Macaroni and Please: Lesson Three

What Do You Do When You Meet Someone New?

By Lewena Bayer and Karen Mallett

Overview:

Meeting new people can be scary. Children who are typically confident and outgoing in most situations are sometimes shy, or get upset, when they are meeting new people. Teaching children what behaviors are expected when meeting someone new helps them feel confident about themselves and less nervous about doing something silly or incorrect when they are in a new situation. This exercise can be done at home with your own children, or to make it more fun, invite some friends over to make the lesson a little extra fun.

Objectives:

• Help children understand that meeting new people is scary for a lot of people and that they're not alone if they feel scared.
• Show children what to do when they meet someone new; specifically smiles and introductions.

Knowledge Material:

Start by asking, "What do you do when you meet someone new? Do you… (ask a funny question) "Make a funny face and run away?", "throw a sandwich at them and laugh?" say they're stupid and then ignore them?", "quack like a duck?" Well then what should you do?" Talk about eye contact and explain how if you don't look people in the eye, they will think you don't respect them.

Next, ask your children to show you their best sad or mad or tired face. Explain that those faces don't make people feel comfortable and welcome. Ask, "What would work instead?" Children will usually smile. Instructor should explain the value of smiles and how they are contagious. (With small children you can play "pass the smile". Just like for password, children line up and then one at a time, turn to their neighbour and instead of passing a word they pass a smile, each child passes their smile on to the next child until the whole line is smiling.)

Next, discuss how polite introductions usually include some conversation and that the easiest way to start a conversation is by saying "Hello and then your name.

NOTE: Meeting someone new incorporates everything from first impressions, eye contact, verbal introductions, smiles, posture and handshakes. In this 10-minute lesson we are touching on eye-contact, but focusing on the smiling and introduction components.

Practice Exercises/Activities:

Have each child write their name on a stick-on name tag, (for children who can't yet read/write, ask each child to take a turn and say their name out loud) Then, ask children to get into two long lines facing each other, ask them to look at the person across from them, and then smile and then introduce themselves to each other. (you can ask children to rotate and continue the role-play practice if some children seem shy.) *You could make this fun and focus on eye-contact for a minute by asking children to put on funny google-eye or 3-D or oversized glasses.

SMILES- for younger children, provide paper and crayons and ask them to draw smiley faces, then give glitter and glue and let them make the smiles shine. You can also hand out smiley stickers to children who smile throughout the lesson.

See worksheet for Lesson 3 - What do you do when you meet someone new?

Special Snack Idea

Apple Smiles

You'll need:

• apples
• Caramel or marshmallow spread or peanut butter if there are no allergies.
• mini marshmallows

Assembly:
Quarter apples (with or without peel on), remove core and slice into thin semi-circle slices. Spread with topping of choice and add mini-marshmallows for teeth.

Copyright In Good Company, The CG Inc.