Noodleboro picnic basket manners game

While Noodleboro games are very popular, there are some other manners games, too. Mind Your Manners is very popular, but we opted not to buy it because it was a card game instead of a board game. The other serious contender was The Grouchy Ladybug Board Game. We love Eric Carle's books and the board game looked so cute. I just wasn't sure how a little boy would feel about ladybugs. He seems to be into grosser bugs, like slugs. (I don't think slugs are actually bugs, but we call everything little and crawly a bug.)

Anyway, this board game has a similar concept to the picnic game - having kids say please before they can take their turn. Players get to feed their ladybugs by moving them around the board and collecting aphids. One of the things I liked about the Grouchy Ladybug game that wasn't a part of the other game is that you can also teach kids about the difference between big and little animals. On other concepts, the games are pretty much equal. Both games reinforce colors and also allow you to reinforce simple math skills.

Now, since I didn't actually get it and play it, I checked out some reviews of the Grouchy Ladybug game and I think the picnic basket game was the right choice for us. One parent said the whale tail in the ladybug game was very flimsy and didn't hold up. The other said her child asked when they could stop playing the game.

Of course, even the best manners game isn't going to do you a ton of good if you don't reinforce the concepts the children learned throughout the day. As you notice opportunities to use what they've learned, mention that this would be a good time to use their manners. You should also make sure you model the proper manners for them. "Would you please pass Mommy that brush? Thank you!"

Another way to reinforce manners is to read Books about manners with your child. We love to read several books that teach children manners during our nightly storytime sessions. We'll talk about how rude someone was or ways a character was polite as we read. We have a whole group of colorful favorites, so it is hard to choose just a few! I took an unscientific poll (Do you like this one best? No. This one? Yes.) and used the results to compile our favorites list.

If you still aren't sure whether a manners game is worth buying and playing, we only played it a few times when one of the children asked me to please pass the bread at dinner time, thanked me and said, "See? I remembered that from the manners game." Which brings me to another manners issue many parents have with their kids - table manners. Teaching kids table manners means you have to provide consistent reinforcement. However, most kids have lunch at school without parents. One third of their meals away from parental supervision? That's a lot of time to spend chewing with you mouth open, burping and doing other rude stuff.

I reinforce proper table manners every night at dinner, but we also use props and games to act out the right way to set the table, sit down and eat a meal every once in awhile. I want to be sure my guys know how to eat properly at a fancy restaurant when they grow up and can go into any situation without being embarrassed. You can use your silverware and plates to demonstrate how to set a table and how to eat, but it is so much more fun to set the table with a child's tea set and then have a tea party!