Connoisseur Kids, we want to live harmoniously with others and be effective communicators. This chapter will give you tips and techniques on how to make your communication skills shine!

EYE CONTACT

When learning about proper communication, there’s a major skill we need to master first: eye contact! Do you know what eye contact is? It’s when you look someone in the eyes when you’re talking to them. It’s important to make eye contact not only when you’re talking but also when you’re listening.

When you make eye contact with the person you’re talking to, you make that person feel really special. You each know that you’re being heard because you are giving that person your full attention by looking at them.

Using eye contact might feel awkward at first. That means you might feel funny looking into the eyes of the person to whom you’re talking. But if you practice enough, it will come naturally to you. Practice with your family. When your mom is talking to you, for example, look her in the eyes. When you’re asking her a question, look her in the eyes. Do the same with your dad. Even your brothers, sisters, and cousins! You might not be used to it, but it can be fun to look at people in the eyes.

Whenever someone talks to you,

Look them in the eyes.

It lets them know you’re listening.

You will feel very wise!

When you’re the one who’s talking

And relaying a little fact,

Nothing feels more special

Than when they give you eye contact!

THE EYE CONTACT GAME

ITEMS NEEDED:

Sticky notes

Pencils

How to play: You will need a partner to play this game. Each person takes several sticky notes and writes the name of a thing on each note. Examples could be a lamp, bed, stove, chair, doll, fork, computer, cat, etc. If you’re playing with younger players who can’t read yet, you can always draw a picture of the thing rather than writing the word.

Now trade sticky notes, but don’t look at what is written on yours! Stick the note on your forehead. Go to your partner and take turns. You are going to ask them questions to figure out what you are. For example, let’s say your sticky note says lamp. Your conversation with the other person as you try to guess what you are might go like this:

Player 1: Am I in the kitchen?

Player 2: No.

Player 1: Am I in the living room?

Player 2: Yes.

Player 1: Do you sit on me?

Player 2: No.

Player 1: Do I light up?

Player 2: Yes!

Player 1: Am I a lamp?

Player 2: Yes!

It’s fun to try to guess what you are, but there is a twist to this game! The entire time you are asking or answering questions, you must maintain eye contact with your partner. It’s OK to blink, but if you look down, or away, your turn is over and your partner gets to start guessing. Play the game until you have used all of the sticky notes. You will quickly become accustomed to maintaining eye contact in a conversation with this fun game.

- CONNOISSEUR KIDS ASSIGNMENT -

PRACTICE EYE CONTACT

Work on maintaining good eye contact today with everyone you come across. Practice on your family first. Notice how you are able to listen better when you practice good eye contact. Also notice how it feels nice when people look you in the eyes when you’re talking to them.

POSTURE

Posture is how we sit, stand, and carry ourselves. You might wonder what posture has to do with communication and manners, but it plays a very important role. This is because we not only communicate with our words and our eyes, but with our bodies, too.

Try this activity to see what I mean. Stand in front of a mirror and slouch. Make your slouch exaggerated: hunch your shoulders, stick out your neck, let your head drop, and jut out your stomach. How do you look? Do you look happy or sad? Lazy or energetic? Do you look like you’re having a good day or a bad day?

Now try standing with good posture. Straighten up your back, let your shoulders drop, put your chin up, and tuck your stomach in. Pretend you’re being held up by a string like you’re a marionette puppet. Now how do you look? Do you look happy or sad? Lazy or energetic? Like you’re having a good day or a bad day?

Do you see how your posture can communicate things to other people? If you’re slouching throughout your day, you might appear sluggish, lazy, and unhappy. But if you’re standing straight, you appear ready for anything, upbeat and energetic!

Throughout the day,

Stand straight and tall.

This posture says,

You’re giving it your all!

Don’t hunch over

In your chair.

Instead sit straight

To show you care!

- CONNOISSEUR KIDS ASSIGNMENT -

MAINTAIN GOOD POSTURE

Your assignment today is to use your best posture. Whether you’re standing up or sitting in a chair, make yourself straight and tall. You’ll notice you have more energy. It’s a great feeling! Practice good posture today and every day.

TISSUE DANCE GAME (FOR GREAT POSTURE)

This game can be played with only one or two people, but the more the merrier, so gather your siblings, parents, and friends together.

ITEMS NEEDED:

1 tissue or lightweight, silky scarf per person

A wide-open space

Music

How to play: Have everyone place one tissue on top of their head. Start the music. Players can dance to the music in whatever way they like. The goal is to keep the tissue on your head. If the tissue starts to drop, you can pick it up, but if it falls on the floor, you are out and must watch the rest of the game. The last person standing wins! This game teaches you to hold your head high and have good posture, even when you’re doing something active and being silly!

SPEAKING CLEARLY

Do you know what communication is? The dictionary says it’s the exchange of information or news. That’s a fancy way to say it’s how people talk to each other.

There are many more ways to communicate than talking to each other. In addition to words,