It can sometimes be difficult to connect with your kids and enter their world, especially after a long school day. If you’re having trouble getting more than one word answers out your kids when asking about their day, try asking different kinds of questions! You’re more likely to get a detailed response and more engagement from your child if you ask open-ended questions rather than closed-ended questions. Closed ended questions, like “Did you have a good day?” have limited answers, usually “yes” or “no”. Where open ended questions are questions that cannot be answered with a simple “yes” or “no”, but require a longer response.

Below are some examples of thought provoking, open ended questions to ask your child about their day:

• Tell me about the best part of your day.
• What was the hardest thing you had to do today?
• Did any of your classmates do anything funny?
• Tell me about what you read in class.
• Who did you play with today? What did you play?
• Do you think math [or any subject] is too easy or too hard?
• What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?
• What rules are different at school than our rules at home? Do you think they're fair?
• Who did you sit with at lunch?
• Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?
• What made you smile today?
• Can you tell me an example of kindness you saw/showed?
• Was there an example of unkindness? How did you respond?
• Does everyone have a friend at recess?
• What was the book about that your teacher read?
• Did anyone do anything silly to make you laugh?
• Did anyone cry?
• What did you do that was creative?
• What is the most popular game at recess?
• What was the best thing that happened today?
• Did you help anyone today?
• Did you tell anyone “thank you?”
• Who did you sit with at lunch?
• What made you laugh?
• Did you learn something you didn’t understand?
• Who inspired you today?
• What was the peak and the pit?
• Did you ever feel unsafe?
• Who did you play with today?
• What is something that challenged you?
• Did you like your lunch?
• Rate your day on a scale from 1-10.
• Did anyone get in trouble today?
• What are you looking forward to tomorrow?
• What are you reading?
• If you could change one thing about your day, what would it be?
• What made your teacher smile? What made her frown?
• What made you feel happy?
• What made you feel proud?
• What made you feel loved?
• What do you hope to do before school is out for the year?