When Christian moved up to the preschool class a while back, one of the things I was nervous about was "Show and Tell." On most days, after lunch, the kids gather in a circle and take turns showing something they brought from home. It is a voluntary activity, so not all kiddos participate, but I was impressed with most who did. Their conversational skills were terrific and their ability to speak about their object was really impressive.
I decided that every single day, Christian would bring SOMETHING so that he'd have to get up each time and face an audience. The first few times, I had just arrived to pick him up and he was painfully shy about talking in front of me - despite all the encouraging I was doing from the sidelines.
So Ms. Jo caught on and now makes sure that he's done his show and tell before I arrive. She occasionally has a moment to tell me how he did ... and I'm just so thrilled that he enjoys show and tell and likes to talk about his toy of the day.
I used to pick out his show and tell object for him each morning, but nowadays, HE picks it out ... and even tells me "No" when I suggest something he's not interested in taking. So I let him take something of HIS choosing ... even it its something he's shown several times before.
