If your preschool students don’t seem to understand the importance of sharing, you might be at your wit’s end. Try some of these sharing activities for preschoolers, and watch your students become more aware of the importance of giving to others.
The importance of giving to others is important to impart to students. These sharing activities for preschoolers will help you broach this topic with your class.
Read About Sharing
Read the book “The Rainbow Fish” with students. Make sure to read the full-length version; the board book version leaves out some key parts of the story. Ask students why the other fish did not like the Rainbow Fish at the beginning of the story. Then ask them why the other fish liked the Rainbow Fish more at the end of the story. Discuss with students whether the Rainbow Fish was happier at the beginning or the end of the story. Make sure that students understand that the Rainbow Fish was much happier when the other fish were friends, and that this only happened because the Rainbow Fish shared the scales with the other fish. Discuss the importance of sharing with students, and ask students how it makes them feel when they share with others, as well as when others share with them.
Show and Tell
Encourage students to bring objects into the classroom for Show and Tell . After they finish describing their objects, ask them to pass the object around to the rest of the students. The object should travel in a circle. Make sure that students do not harm the object or hold onto it for too long. When all of the objects are returned to the original owner, point out that they each shared their objects with their classmates. Ask the students how they felt when they shared their objects with others, as well as how the Show and Tell would have been different if they had not been able to see and hold the objects that their classmates brought in.
The Sharing Song (to the tune of “Everyone is Special”)
Sing this song with students to emphasize the importance of sharing:
Sharing, sharing,
Everyone is sharing,
Share with me, and I will share with you.
Sharing, sharing,
Everyone is sharing,
Sharing can make people like you too.
After you try these sharing activities for preschoolers, continue discussing the concept of sharing as it comes up. You might just see your preschoolers starting to take sharing a bit more seriously!
This post is part of the series: Teaching Sharing to Preschoolers
Teaching sharing to preschoolers can be difficult, but you can use the lesson plans and activities in these articles to get across this important concept.
