Macaroni and Please: Lesson Six

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• Lesson One
• Lesson Two
• Lesson Three
• Lesson Four
• Lesson Five

Being Clothes Minded

By Lewena Bayer and Karen Mallett

By age four most children are dressing themselves. If you have completed some of our lessons, your children will be well on the way towards understanding what self-respect is too. Many children will now easily make the connection that taking care of themselves and their body, hygiene, eating well, getting a good night’s sleep, and exercising are all elements of self-respect. They may already also understand that how you dress sends a first impression. This lesson reinforces all of those ideas.

Objectives:

• Remind children what self-respect is.
• Ask children to think about what impression different clothes send.
• Explain to children what “appropriate” dress means for specific situations.

Begin talking about first impressions and how important they are. Ask your child, "What do you think people see first when you come into a room?” Children will typically say smiles and/or what you’re wearing. Explain to your child or children that you will be talking about “being clothes minded” and ask them what they think that means. Explain that it’s important to think about what you have to do, where you are going, and who you might see, when you deciding what to wear each day.

Explain that depending on what you are doing, or where you are going, different types of clothes are appropriate. Ask children, “Would you wear your bathing suit to bed?” Ask children to think of other funny situations that would arise if you didn’t dress appropriately. Lead if necessary by suggesting:

• Pajamas to a fancy dinner
• Ski suit to swimming lessons
• Wearing nothing to go skiing
• Wearing a rain coat to the beach on a sunny day

Describe scenarios that require certain types of dress, e.g., fancy dinners at restaurants, church, ballgames, parties, etc.

Practice Exercises/Activities:

Invite some friends over and play musical hats- gather all kinds of hats, (old fashioned ladies, winter hats, ball caps, dress-up hats, tiaras, hard hats etc. ) Ask children to get in a circle. Each should have a hat on his/her head. Start the music, tell children to pass hats until the music stops at which time they must put the hat they have in their hand on their head. Then ask each child to say out loud where they might wear that type of hat and what clothes go with it.

Look through some magazines and find a picture of the proper clothes to wear to each of these situations:

• Paste pictures here
• A Birthday Party
• Playing Outside
• A Sleepover Party
• School
• Halloween
• The Beach
• Reminder: Don’t forget about shoes and hats too.