Guest Author - Alissa Moy
Show and Tell is a beloved time in every preschool class where children can share something about themselves with the other children. Sometimes called sharing or circle time, teachers strive to make this sharing time enjoyable and productive. Maybe you are a preschool teacher in search of creative themes for sharing time, or a parent looking for fun items for your child to bring to class. Even preschool co-ops and homeschool groups offer a circle time, which children always love. While the freedom to bring in anything within reason is a fun, and often surprising idea, some teachers like to narrow down the show and tell possibilities. Doing this not only helps children to focus on a specific idea to share with the class, but it also inspires creativity and critical thought. Here are ideas for every month of the year for your show and tell, or circle time:
August/September- Enjoy a "Back to School" themed circle time, with ideas for students to get to know one another. One neat and easy idea is a "Three Things About Me" bag. Each child gets a brown paper lunch bag to bring home and decorate with pictures representing them, or things that they like. Then children are to fill the bag with three items to share that are important to them. Three items helps to limit the presentation time, as well as the bag size! Some good ideas include small toys, photos, favorite snacks, postcards from a family vacation, etc.
October- As October is Fire Safety Month, have the children make a fire safety map of their home. They can label the rooms, and share the layout of their home with their classmates. They can also tell everyone how to get out of their house in case of a fire.
November- Have students make a "Fall Leaf Family". Children and their parents can make a picture out of leaves to make actual leaf people that represent the members of their family. The leaf people are then glued onto a large piece of construction paper and labeled. The paper can be decorated and then brought in to share during a Thanksgiving themed sharing time.
December- Celebrate the individuality of each child by having children make booklet about the family traditions they have during the holidays. You can pre make the booklets with simple construction paper, full or half size. When circle time comes, students can share their booklet and maybe even bring in an ornament to share, or some traditional Christmas cookies to accompany thier booklet.
January- A simple writing activity works well for a January sharing time. Have the children write their New Year's Resolution down on paper, and then share it with the group.
February- Students can make and then share a "Flower of Love". The children will trace their hands and use that picture to create a flower. Next they can turn it into a picture of the different people in their family. Finally they will add a center circle and write one thing they love about their family. This makes for a "lovely" circle time!
March/April- Students can bring in Easter Eggs they have decorated, or a Spring kite. The kite is an option as they can decorate it as a collage, with pictures that represent them.
May/June- Children will love creating their own "Bucket List", or things they plan to do over the Summer months. You can give each child a cardboard bucket (trace a real one) to decorate and write on. Real plastic buckets are a fun item to hand out for an end of the school year gift after children have shared what they wrote on their bucket. You can fill the bucket with cool summer toys and books, or maybe something for them to bring to show and tell in the Fall!
