A regular and much anticipated part of each day in our class is sharing.  On most days there are several children who have something to share.  This is a great opportunity for the child sharing to practice speaking with a loud, clear voice, using details to describe what he or she is sharing.  At the same time other children are practicing really listening by sitting quietly and looking at the speaker and making sure that they are thinking about what the speaker is saying- listening with their whole bodies.  After a share three children are called on to ask a question or make a comment.  We have been working on formulating thoughtful, relevant questions and making specific comments.  (Instead of I like it, I like it because ...) Children do not have specific share days for now, but we have decided that one share each week is reasonable.  We have talked about appropriate things to share – a book, a special object such as a rock, something we made.  We often use someone’s share as a greeting object, passing it around the circle as we say good morning, and I am particularly fond of telling shares, that require slightly sharper listening as we make a picture in our minds.  I have asked children not to bring in overt toys, although I appreciate the gray area around this and it has led to some interesting and thoughtful discussions.   If it’s a really cool lego creation that someone spent lots of time making can they share it?  What if it’s kind of a toy, but it helps you practice writing? For now the system we have seems to be working well and children are getting lots of practice both speaking and listening.