When you ask your children how their day was at school, often you don’t get a very satisfying answer. Often a child will respond ‘fine’ or ‘good,’ and that doesn’t tell you a whole lot. Most parents want to feel in the loop, and they want to do it without interrogating their children!
Simple Simon devised a short list of questions that should allow you some insight into their day.
Here is the list! I particularly enjoyed 2, 12 and 21, since they allow you to get a real sense not only of how your child is doing academically, but also how things are going socially at school. For instance, I asked my own daughter how her lunch was on Friday — she’s just starting at a new school — and she quickly told me about her new friend Braden, and how horrified he was when juice from his green beans made it across the plate and into his enchilada.
She was mimicking his panicked reaction (“My cheese is green!”), and that turned a grumpy, after-school kid into a happy, let’s-go-get-an-ice-cream kid.
Here’s the whole list:
1. What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)
2. Tell me something that made you laugh today.
3. If you could choose who would you like to sit by in class? (Who would you NOT want to sit by in class? Why?)
4. Where is the coolest place at the school?
5. Tell me a weird word that you heard today. (Or something weird that someone said.)
6. If I called your teacher tonight what would she tell me about you?
7. How did you help somebody today?
8. How did somebody help you today?
9. Tell me one thing that you learned today.
10. When were you the happiest today?
11. When were you bored today?
12. If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed up someone who would you want them to take?
13. Who would you like to play with at recess that you’ve never played with before?
14. Tell me something good that happened today.
15. What word did your teacher say most today?
16. What do you think you should do/learn more of at school?
17. What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?
18. Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?
19. Where do you play the most at recess?
20. Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny?
21. What was your favorite part of lunch?
22. If you got to be the teacher tomorrow what would you do?
23. Is there anyone in your class that needs a time out?
24. If you could switch seats with anyone in the class who would you trade with? Why?
25. Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school.