Show and Tell

Okay, there's GOT to be a better way to do Show and Tell on Fridays.  I mean, my kid wants to grab the first thing available and throw it in his backpack just so he has something to share.  He hates to be there empty-handed.  He wants a turn.  This morning he grabbed a naked "hospital buddy" - a cloth doll he was given a year and a half ago when he had an MRI done.  The doll comes with a hospital gown, but I have no idea where that is.  Jackson would have taken it for Show and Tell, but I stopped him.  I was encouraging him to take something meaningful or different.

Teachers usually use Show and Tell for the kids to get their oral reports in for the curriculum.  Kids love Show and Tell because they get to show off their stuff.  I know this. I mean, my kid is counting down the days to Show and Tell at the beginning of the week, and he's not one to say, "Oh, I don't have anything" or "I don't need a turn this week."  He has to have a turn. 

Personally, Show and Tell is boring for the kids as they watch their peers show the same toys they had last year and the year before.  I've been there. . .it's not that fantastic.  However, I think teachers could make it more meaningful.  Jackson has been taking items for Show and Tell for 3 years now, and none of the teachers had guidelines.  While most parents are happy that there isn't some assignment, I need some guidelines for my son who feels he has to take something every week.

When I was in first grade, Mrs. Louchard had a shoebox that was our "secret item."  Each student had a turn to take it home and bring it back on Friday.  We couldn't show anyone in the class what was in there, but we got to choose.  The kids would then ask questions to discover what was in there.  I remember the day it was my turn.  I chose a striped dish towel (exciting, I know).  The second kid asked if it was a dish towel.  I was so bummed that he got it right.  I'm now wondering if he peeked. . .hmm. . .

A friend's preschool son had Show and Tell, too, but there were themes.  Something green, or something that starts with the letter "A." I also think that maybe if the teacher could give a theme, but said, "If your student was to bring something for Show and Tell, our theme is. . ."  It could go right along with whatever they're learning in school.  It doesn't have to be an assignment, but just a requirement if the kids are going to bring something.  Just give some direction.  I've tried.  It doesn't work for me because I'm the mom, not the teacher.