The first time my students participate in Share (show-and-tell) I assign them a small All About Me project. Each child finds a shoebox and creates a box that tells me something about who he/she is. This means students decorate the outside and place 4 or 5 times that tell something about them inside. During Share, students explain why they decorated it the way they did as well as why they chose the objects that were placed inside. Every year this is marvelous! I get to know them a little bit better and they have a surefire hit the fist time up.
This year there have been a few eye-opening moments related to Share. First, a student asked if he could take his box home because he had shared it that morning. I told him that was just fine and thanked him for his great Share. In response he explained that he was so glad he didn’t have to sleep without his favorite stuffed animal again. The poor kid. That is such a great example of how nervous my students are at the beginning of the year. They can’t imagine doing something against the rules. Well, most of them are like that.
The second incident was absolutely delightful. . . and surprising. I have a new student who seems very sweet. He is incredibly smart and very well mannered, but a little spacey. He seems to play on the periphery of group games rather than joining in. He watches, learns and then attempts to play on his own or on the sidelines. When he presented his Share this morning the kids were riveted. He had a coin collection, that was pretty cool, and some soccer pictures from his team. The thing that the kids were most interested in amazed me. It was an award he received from his teacher for being a great helper. I give awards all the time. Who knew they cared so much?? At recess today one of my run-around-boys told his buddy he couldn’t play handball because he was going to play with the new kid. YAY!
