Who better to show princesses-in-training how to be caring young ladies than Cinderella herself?

Dressed in the familiar blue satin ball gown associated with Disney's Cinderella character, the special visitor made a big impression on a group of kindergarten through fourth-grade girls enrolled in Aspen Elementary's "Royal Academy" on Oct. 28.

An after-school 4-H club, Royal Academy meets on Tuesdays.

"The clubs are good, worthy little things that are so good for kids," said Nancy Christiansen, a librarian at Aspen Elementary who also teaches the "Royal Academy" club. She is assisted in leading the club by Kathy Loveridge, a school secretary.

One hundred and fifty students participate in a variety of after-school 4-H clubs at the school.

"The girls got a 'royal invitation' the day before. They were told they could come in dresses, ball dresses or dress-up clothes," Christiansen said.

The role of Cinderella was played by Heather Dixon, a Brigham Young University student and an acquaintance of Christiansen's.

"Cinderella gave each of the girls a magic wand, but she told them they didn't need a wand in order to be kind to people," said Christiansen.

After Cinderella taught the lesson on developing the attribute of caring, Mignon Sandgren, a school secretary and former member of the BYU dance team, taught basic dance steps to the girls and how to curtsey properly, Christiansen said. The little ladies then enjoyed refreshments of punch and cookies.

The club is a popular one with 26 girls enrolled. Christiansen said she and Loveridge have "tweaked" the idea of a "princess academy," calling it the club "Royal Academy" instead. For each of 10-weekly sessions, they highlight a value or character trait to stress, and use a selected Disney princess who exemplifies that value or trait.

Having a real-life Cinderella come made the day extra fun, Christiansen said.

"I think this [club meeting] was really cute, because of Cinderella," she said.

One week the girls learned about respect. The club activity that day was a tea party, which gave them the opportunity to practice what they had learned that day about being respectful and having good etiquette. Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" was the associated princess.

Giselle from the Disney movie "Enchanted" will be the featured princess on the day that the club members learn more about how to "be yourself." The activity for the girls that day will be making dress-up skirts.

The prospective princesses have learned lessons on working together, being trustworthy, showing responsibility, and demonstrating good citizenship. As part of the 4-H program, the club also participates in a service project, and in December, will have a showcase for parents on what club members have learned.

Asked what feedback she has received about the princess program, Christiansen said, "One mom came in and told me, 'You know you are going to have to do this next year. My daughter thinks she is a princess.' "