Cub Scouts are Courteous – Learning Good Manners

Do you ever feel like a broken record when you're talking to your sons?  You know, “use your napkin, not your shirt.”  Maybe when they start dating we'll see a change…

While the Cub Scouts Good Manners Belt Loop and Earning Your Stripes have been retired, the Scout Law reminds us that a Scout is courteous.

These good manners activities are perfect for a pack meeting where the theme is Courteous.

Gathering Activity

A good gathering activity for your pack meeting on being courteous could be this manners search-a-word courtesy of Free Manners Lesson.  The link on their page is for a Word document which I converted to a pdf document.

Poster

Cub Scouts should know which manners to practice.  A couple of years ago, Parents.com published a list of the 25 manners every kid should know by age 9.  Although I don't agree with all of these, the list is a good reference tool.  Another list I like is the 20 basic manners all boys should know.  Figure out which of these are most important, and have the boys make a poster

One way to introduce some good manners to the boys is with a game of charades.  Recruit a couple of parents to act out examples of either good and bad manners, and have the Cub Scouts guess the manner and write it down on a piece of paper.  When you have 8 or 10 on the list, let the boys select 5 that they want to include on their posters.  If you need some ideas, here's a list that will help you get started.

Thank You Notes

Finish up your pack meeting by having the boys write a thank you note.  Thanking someone for an action rather than a gift would be a great lesson to learn.  Here are some ideas for you.

• Thank the Cubmaster for coming to the meeting
• Thank your teacher for a fun learning activity
• Thank your parents for well, just about anything
• Thank your public librarian for helping everyone
• Thank a firefighter or police officer for keeping you safe
• Thank your regular server at your favorite restaurant

Younger Children

If you have younger siblings at the meeting, use this fun manners mini book to keep them involved with a more age-appropriate activity.  The book would also be great for Tigers.

One good way for our children to grow up to be well-mannered adults is for them to see us practicing good manners.  So, let's make manners a part of our lives every day–not just an activity at a pack meeting.

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry

P.S.  I ran across Dude, That's Rude! (Get Some Manners) on Amazon that I'm going to order for my guys.  It has some great reviews and looks like a fun way to keep the good manners habit even when your sons are a little older.

If you want to order the book and use the links here, I'll earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you).  Thank you in advance if you do!