Student Wellbeing
Student Wellbeing encompasses the following areas: Student Engagement, Student Connectedness, Classroom Climates, Inclusion and Prevention to Intervention
Questions to Ask Your Kid Instead of "How Was Your Day?" by ParentCo.
November 01, 2021
A conversation to debrief seems like such a great end to the school day. And yet! When I picked my son up from his first day of Year 4, my usual (enthusiastically delivered) question of “how was your day?” was met with his usual (indifferently delivered) “fine.” Come on! It’s the first day, for crying out loud! Give me something to work with, would you, kid?
The second day, my same question was answered, “well, no one was a jerk.” That’s good...I guess. I suppose the problem is my own. That question actually sucks. Far from a conversation starter, it’s uninspired, overwhelmingly open-ended, and frankly, completely boring. So as an alternative, I’ve compiled a list of questions that my kid will answer with more than a single word or grunt.
In fact, he debated his response to question 8 for at least half an hour over the weekend. The jury’s out until he can organize a foot race.
To get some conversation started even - or especially - when it feels like pulling teeth, here are some questions a kid will answer at the end of a long school day:
- What did you eat for lunch?
- What games did you play at recess?
- What was the funniest thing that happened today?
- Did anyone do anything super nice for you?
- What was the nicest thing you did for someone else?
- Who made you smile today?
- Which one of your teachers would survive a zombie apocalypse? Why?
- What new fact did you learn today?
- Who brought the best food in their lunch today? What was it?
- What challenged you today?
- If school were a ride at the fair, which ride would it be? Why?
- What would you rate your day on a scale of 1 to 10? Why?
- If one of your classmates could be the teacher for the day who would you want it to be? Why?
- If you had the chance to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you teach the class?
- Who do you want to make friends with but haven’t yet? Why not?
- What is your teacher’s most important rule?
- What is the most popular thing to do at recess?
- Tell me something you learned about a friend today.
- If aliens came to school and beamed up 3 kids, who do you wish they would take? Why?
- What is one thing you did today that was helpful?
- When did you feel most proud of yourself today?
- What rule was the hardest to follow today?
- What is one thing you hope to learn before the school year is over?
- Which area of your school is the most fun?
- Which playground skill do you plan to master this year?