Grace and Courtesy is more than just manners. It can be as simple a teaching a child how to blow their nose to more proper etiquette such as how to properly introduce ones self. To me the biggest part of Grace and Courtesy, especially once the children have settled into the classroom is how the teacher presents herself to the children. If the teacher is yelling across the classroom, her students will. If the teacher is acting silly and loud, the students will do the same. I’m not saying a teacher cannot have fun with her class. However there is a time and a place for everything. Laugh, play and be silly with the kids on the playground instead of during the three hour, interrupted work period. A Montessori teachers need to be a role model for their students at all times.
Here are some pictures of Grace and Courtesy lessons in action, as well as other pictures from our second week of school.