8 Creative Questions to Ask Your Child About Their School Day

I invited Jessica over at Messes & Memories to share with us the creative ways she gets her daughter to talk about her school day. I love these questions! It can be such a challenge to get some kids to talk about their day. With these questions you are bound to get more than the usual one word answer!

This year my family and I began a new chapter. My oldest daughter started school full time. As a stay at home mom this new journey has been quite scary for me.

Hundreds of questions flooded my mind. Will she be safe? Will she feel insecure? Who will be her friends? Will she be an introvert or an extrovert? Will she learn what she is supposed to? Will she be happy? So you get the point.

After a few months I found myself feeling a little left out. I no longer knew all the details of her day. I didn’t know everyone she knew. I didn’t know each time she laughed or felt sad or had a bad day. I knew I couldn’t spend hours questioning her to find out every single detail so I started asking her the same questions at the end of every day.

What started out as my way of peeking into her day became a time of reassurance and release for my daughter. It is a set aside time to share the good and bad of her day. It is her time to feel special and her confirmation that I truly care about her day and what is happening in her life. There have been a few times that I am in a rush and distracted and she will quickly chime in. “Aren’t you going to ask me what you always ask me?”

What happened today that made you laugh?

I love to learn about my kids and what makes their little personalities. Learning about their sense of humor might be my favorite.

What did you not like about school today?

This is an important question. I want her to not only come to me with the highs in life but also the lows and I want to start that early.

Did anyone get in trouble today?

This is her opportunity to not only tell me about her classmates but also to be honest if she got in trouble that day. I can find out from her teacher but I want to know from her and teach her to be honest and own when she makes a mistake. This is also my opportunity to show her that I will be here even in the times she is at fault.

Who did you play with today?

Knowing the names of her friends is not only good information for us but also validates her. I am interested in her friends and making connections with her circle.

What did you play?

This is obviously a follow-up to the previous question but it also another way to learn about her and what she enjoys doing.

What was your favorite part of today?

This tells me what stood out to her today. Was it a personal accomplishment? A new friendship?

Did you do anything new today?

Sharing details about her day makes her feel special and gives me fun insight into her day-to-day routine.

Tell me something your teacher said to you today.

I love this question. I can get a clearer picture of her relationship with her teacher as the year goes on. Sometimes it makes for a good laugh.

Sometimes this list of questions takes a long time to answer and sometimes it takes 15 minutes. What matters is that I am consistent and show interest each day.

It is a great way to be present with our children and to maintain a close relationship with them as they grow and change.Try this routine out for a week and see what you learn! 

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Jessica is the creator of the Messes and Memories community. She is a stay at home mom of three. She is learning to be purposeful in the every day and finding that a little planning goes a long way. She shares tips and tricks that she uses to make this journey not only manageable but enjoyable as well. You can visit her at her messesandmemories.com and follow her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.