Reception children to do presentation?

[onebadbaby]

My DD is a bit annoyed as her weekly show and tell session has been changed from an open ended session where she was able to show something of interest ie she often took a photo of somewhere we went at the weekend, or something she made, etc.

However, since half term the teacher has changed the format and now she will only get a turn every 3 weeks and there is a set topic she has to talk about. (the first topic is favourite animals)

I think this is a bit much for a four year old- I am sure the teacher is trying to expand their speaking and listening skills, but as a reception class teacher myself I feel that children are much more enthusiastic when talking about something relevant to themselves- even if it is annoying when discussing little Johnnys toy car for the fifth week in a row.

What do others think?? How do I explain to my LO that she won't get her turn until the end of the 3rd week??

[smee]

I think it's too much too. Some kids will love it, but a lot would hate the stress of it.

[Miggsie]

This seems a bit too structured for 4 year olds.
At DD's school show and tell is every week and children who want to speak, do so.
The rule is no toys, but everything else seems fine.
DD is very keen and takes something most weeks, a lot of the children do not praticipate at all and some stand up occasionally.

Is the school private? I went round one a while back and the Friday show and tell was compulsory for all children. It was about presentation and speaking skills (which the privates round here are dead keen on) and I thougt at the time it was a bit much for reception. The 7 year olds seemed fine with it and I think that is a better age for set times and subjects.

[onebadbaby]

I agree- my daughter is confident, her main problem is not getting a turn every week - but for some in her class it will be a challenge. I also believe show and tell is about harnessing the kids own interests and incorporating them into class discussions- not all kids will be interested in the set topic so this will dampen their enthusiasm imo.

[onebadbaby]

No is ordinary state c of e.

[thisisyesterday]

hmm well maybe a few children tend to dominate it, so they are trying to encourage others to join in a bit more?

[onebadbaby]

Maybe! I know some children do tend to take something they just grabbed on the way to school, invariably a toy, but some parents try to make sure they have a more interesting item. Any way for the kids that bring a toy to talk about, it is better than nothing and if toys are not allowed then they probably wouldn't participate at all.

[mrz]

I loath Show and Tell and would ban it completely [evil grin] it goes on forever and the children are only interested in their own object and sit bored.
It sounds as if the school is using Talk Homework in which case she is only expected to give one or two sentences

[JennyWren]

Every three weeks is pretty good, you know... My DD's reception class get every day for a week, twice a year. If something really exciting happens in the meantime, they could take in an extra by arrangement, but otherwise, toys etc. stay at home...

[SuSylvester]

my sons HATE show and tell
they say its SO utterly dull

[Hulababy]

Maybe some children are dominating the time, and the teacher is trying to make sure everyone gets a go?

Or maybe the topics are selected to avoid some children referring to specific inappropriate topics/themes. I know of cases where this has been an isue - children relating sensitive personal info from home, and the teacher having to quickly bring a halt to it all, etc.

[onebadbaby]

I used to enjoy it with my class, but I did used to structure it slightly and get the children to ask modelled type questions to maintain their interest a bit. I think DDs teacher just wants a change.

[misshardbroom]

Last year DD had an open format show & tell and it used to go on forever. And there's only so many High School Musical microphones in which the teacher (and the rest of the class) can feign interest. This year, DS1 has the same teacher and she's stopped doing it, but once in a while will ask them to bring in something specific to talk about, e.g. 'a photograph of your home', 'your favourite book', 'something you've had since you were a baby'.

I'm all for it, doing it less frequently makes it more interesting for all concerned, and asking for something specific allows them to tie it in with (usually) their RE topic for the term.

[heckythump]

I sometimes help in out in my son's reception class. They do show and tell, but the teacher changed it to once every two weeks - one week it was one group's turn, the next it was the others.... simply becasue it went on and on and on if the whole class did it all the time.

DS's class is a relatively tiny 18 so I can imagine a class of 30 having to do it every 3 weeks.

They soon understand the concept of no, it's not your turn this week. I just write it down on my calendar so I can show him how many days he has to go