With school in session, we thought it would be fun to share some ideas for things to ask the kids after school — or when you see them after work — besides the tired old, “How was school today?” (or, worse, immediately blurting out: “Do you have any homework?”).
The best questions are specific and open-ended, the ones that they can’t just answer with “yes or no”.
Get them to actually tell you about their day (unless they’re teenagers, which is just going to depend on the day, right?) with these 20 conversation starters:
- Did anything weird/funny/infuriating/crazy happen today?
- Tell me something (or someone) that made you laugh today? Did you ever feel like crying?
- Who did you sit with at lunch?
- If you could have teleported out of class today, when would you have done it?
- If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you change or do differently?
- What’s the biggest difference between this year and last year?
What was the hardest thing you had to do today?- What was the best thing that happened to you at school?
- What was the best lunch box lunch you ever had?
- If you could eat one food every day at school, what would it be?
- Are there any new kids in your class?
- If you were the principal, what would you change about your school?
- What would you keep exactly the same?
- If you could make an invention to use at school, what would it be?
- What’s a super power that would make school easier/more fun for you or another kid?
- Will you teach me something you learned at school today?
- What do you think I did today while you were at school?
- If you were the “new kid” and could change your name at school, which name would you pick?
- Who made you smile today?
- Did you make anyone smile today?
What’s your favorite after-school question to really get your kid talking? Share with the rest of the class! 🙂
