The first year my daughter was old enough to join the school talent show, I didn’t tell her it was an option. The second year, I wasn’t so lucky! The stage freaks me out, but both of my kids have embraced it wholeheartedly. So I reluctantly started looking for talent show ideas with the kids and realized I should have a better attitude. And actually, some of these funny talent show ideas were super entertaining. These are the benefits of a school talent show that got me excited:
- Confidence/Pride: What a great opportunity to show off a skill you’ve been working on outside of school! Taking pride in your talent is an awesome feeling.
- Healthy Risk Taking: Especially if you’re kid wants to showcase a talent they aren’t especially good at (*American Idol bloopers!*), an elementary talent show is exactly the right place to take a risk and give it your best shot.
- Facing Fear/Anxiety: That’s what all these kids learn after, anyway. They’re nervous, they perform, parents clap like crazy to support them. It’s okay to be afraid and do it anyway! What a great life skill to foster.
Now that we’ve gone through this a few years – including my 6-year-old son getting on stage for his first time EVER – I thought I’d share a few talent show ideas for kids! Speaking of my little boy, check him out in the video below to hear his acapella version of Coco’s Un Poco Loco where I also share a few messages for the kids planning their own school skit ideas!
Talent Show Ideas + Tips
Before Your Talent Show Acts
Before deciding things to do for a talent show, there are a few key decisions and tips I’d like to offer.
Group or Solo: Are your talent show acts a solo or group performance. At our school, a kid can do both and many did. My daughter is a social kid and loves thinking of group talent show ideas with her friends.
Cross-grade group: My son asked all his little friends in first grade and none of them were interested, so a boy from 3rd grade came to his rescue. It was the cutest thing!!! Consider bringing in younger friends or creating a cross-grade group.
Sibling Groups: Will your kids perform together for sibling shows? This is my dream! One day I’ll get both my babies up on the stage together.
All the Talents: There are so many talents for talent show beyond singing and dancing. Some of the more creative talent show ideas with skills beyond performing arts include dribbling (soccer or basketball skills), karate or martial arts, gymnastics/tumbling performances, live drawing/painting or wand/flag performance. We’ve even had a DJ do some live mixing!
Share Your Culture: I love our school for the cultural atmosphere they embrace. The talent show was bursting with so many representations, from hula dancers to mariachis and a huge variety of musical genres.
Mix Languages: My kids attend a dual immersion Spanish school, so we heard lots of bilingual ballads and combinations of skits with song and dance. It was so fun! Regardless if your child attends a bilingual school or not, there are lots of creative ideas for talent show opportunities when thinking of mixing language into one act. Even including a friend who can perform in Sign Language!
Ideas for Talent Show
3rd Grade Talent Show Ideas
At this age – about 8 and 9 years old – kids are really inspired to showcase their talent! They’re also developing social skills beyond their nucleus and eager to connect with friends apart from their parents. Some 3rd graders even have a few years of practice under their belts and are excited to share their talents with peers. That makes coming up with 3rd grade talent show ideas super fun!
I’m proud of my girl for taking that stage next to seasoned dancers, for singing bravely and sharing her piano skills. And that’s how we should all feel about our young 3rd graders – proud of their courage to step out into the world! And so, here are other 3rd grade talent show ideas that we loved this year:
Magic Show: For the true entertainer, our school’s resident 3rd grade magician not only has great tricks but is truly comfortable on stage. During his act, he engages with a teacher sitting in the front row and was flexible to work around prop issues, etc. Apart from clever magic tricks, a magic show should be funny and light, engaging with the audience as part of the show.
Funny Talent Show Skits: 3rd grade is an excellent time to showcase funny talent show skits! They’re old enough to understand humor and deliver lines/act, yet young enough to have no inhibitions to be silly in front of friends. Have the kids pick a scene from a favorite, well-known movie or play. Or, have the kids write their own skit! Remember that kids this age think tripping and falling are hilarious, so don’t overthink it!
Ventriloquist: Can you believe we had a ventriloquist at our school talent show?! Obviously, this idea would take some planning, but his performance was awesome… and hilarious! Among the great funny talent show ideas for one person, this performance was creative and entertaining.
Stand Up Comedy: Look around on the internet for talent show jokes or write up your own. Use the personalities at your school – like teachers – as inspiration and make it related to the student experience. Either way, performing a stand-up comedy act is great public speaking practice!
Dance: We had all types of dance performances this year. From tap, lyrical to just moving your body to the rhythm.
Singing: Whether you’re lip singing or going acapella, pick your genre first and go from there selecting your talent show songs.
Dance/Sing Combo: My daughter played the piano while her two friends danced for the first minutes, then they started the track for her to join the dancing duo!
Kid Talent Show Ideas
These talent show images make me so proud of the kids! I never had the courage to take the stage and knowing my kids have fewer inhibitions to express themselves makes me happy.
