21 questions to ask your child about their day at school (so you get an answer)

Posted in School.
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It can be hard for us parents to find out what our kids did during their day at school or preschool. It can feel like we’re missing out on so much, and we want to know everything!

They’ve spent a good few hours without us, which means they’ve played with other kids, learned a lot of things and talked about a whole range of different topics, and we naturally want to know as much as possible. But asking a big question like “How was your day?” is just too broad for a kid to tackle, which explains why they often respond with “Good!”, which tells us precisely nothing about what they’ve been up to.

Ask specific questions

To get more of a response from your child about how their day went, try getting more specific and creative with your questions, which will inform you a whole lot more about how they experienced their time away from you. It will also help you pick up on any areas they might be struggling with, for example, a subject they find frustrating or a child they have trouble getting on with.

So, instead of asking them how their day was, try asking things like who they played with at lunch time, or what games they played in P.E. class.

Two young school girls with an apple feature

Avoid closed-ended questions

Don’t forget to explore topics that you think you need to know more about, but do your best to avoid closed-ended questions which require a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response. These usually end the conversation rather than expand on it.

Statements like, “Tell me a little more about that” or “How did that make you feel?” will help you open up the conversation more so you can explore topics with your child.

21 questions for you to try

The following is a list of questions that you can consider using instead of “How was your day?”. Of course, you don’t need to use this whole list every day – pick two or three each day until you find what your child responds best to.

  1. What made you really happy today?
  2. What wasn’t so good about today?
  3. What did your teacher do that was nice?
  4. Who made you really laugh today?
  5. Who did you sit next to in class?
  6. Did you catch anyone picking their nose today?
  7. Where’s the best place to play at school?
  8. What did you do that made you feel proud today?
  9. Who did you help today?
  10. Who helped you out?
  11. What was your favourite thing you ate at lunch?
  12. What was something interesting you learned today?
  13. What was the hardest thing you learned about today?
  14. Who would you like to sit next to in class?
  15. If you were friends with aliens, who would you ask them to take away in their space ship?
  16. What book did your teacher read to you in class?
  17. What new word did you learn today?
  18. Was it anyone’s birthday in your class today?
  19. What superpower do you wish you had today?
  20. Tell me about a time you felt confused in class today?
  21. What did your teacher do that was funny today?

 


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