36 Smart Show and Tell Ideas

With a grade R daughter who has to do show and tell weekly (yes... every single week) and a two year old who has to do it occasionally, I have been trying to think very hard about ideas for show and tell (because lets face it, while the little ones do the actual presentation, it is usually mommy who has to come up with the bright ideas). 

What constitutes show and tell differs a little for the two kids- Squish can pretty much take any object and tell his class about it. For Noodle, it has to be a demonstration of some sort (they have an entirely different day of the week when they have to take an object and talk about it).

So here are some ideas, in no particular order. These should be suitable for little ones between around two and seven. This may depend on their capabilities and specific school requirements, eg. they may require that is has to be a demonstration or it has to be something from nature. I have not included instructions for any of these as they should be simple enough to figure out but I will be happy to give instructions for any of these if needed.

1. For younger children, taking a favourite toy and talking about it or showing how it works is an easy option.

2. Also popular with the little ones is to take a pet to school. I would recommend checking with the teacher before doing this one and taking care of any logistical issues surrounding it (I would never be brave enough to let my kids opt for this one- there were some horror stories last year). 

3. Younger children can talk about their bodies and what the different parts of their bodies do. Demonstrate with a doll or teddy bear.

4. Do a demonstration of how to ice and decorate a cupcake or plain biscuit, make a sandwich,  milkshake or fruit salad.

5. Talk about the different seasons and take items of clothes for each season.

6. Younger children can take objects such as leaves, shells, pine cones or feathers and talk about it.

7. Make a kite. 

8. Make a bracelet or necklace.

9. Make a paper fan, paper flower or paper aeroplane.

10. Make a snowflake cut out. 

11. Put on a puppet show. 

12. Demonstrate how to plant a seedling. 

13. Do a song and dance. 

14. If the child has a hobby or sport that they take part in, they can talk about that and take the equipment that they use (eg. a ballet tutu and slippers or a tennis racket and tennis ball). 

15. Demonstrate something arty- a handprint picture or leaf animals on paper. 

16. Make a diorama (an ocean, a forest or a beach are easy ones). You may want to prepare individual components of this at home.

17. You can do the old school volcano with bicarbonate of soda and vinegar (I think we all did this one when we were younger).

18. Take objects that smell different and explain about your sense of smell.

19. Let the kids talk about a holiday or special trip they have been on (take pictures with).

20. Decorate an egg (boil it first or you are likely to have a mess on your hands). 

21. Take a toothbrush and toothpaste and demonstrate how to brush your teeth.

22. Make something out of Lego blocks. 

23. Take a toy car, truck, train etc and talk about different modes of transport. 

24. Take paints in primary colours and demonstrate how they change colour if you mix them.

25. Make a chain out of paper clips. 

26. Do a flower arrangement.

27. Talk about exercising and let the class join in with some simple exercises.

28. Write or draw on a banana with a toothpick and show how the writing shows up a few minutes later.

29. Take a favourite book and talk about it.

30. Take some 'trash' and talk about recycling.   

31. Take different food objects and talk about healthy and unhealthy food. 

32.  Take magnets and demonstrate picking up metallic objects.

33. Make a bookmark.

34. Make something out of play dough. 

35. Take various animal figurines and talk about those animals. 

36. Prepare a chart with various textures (eg. sandpaper, cottonwool etc) and talk about how each one feels.    

Please share your best show and tell ideas. Also, let me know about the ones that went horribly wrong.