How to get kids to answer your question: "How was school today?"
How to get more out of your kids
The school day is a vulnerable one. As parents, we look forward/hope/worry for our kids to be in a “good place” with educators who care about our kids, and ensure our kids are (1) safe and (2) learning.
“As parents we want our kids to tell us more.
As kids, they can frustrate us with their one-word responses.
”
In the morning, we hand-them off, putting our precious kiddos in the care of others. And at the end of the day we want to catch-up, hear about their day, make sure they’re “OK” - and also make sure "“we are OK” with the arrangements so we can bring them to school tomorrow with the most comfort and ease.
(Til tomorrow, when we start “wondering” all over again… Repeat…)
TIPS FOR PARENTS
Use close ended questions more than open-ended questions.
Closed ended: What was one thing you liked today?
Open ended: Tell me all about your teachers? Classes? Friends?
Make it fun and curious more than interrogation style machine-gun questioning.
I wonder who did something kind today? or I wonder who had the best lunch today?
As opposed to: Did you get any homework? What did you get on your math test —- English test —-science test? Did your art teacher say anything about your painting? Did that boy bother you again?
Choose the time and place to inquire, typically sometime after the moment they get off the bus.
Think about giving kids time to decompress, unwind and even “veg-out.” After . along day, they might be as wiped as we feel after a long day at work. We might be better of having a chat after some quiet time, a snack, and some soothing activity…
Bed time, bath time and dinner time are all good times to consider for having a chat about the day.
Make it FUN and PLEASANT!
We were inspired with ideas from a recent article in Huffington Post.
Where is the coolest place at the school?
If you could switch seats with anyone in the class, who would you trade with? Why?
If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you do?
If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed someone up, who would you want them to take?
Click here for the original article with 25 ideas!