{"id":1649,"date":"2017-08-15T12:09:44","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T18:09:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/?p=1649"},"modified":"2017-08-15T12:12:09","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T18:12:09","slug":"6-questions-to-ask-your-kids-about-school-instead-of-how-was-your-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/?p=1649","title":{"rendered":"6 Questions To Ask Your Kids About School Instead Of \u201cHow Was Your Day?\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cHow was your day?\u201d It\u2019s the four-word-phrase that strikes fear and apathy into the heart of every child.\u00a0Whenever you utter that nasty phrase, \u00a0your kids go into lock down mode.<\/p>\n

For instance\u2013<\/p>\n

Parent: How was your day?<\/p>\n

Child: [Must not speak. Keep looking forward. Turn up radio louder.]<\/p>\n

(Does this ever happen at your house?)<\/p>\n

There are probably endless stacks of research reports on why\u00a0this happens (not really\u2026), but simply stated, kids may feel overwhelmed when they get out of school.\u00a0\u00a0A lot happens in one school day, and it may be hard for them to sift through the day\u2019s activities to choose something to talk about. At the very least they may need a little space, a snack, and some alone time before they\u2019re ready to divulge details about the day.<\/p>\n

When you feel like you\u2019re child is ready to talk, here are some specific questions you can ask that may be less exasperating than \u201cHow Was Your Day?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"classwork-LAM\"<\/p>\n

1. What was your favorite class today?<\/h3>\n

Children often have an easier time answering specific question like this one rather than broad questions like: How was your day? This is a great question, not only because it\u2019s specific, but also because after your child answers it a few times, you\u2019ll begin to\u00a0notice patterns of what school subjects or activities he likes.<\/p>\n

[galleryad]<\/p>\n

\"classroom-658002_1280\"<\/p>\n

2. What is the nicest thing you did for someone else today or that someone did for you?<\/h3>\n

I love this question because it highlights the importance of treating others kindly and noticing kindness from others. Your child\u2019s school day is mostly about academic learning, but it\u2019s also about learning how to work well with others and make friends.<\/p>\n

\"flag-football\"<\/p>\n

3. What game did you play during gym today?<\/h3>\n

Most kids\u00a0love gym class, especially in elementary school. Get them to explain the rules of a game they liked. You\u2019ll get them talking in no time.<\/p>\n

\"peanut-butter-jelly\"<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0Who did you sit with at lunch?<\/h3>\n

This question is a good way to figure out who your kid\u2019s friends are. It may elicit a funny story from the cafeteria, too.<\/p>\n

\"science\"<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0How did your science lab go?<\/h3>\n

Of course, you don\u2019t have to ask just about science, but asking about a specific project or test that you know happened that day will let your kids know that you\u2019re interested in what they\u2019re doing at school.<\/p>\n

\"apple-LAM\"<\/p>\n

6. Share 3 facts about your day.<\/h3>\n

This works well with my middle school children. Sometimes, I\u2019ll tease them on the way home that they can\u2019t turn the radio on until they share their 3 facts. Often, each fact turns into a more elaborate story about their school day, which this mama is thankful for.<\/p>\n

Post by: Life as Mama<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cHow was your day?\u201d It\u2019s the four-word-phrase that strikes fear and apathy into the heart of every child.\u00a0Whenever you utter that nasty phrase, \u00a0your kids go into lock down mode. For instance\u2013 Parent: How was your day? Child: [Must not speak. Keep looking forward. Turn up radio louder.] (Does this ever happen at your house?)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1649"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1650,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1649\/revisions\/1650"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forvidas.org\/blogmg\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}