Global Table Manners for Children: What Pre-K and Elementary Teachers Can Learn from French Kids Eat Everything
Teaching Table Manners in the Classroom: A Global Perspective
Imagine a classroom where lunchtime is more than a break—it’s a lesson in patience, conversation, and respect. This is the norm in French schools, as beautifully captured in Karen Le Billon’s book, French Kids Eat Everything.
For Pre-K and elementary teachers, this book is a masterclass in how to use mealtime as a springboard for teaching essential social skills. From table manners to emotional regulation, it’s packed with actionable insights that are both inspiring and practical.
Why Table Manners Matter in Schools
French schools prioritize teaching children the value of food and the art of polite dining. Here’s how:
One Meal, One Choice: French children eat what they are served, a practice that encourages trying new foods and appreciating variety.
Structured Mealtime Rules: No snacking in class. No packed lunches. Just a shared, balanced meal that fosters community and respect.
Etiquette as a Core Skill: Children learn table manners, proper conduct, and how to engage in meaningful conversation during meals.
These lessons extend beyond the table, helping students develop patience, self-control, and empathy—skills that are essential in and out of the classroom.
Encourage Trying New Foods: Create a “taste challenge” activity where children sample small portions of unfamiliar foods in a fun, supportive setting.
Teach the Value of Patience: Use mealtime as an opportunity to practice waiting, taking turns, and showing gratitude.
Model Table Manners: Show students how to hold utensils properly, chew politely, and engage in conversation without interrupting.
Integrate Emotional Intelligence: Teach children how to manage frustration or impatience when trying new foods or waiting for a meal.
How Table Manners Enhance Social Skills
Globally, teaching table manners in schools is recognized as a way to nurture well-rounded, socially adept children. When teachers incorporate table manners into their classrooms, they’re also fostering:
Confidence: Children feel empowered knowing how to conduct themselves at the table.
Respect: Mealtime becomes a shared experience that values every participant.
Community: Eating together strengthens bonds and builds a sense of belonging.
Bring These Lessons to Your Classroom
French Kids Eat Everything isn’t just a book for parents—it’s a treasure trove of ideas for teachers who want to create meaningful learning moments around food. By weaving table manners and mealtime etiquette into your daily routine, you can:
Help Picky Eaters Thrive: Use small, consistent steps to encourage trying new foods.
Create a Turnkey Program: Develop simple, effective activities that make table manners a fun part of your curriculum.
Make Mealtime Meaningful: Transform lunchtime into a daily lesson in respect, patience, and gratitude.
Your Next Steps
Add French Kids Eat Everything to your professional reading list. Then, start small:
Discuss with colleagues how to integrate mealtime etiquette into your school culture.
Share the book with parents to create a collaborative approach to teaching these skills.
Table manners aren’t just about eating—they’re about building the foundation for a child’s success. Globally, schools are proving that mealtime can be an invaluable teaching moment. Why not bring this transformative idea into your classroom?
Inspire, Empower, Transform—start teaching table manners today and make a lasting impact on your students’ lives!
My heart goes out to children. I often wonder what is happening to their ability to connect. Teaching manners in the classroom has never been more important.
What is it like for them to build relationships with their friends at the moment? How about with other adults outside of their parents?
Many children have dealt with this for years as we have become so accustomed to our lives orbiting around digital devices.
What is in store for this generation? What is it like for them to make a human connection? Do they know how? Do they have the confidence to start and carry on a conversation?
Over the years as I have worked with parents, I often hear the comment “they will listen to you more than me”- meaning, when teaching manners, children listen to a third party. For some reason, this is the way of the world.
Finding moments or dedicated time to teach manners in your classroom is actually very easy. Most likely you are using good social skills all day every day in the classroom.
Teach Manners and Life Skills Such As:
Eye contact: When using eye contact, point out what you are doing. As students use good eye contact, let them know you noticed.
Respect: Point out respectful behaviors as you see certain actions (helping others, expressing gratitude, holding the door, saying “good morning”)
Conversation skills: We have multiple conversations a day. Recognize students when they engage with each other. Conversation skills are becoming a lost art. This skill is the cornerstone of building friendships.
