Hospitality Chart – Teaching Hospitality to Kids

Welcome to my character-building series, where I’m sharing a hospitality chart today to help you teach kids about hospitality.

Want more resources to intentionally teach hospitality to kids? Check out my hospitality book list here.

Hospitality Chart – Teaching Hospitality to Kids

Teaching kids to be hospitable can be so much fun. If you model it, I bet they’ve picked up a little bit about how to care for guests properly. However, to transfer it to a natural behavior, it can be taught. I’ve found that when teaching character to kids, they need the lessons over and over again. Parenting is a marathon.

This year (as was last year since we’re following the same schedule), the word “hospitality” fell on the 4th of July. We were hosting a party, so what a great way to continue the discussion as well as practice what we have learned.

Before the party, I sat down with the girls to ask them if they remembered what hospitality means. I related it to the word “hospital,” saying it means taking care of others’ needs and making our guests feel comfortable, welcome, and served while they are with us.

I then had them brainstorm ways to be hospitable, and this is the list they were able to come up with in our discussion (I helped provide some other ideas as well):

• Welcome people.
• Engage in Conversation with Others, especially looking for someone who looks like they need a friend.
• Let people get their food first.
• Collect Garbage
• Let people choose their seats first.
• Let others go first with activities.
• Be attentive to the needs of the guests.
• Share your favorite things with guests.
• Help get the house ready for visitors.

Free Hospitality Chart to Teach Hospitality to Kids

After brainstorming with them, I printed up a basic hospitality chart. This would become a way for them to earn stickers by showing hospitable behaviors to our guests. They could track their own hospitality progress, or if you, as the parent, have enough capacity while entertaining, you can also recognize their hospitable actions.

I made you a FREE printable and made it look a bit prettier, so that you can work on hospitality with your children.

If you are not entertaining people anytime soon, I would try and find a reason to have people over. That might be way out of your comfort zone. A friend of mine always invites new people over that are visiting her church. I think that is a very inspiring goal.

She had to let go of her standards of a perfect house and perfect meal every time to make it happen, but she recognized that building that relationship is more important.

When you invite, it gives your children great practice in hospitality as they both take part and witness your own loving actions.

If asking someone over isn’t a possibility right now, you could always play host with your kids. They could plan a party for you where they get to be the hosts and act out all of the hospitable behaviors.

I snapped one quick, not-so-good picture of Abby talking care of people’s garbage at the party. I thought this might be a good time to share some other pictures from the 4th of July too. Thank you to all who has served our country (and wives!!!) to give us the freedom we celebrate daily.

The annual 4th of July kids’ photo shoot.

Goofiness.

The five-minute tablescape with the crepe paper flag we made and pinwheels, and Fourth of July napkins (affiliate link). I used some decorations my mom had for the rest. I tend to make my own pinwheels, but sometimes it is easier to purchase them.

Great Grandpa & Corban

Family Gathering for Hot Dogs and Burgers – What else?

More family

Abby, Kenzie and their Cousin Elena

My husband, Jeremy, and his dad

Abby being hospitable.

First exposure to Pop Its.

Corban got really into the fireworks. He had all sorts of commentary with each one.

Another cousin shot

Character Building Series for Kids

Welcome to my character building education series where we work on 52 traits throughout the year. 52 traits? Yes! That is one character building trait for every single week of the year.

More good news! Each trait comes with over a week’s worth of lessons. You could work on character with your kids every single day of the year if you chose to follow along.

his character-building activity focuses on hospitality. Here is our initial lesson in hospitality. If following the series, always do that lesson first. Click here for all of my lessons on perseverance.

 Note: This post was originally written in 2013, and it was updated with a better printable and better formatting.