Juniors: Social Butterfly

Junior  - Social Butterfly Badge

We obtained the Social Butterfly badge in November prior to Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays.  The skills learned in this badge were perfect for the party season. 

1.  Table Manners - My co-leader and I acted out a lunch date scenario.  She told the girls she had invited me over for lunch and the girls had to write down all the improper manners we exhibited.  I don't know why the girls like these skits, but for some reason they love watching us be silly.  During our skit we acted out the following bad  manners:

• Picking Food out of my teeth
• I started eating before my co-leader sat down
• She blew her nose at the table
• We talked about potty habits
• I spilled my drink and reached across the table to grab her napkin
• I commented that the green beans were cold
• She removed a green bean from my plate and tasted it
• I laughed and spit water out of my mouth
• We both spoke with our mouths full of food
• I ate as fast as I could, telling her my day is really busy and I barely have time to visit
• I gestured with my fork
• She fidgeted a lot
• I loudly sipped my drink
• She opened her purse and began brushing her hair
• She placed her elbow on the table and propped her head 

I bet you can come up with even more poor table manners.  This was really pretty fun, but felt totally unnatural :-)  We gave the girl who identified the most poor manners a small prize - Free Sonic slush!

2.  Hold a Conversation / Practice being at Ease - After identifying a Winner, we discussed all the poor behaviors.  We provided a Bucca di Beppo pasta meal with a salad and bread for the girls for dinner.   We asked them to use their good manners which they had learned and we awarded points.  We identified 3 girls with the best manners, but awarded all the girls for their effort with dessert :-)
We set conversation starters on the table to give them an idea for good table conversations.  They really enjoyed this activity.  Examples of conversation starters:

• If you could go anywhere in the world , where would you want to travel?
• If you could have an old teacher again, who would it be?
• What grade level do you miss the most?
• What was the most favorite gift you have ever received?
• What is the nicest thing you have ever done for another person?
• If you could double a class, what class would it be?
• If you could eliminate a class in your schedule what would it be?

3.  Be Prepared for Special Occasions - Each girl was given a template and shown how to set a formal table.  We also included dollar finds from Dollar Tree to allow them to decorate the plate setting.  Once the table setting was explained, we grouped girls in 3s and asked them to properly set a table from a random set of dishes and silverware.

Template:

 

Random Dishes

 

Proper Placement

 

Decorated Place Setting 

 

At Dollar Tree I purchased the following items to allow the girls to decorate the table:

snowflake ornaments, glitter tree, glitter ball ornaments, ribbon, holly plate, holly bowl, red glass, silver wine glass, napkin, place mat, holiday scarf, floral items, place card holders etc.  

The girls really enjoyed picking and choosing decorative items to decorate the table.

4.  Say Thank You - Each girl was asked to write a thank you note for the dinner.  We gave each girl a nice piece of card stock and stamps with different color ink and let them design their own cards.  Each girl walked away with a "Thank You" stamp provided by the leaders. A Holiday gift placed in pretty cellophane wrap.