There has been a focus at the school level in many states to focus on the whole child.
Teachers love using our lesson plans to teach manners in their classrooms. The lesson plan objective along with suggested dialogues and handouts are included.
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How do you teach your students to have a conversation? Isn’t it special to have someone be fully present with you? To have a conversation with anyone, an adult or a child is something to behold these days…a conversation without distraction.
My most popular topic when teaching business etiquette in the workplace is The Art of the Human Connection. The art of having a conversation, is a lost “art”. We are so consumed with social media that often we are so buried in it we miss out on so many opportunities. Often, it is the first request I have from a human resource director to discuss the basic skills of conversation to their team.
Take the time to teach your students how to converse! Life is fuller when you have this life skill. You actually become interesting. A children and teens learn so much about life when they hear others conversing.
Eye contact: This is a social skill that is so very important. By making eye contact, it shows someone that you are interested. It sends a message that you are confident. Point this out to your students. Explain why this is important. Take the opportunity to talk about confidence and how it feels. If your students are six or younger, get on their level. Literally! Get down on your knees if necessary and make eye contact with them.
Teach them to listen to others: Another important social skill is to listen. Tell them it is alright for there to be silence when having a conversation. This is the time to practice sharing-sharing the space to tell ideas and experiences.
Ask questions: By asking questions, you show others that you are interested in their experiences. Ask a student questions. Explain to them that you are having a conversation.
Phone skills: The Wall Street Journal had an article about answering the phone. Remember when we were growing up and we took messages for our parents? With smart phones, this most likely is not happening. This was a great way to teach conversation skills. It is still important for children to know how to answer a phone and converse.
Read a story. After reading a story, talk about it with your students. Did they like the story? What was their favorite part?
This book will help you teach social skills in your classroom.
Last weekend I was in our local bookstore. This title, Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang, jumped off the shelf. I walked right to it.
Yes, the cover is bright and inviting but once I opened the book and read a few pages, I knew I had to add to my resources for Preschool children.
Use This Book to Make a Human Connection
And this is why: this book speaks to the many cultures that make up the classrooms across the world. This book also addresses how to make the human connection.
If you have been following us, you know I am a big believer in this topic. Why not start them young – in Preschool?
“The playroom was quiet. Luli couldn’t speak English. Neither could the others. All around the room, children played alone.”
The story goes on to tell about Luli’s plan. She has a fat-bellied (don’t you love this description) teapot with matching cups.
Luli passes around the tea cups to all the children in her class. And everyone speaks a different language- however, they all speak the language of TEA!
This story is heartwarming! I encourage you to get your own copy and share it with your students.
Luli uses a “fat-bellied” teapot to connect with her classmates. This type of teapot is easy to find. You can use paper cups to pass around lemonade or water. Let your students practice pouring tea for each other.
During this time, have them engage in conversation with their classmates. You can read them the story of Luli while they are having “tea”.
Teaching manners in the preschool classroom: During the preschool years, manners are a critical element of a child’s education. This is a time of discovery for the preschooler. Teaching manners in the classroom and at home needs to be routine. Preschoolers pick up on a teacher or parent that is polite and at ease in life. Keep reading as this article is about teaching manners in a fun and creative way for both teachers and parents.
Empathy: We have the ability to feel what other’s are feeling. This must be taught with intention in the preschool classroom. When the situation arises in your classroom, offer praise when someone shares or understands with another student’s feelings are hurt. The ability to empathize is the foundation for respect and self-respect.
2. Please, Thank You and Excuse Me: These magical words are the basis of good behavior and communication skills. In your classroom, use these words often and when a child uses them, praise the child. The preschool years are the perfect time to start with basic conversation skills. Teaching when to have a conversation and how to ask questions is important.
If they absolutely must interrupt, show them how to say “excuse me”. Tell them how it makes others feel when they interrupt.
3. Meet and Greet: Start the day with “good morning”. Many schools around the world, start with a handshake. This is a big part of our culture in the US. It is how we greet people. A handshake shows leadership and confidence. Teach this. Start while they are young.
