So we practised the show and tell the entire week. By practise I mean this: I switched on my video while I was cooking, they did their 5 sentences and done! Then they could do their "homework" (they're busy doing finger strengthening exercises to prepare them for school next year). They love the homework (long may it last) so that is their incentive.
And then when D got home, they did the show and tell again for him...
I also told K if she did her best and just said her stuff, we'd make pancakes on Friday afternoon.
Now I don't want to brag but I make good pancakes. And it just so happens that K is a HUGE fan of my pancakes. If ever I ask her if she wants something special, she wants (my) pancakes.
When I collected them, she told me she did her bit and "don't forget; you said we could make pancakes". I said, "I didn't forget" :) Apparently this time Connor was shy. He said he's not scared but he is a little shy at school. I told him it's very normal to be a bit shy to speak. That I also still feel a bit shy (okay, not, but butterflies is another kind of thing to explain) when I have to do talks but I do it anyway and once I start, I'm fine.
He also had two "takes" and they sent me the videos via Whatsup. Not his best but he did just fine!
(Have any of you received a message from a friend to say we're all going to be charged for using Whatsup? Of course I think it's a hoax again - either way, I could care less!)
Sam said something on the last post that they're only just 5 and is this all necessary?! I totally agree that it's not. Really, I only remember doing "Oral" when I was about 9 - 10. I'm all for kids being kids and only facing up to "real hard things" when it's really necessary and they're a bit more emotionally ready.
Then again, maybe I'm just a wuss.
Another friend told me on Sat that at their pre-school (our kids are 2 months apart), they have show and tell but there is no forcing any child to speak. If the kid doesn't want to speak, so be it. They feel it may do more harm forcing them than letting them share when they feel ready. This whole year her boy has done show and tell exactly once, and he announced afterwards, "that's it. I'm not doing that ever again". I say, there's a child who knows what they want :) And it's fine.
That will never happen at our school, by the way. The school is quite tightly managed.
I asked my other friend what she thought of the show and tell, and of course, she thinks "great! very good for their confidence"
If it were up to me, I'd have the show and tell theme and encourage the kids to start small. Just say one sentence a week, and do that for awhile, then build on from there and at the end of the year, have them saying their 5 sentences.
But it's not!
(in the newsletter they mentioned that we parents need to make sure we know what the expectations are as our children are being disadvantaged if we don't prepare them properly. Which to me seems just a bit too much!)
Anyway, what are your thoughts?
