.............(Grades K-6)
Although Manners Matter deals in a very entertaining, kid-friendly way with the subject of manners, it’s much more than a talk about etiquette. It’s a theatrical experience about choices.
Because Manners do matter. They’re critical. They are our first impression, in so many areas, throughout our entire lives.
Jarrett begins the show by asking, “What are manners?” The answers come quickly and by rote, “Saying please and thank you … “Not eating with food in my mouth” … “Not hitting my sister…”
Jarrett reads the definition of manners from the dictionary; “How we choose to behave – in all situations – either correctly or incorrectly. Jarrett stresses, “In all situations, either correctly or incorrectly. That means there are manners for everything! There are table manners, school manners, vacation manners sleep-over manners, family manners, grandparent manners, holiday manners and even personal manners.”
Next, Jarrett introduces the premise to the entire piece; “So, manners are not just saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’. There’re even bad manners or selfish manners and that means we choose, in every moment, who we are going to be – either kind-hearted and thoughtful or selfish. So the real question is, ‘Who do you want to be?’ because manners are a boom-a-rang – what you give out comes right back at you. Who do you choose to be?”
With that introduction the children are off on an hour long, interactive, theatrical experience where Jarrett demonstrates a myriad of “manners choices”- culminating with him reading the definition for what he believes is one of the most important manners of all – teasing; “Choosing to be cruel to another human being, on purpose! Jarrett reads very slowly a second time and the effect on the children is one of the most memorable moments of the show.
Jarrett adds, "The goal of Manners Matter is to simply water the seeds every parent planted years ago while bringing the power and magic of live theater to our children.”
| Watch Manner's Matter Video |