4. Basic Table Manners: Wow, is this one is important! The basics: chew with your mouth closed, do not talk with food in your mouth and place your napkin in your lap. Serve food that requires a fork. Teach them how to hold a fork correctly.
5. Using Manners in Public Places: Expand a child’s horizons. Take them to museums, out to the park and to parties. Teach them to use their “indoor voice”, not to complain or whine, and to follow the group while on a school activity.
6. Party Manners: Being social is fun and so important at this age. In your classroom, have parties and teach them many of the life skills mentioned above. You can teach greetings, how to share, how to have a conversation and basic grooming skills.
We are a full service company offering lesson plans for preschools to teach manners and social skills. Our programs are taught around the world in the preschool classroom. As an early childhood educator, you understand how important it is to teach your students how to behave appropriately in different social situations. Any child, no matter how young, is capable of learning basic etiquette and social skills, such as greetings, introductions, table manners, saying please and thank you, listening when others are talking, and showing respect to others. The Manners To Go™ Preschool curriculum makes it fun and easy for you to teach these skills to your students and prepare them for success in elementary school.
Life Skills | Manners | Character Education | Social Emotional Learning
10 Tips to Teach Manners in Your Classroom
Now more than ever, teaching manners in your classroom is critical. Children today are looking to learn more about building relationships and creating community.
At Manners To Go, we believe that all children deserve to learn the social skills that will help them grow up to become healthy, happy, successful adults. Here’s your chance to make it happen. We owe it our children to teach them good manners.
Eye Contact
It is amazing what happens when you bring this to a child’s attention. Eye contact is the basis for feeling and showing that you are confident.
Greetings
What a great way to start the day. Greet your students every morning or end the day with “good morning” or a “good bye”. Make eye contact and smile.
Introductions
The best way to teach introductions is to organize a role-playing activity for your students. They can pretend they have never met each other. Teach them to say “hello, my name is”.
Posture
Sit up straight. Stand up straight. Having good posture shows that you are confident and interested.
How to Hold a Fork
Holding a fork correctly is important and shows that we have good table manners.
Napkin in Your Lap
Teach your students to put the napkin in the their lap during recess or lunch.
Conversation Skills
Do your students know how to start or carry on a conversation with each other or with someone they don’t know?
Be Fully Present | Put Down the Phone or Device
Isn’t it a beautiful gift when someone pays attention to what you are saying and shows they are interested?
Deference | Respect
Allowing someone to go first or opening the door. This is deference. This is respect. Model this in your classroom.
Greetings
Say good morning or good bye to your students or co-workers
Teach Manners in Your Classroom
Good Manners Set the Stage for Future Success
As an educator, you know how important social skills are for a child’s success. Children who are polite, well spoken, and attentive to others find it easier to get along with their peers and make a positive impression on the adults in their lives. As a result, more opportunities come their way, laying the foundation for future success in life.
Yet too many children are not being taught proper manners or other valuable social skills at home. Which means it’s up to us as educators to equip them with these important life tools – and help them grow up to be responsible, caring, successful global citizens.
Now you can help students improve their behavior in as little as 10 minutes a day… a week… or month.
Most likely we already share something in common. We believe that teaching children manners, character and social emotional skills are very important.
Manners To Go™ is a full-service company for those choosing to teach manners to children. You can make a difference. All children and teenagers deserve to feel what it is like to be confident, and use good manners out in the world.
Manners To Go™ is taught in public, private and charter schools around the world. The New York Times, Parents Magazine and Fox News have all featured Manners To Go and the many benefits of teaching social skills to children.
Whether you are an educator who wants to teach it in the classroom or someone who is looking to become trained and certified, we provide all the solutions.
My name is Lisa Richey, and I am the founder of Manners To Go™ . This brand has given me the honor of teaching manners to thousands of people around the world. The journey has taken me from Portland, Oregon to the Middle East. I believe that manners are not about judgment or rules. Manners are about self-interest. It really is about how using good manners makes you feel on the inside.
Lisa Richey provides etiquette programs to businesses, schools, and individuals.
