• Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
    • Email Me
    • Disclosure & Copyright
  • Start Here
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Policy
  • Books for Moms

Creative Family Fun

Your one-stop shop for kids activities and family fun

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Spelling Activities
  • Family Fun
  • STEM
  • Movie Night
  • Toddler Activities
You are here: Home / Parenting / Connecting After School: The Questions You Should Be Asking

Connecting After School: The Questions You Should Be Asking

February 24, 2014 By Terri Thompson

Sharing is caring!

183 shares
  • Share3
  • Tweet

“How was your day?” 

“Good.”

“Did you do anything fun?”

“Ummmm… I don’t remember.”

Sound familiar? Talking to kids after school can often get you nowhere.

Every question I asked would get me silence.

It was driving me crazy.

Was school so bad that she didn’t want to talk about it?

No, that wasn’t the case.

Was she bored and just wasting her time there all day? No, that wasn’t it either.

You know what the problem was? I was asking the wrong questions.

How do you get your kids to talk about their school day?

Connecting After School: 20 questions to ask your kids about their school day.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

How could I get my child to talk?

I asked everyone. I posted the question on-line.

I looked for blog posts that had suggestions.

Everyone had different opinions, but there was one key thing they all mentioned and it was the one thing I was doing wrong.

Ask about the details.

My questions were too vague.

Of course my 6-year-old wasn’t going to give me the answers I was looking for if I didn’t help her out a little bit.

I know a bit about her day. I know when she has art and when she has music. I know the subjects that are covered each and every day. I know that her teacher reads chapter books to the class and that each student keeps a science journal and a reading journal.

I’m sure you know basic ideas about your child’s day too.

The key is asking detailed questions to get them talking about their day.

So what can you ask? Here are 20 questions to ask your kids about their school day.

Who did you sit by at lunch?

Who did you play with at recess?

What did you do in P.E. (art, music, etc.) today?

Did anything surprise you today?

Tell me something nice that you did for someone today. Did someone do something nice for you today?

What book did your teacher read to you today? What do you like about that book?

What book did YOU read (or listen to) today?

Did anything make you sad today? Why did that make you sad?

What made you laugh today?

Tell me one new thing you learned today.

What was the most fun part of your day?

What made you bored today? Is there anything that could make that more interesting?

Who do you wish you could sit by in class? Why?

Did something out-of-the-ordinary happen at school today? What was it?

What was the hardest thing you did today?

Did something (or someone) make you angry today? What did you do (or say)?

Was there something that you didn’t understand? Can I help you understand it more?

Did you do something that you are proud of today? What was it?

Is there anything coming up that you are excited about?

What was your favorite thing to learn about today?

Click here for a printable version of this list.

If you know something special is going on at school, make sure and ask questions about it.

Recently my daughter participated in Jump Rope for the Heart during school. She loved that I asked about it and very eagerly answered all my questions.

We were able to make that connection after school.

20 Questions to Ask Your Kids About School

Connecting with your child after school does take some effort. I’ve learned that if I make the effort, my daughter will meet me halfway. I couldn’t expect her to automatically tell me everything I needed to know. I learned that detailed questions get better answers. And now, we are making that connection and I love every minute of it.

Do you have any more questions to add to the list? How do you get your kids to talk to you after school?

>

Looking for more good reads about kids and school? Try one of these posts:

Keeping the Lines of Communication Open With Your Child’s Teacher

Dear Teacher: There Are a Few Things I Need You to Know

Surviving Your Child’s Math Homework

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts

Terri Thompson

Terri is a writer and mom of two elementary-aged girls. She has a passion for learning and is always looking for ways to make learning fun. You can find her here writing about fun learning activities, art, craft, and family fun ideas.

Latest posts by Terri Thompson (see all)

  • Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kids - November 10, 2022
  • Paper Plate Tambourine Kids Craft - May 15, 2022
  • Outdoor Shape Activities for Kids - May 9, 2022

Recent Posts

  • Thanksgiving Math Activities for Kids
  • Paper Plate Tambourine Kids Craft
  • Outdoor Shape Activities for Kids
  • Shape Hopscotch Outdoor Game
  • Butterfly Paper Plate Wreath Craft

Primary Sidebar

Footer

Categories

Archives

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by The Blog Surgery

Creative Family Fun uses cookies to improve your experience. These cookies provide feedback to our analytics and advertisers. We use the information to track views of the site, where you go and to know if you are a regular visitor or brand new as well as provide a personalized experience where possible. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
183 shares
  • 3