How “all about me” show and tell opportunities help preschoolers build positivity

In many early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs around Australia families are asked to complete an ‘All About Me’ template when enrolling their child, which shares information about family structure, interests, temperament, favourite foods and more. 

Flinders University Professor of English Kate Douglas says taking this a step further, and having older children complete this task themselves can be a powerful way for them to build a strong sense of positive self-representation in their writing and communications. 

Whether it’s through their own emergent literacy or through supported writing attempts, Professor Douglas says that telling personal stories about your life involves decisions and curation regarding what’s shared and what’s not.

“I think these exercises are a great opportunity for parents to support and engage with their children’s learning and development,” she adds, based on her perspective as an expert in life narrative and children’s storytelling.

“These activities can give children vital skills in self-representation that can be carried into their adolescent years when social media becomes central to their lives and self-image.”

The act of collecting and sharing information, including images of themselves and their family, is an activity which encourages children to start thinking about their audience, disclosure, and their own agency, as they develop practical skills in the construction of self, Pressor Douglas explains.

Professor Douglas says ‘About Me’ projects are an important creative tool – as well as a way to build community through sharing stories about the self and everyday life.

She is the author of a new work, Children and Biography: Reading and Writing Life Stories (Bloomsbury, 2022), which is available here.