Questions to ask your kids after school: 20 after-school questions that will actually get your kids talking

Опубликовано: January 10, 2023 в 3:24 am

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21 Questions to Ask Kids After School to Spark Conversation

“What did you learn at school today?” Most days, my kids say “nothing,” to which I respond, “Well, then I should email your teachers because they must not be doing their jobs.” If this dead-end conversation sounds familiar, then maybe, like me, you just need better questions to ask kids after school.

I mean, really. Think about the end of your workday. When someone asks, “How was your day?” you probably often respond with “fine.” Why would we expect something different from our kids? But if we ask more specific, open-ended questions, we’ll get better answers because better questions give the brain a challenge and a direction. So try one of these 21 questions to ask kids after school to learn more about what’s actually going on in your child’s day.

1. What part of the day goes by the fastest/slowest?

This is one of a few sneaky questions to ask kids after school. It will tell you which subject they like the least.

2. What made your teacher(s) smile/frown today?

This answer will clue you in to how the class behaved and if the kids got yelled at a lot. Sometimes our kids bring home a lot of tension from a stressful day.

3. Which subject/class was the most interesting to you today? Why?

Whatever your child’s response, you can follow up and ask him or her to teach you something about the topic.

4. What subject/class was the most challenging?

Calling something is “difficult” feels absolute, but challenges are meant to be overcome. So this is a great way to reframe how your child feels about a tough class.

5. How did you show kindness today?

Just asking this question will make your child think about how he or she behaves toward classmates. If the answer is an honest “I didn’t,” challenge your child to look for an opportunity to show kindness tomorrow.

6. Do you think anyone in your classes could grow up to be a _________?

Fill in the blank with a profession that requires a certain character trait or skill—a comedian, a pastor, a farmer, an astronaut, the president. You’ll learn something about your son or daughter’s classmates.

7. What do you think I would like most about your classroom(s)?

This is just a fun question to ask kids after school. You’ll find out what your child thinks you enjoyed about school or what part of the classroom would most appeal to your style and preferences.

8. If you taught at your school, what rule would you make number one?

This answer can clue you into an injustice your child sees or something he or she thinks is important about how the school runs.

9. Who in your classes could we pray for?

We prayed for my son’s classmate’s dog for three months. Yep—three whole months. This is a good question to help your child see the need around him or her and build deeper friendships.

10. If you could swap desks with anyone, who would you pick and why?

The answer kids give to this will give you clues about who they have conflicts with or who they enjoy being around, or whose desk is closest to the class hamster.

11. If you could be in another grade, would you want to? Which one would you pick?

Get a glimpse into what sparks your child’s interest: seniors who are ready to graduate, the sixth graders who get lockers, the fourth-grade kids who get to go to the science lab, or maybe your child wants to go back in time to naps and finger paint!

12. What do you think your teacher likes most about your class?

This one is a good way to learn about the classroom dynamic. Your son or daughter might share something about the way the teacher and the kids interact that you’ve never heard before.

13. What about your class challenges your teacher(s) the most?

Build empathy and awareness in your child by encouraging him or her to consider how the teacher might have difficulty with behavior, a time of the day, or even a particular lesson.

14. What’s your favorite spot in the school? Least favorite?

Your kid’s answer could be a quiet place, an action-filled spot, or maybe even the bathroom. Be sure to follow up with some questions to find out why.

15. When I was a kid, we loved the swings. What’s the most popular thing to play on at recess?

Most kids not only will tell you the playground hotspot but also who plays on it and who’s got the best skills.

16. Do you ever see kids get teased? What do you do?

Be ready with advice in case your child doesn’t know what to do if he or she sees someone being treated unfairly. It might even be your child.

17. If you could redo one part of your day, what would you pick?

Will the answer be the best part he wants to do all over again? Will it be the worst part she wants to fix? Either way, you’ll get a glimpse of how your child’s day went.

18. What three words would you use to describe ______?

Fill in the blank with something you’re trying to get a read on. Describe social studies. How about multiplication tables? Describe your biology teacher.

19. If you had money and could buy one thing for your school, what would it be?

You’ll probably get a silly answer, but you might also find out what your child thinks would make his or her day better.

20. You get to swap one subject out for another. What do you take away and what class would you add?

Buh bye, math! Hello, YouTube video production! There’s no wrong answer to this one.

21. What did you talk about over lunch today?

Wouldn’t it be great to be a fly on the wall of a school cafeteria? You can’t listen in to how your child interacts with friends over lunch, but the answer to this question will help you learn what he or she has in common with friends.

What are some of your favorite questions to ask kids after school? How else do you get the conversation going?

After-school questions to ask your kids

Your kids spend hours apart from you each day during the school year, and naturally, you want to know how they’re doing in the classroom and in their interactions with their peers. More than that, you need to know, because those experiences are shaping your kids emotionally, spiritually, relationally and academically.

Yet coaxing kids to talk about their day can be frustrating. Asking How was your day? often solicits the same old response: It was fine!

Maybe you’ve been left wondering, How hard can it be to give me a little more than that?

In reality though, getting younger kids, in particular, to talk about their day can be asking quite a lot. You’re asking them to think back about all that happened in the past hours, then sift everything down to one or two highlights, all at a time when they’re more interested in the future – the things they’ve been looking forward to after school.

And admittedly, it’s harder to draw boys out than girls, but it’s something to keep working at. It’s healthy for boys to learn to talk about their thoughts, feelings, hopes and disappointments.

To get better answers from your kids, first make sure you’re asking good questions – questions that help kids remember specific events during their day.

There’s a list here to help you get started, but you can build your own list of after-school questions that seem to work  well for your kids – questions that help your kids open up and talk. You can keep your list handy on your phone, or post it on the fridge, and just choose one or two questions to ask each day.

If you can’t imagine asking these questions in a way that would feel natural, consider creating an “after-school talk” jar full of questions on strips of paper that your kids can draw out and answer, one each day. Establishing that fun little tradition now will serve you well long into the future!

General questions

  • What was the most fun thing that you did today? Was anything really not fun?
  • What was the best thing that happened today?
  • What was the most difficult thing you had to do today?
  • How were you brave today?
  • Is there anything you wish had gone differently today?
  • Was there a time when you felt extra special today?

Social interactions

  • Did everyone behave on the school bus?
  • Who did you sit with on the bus?
  • Who did you play with at recess and lunch?
  • Did you eat all your lunch today, or did you trade with someone? What did you trade?
  • Did anyone get into trouble today?
  • Did you do anything nice for someone today? Did anyone do something nice for you?
  • Was there anything that made you sad/mad/frustrated today? Anything that seemed unfair?
  • Do you think your teacher had a good day or a rough day today?
  • Who in your class(es) needs our prayers right now?

Points of confusion – academic, social or moral

  • Did you hear or read anything today that confused you?
  • Did you need help with anything today?
  • Was there any moment today where you weren’t sure what to do or how to answer someone?
  • Did your teacher teach anything new today that you didn’t quite understand?
  • How are you feeling about what you’ve been learning. Are there any concepts that you don’t quite understand?

General academics

  • Did you use the Internet today? What were you researching? What did you learn?
  • Did you learn anything today that surprised you?
  • Do you learn anything today that really fired up your imagination?
  • Did you get any new assignments today? Do you feel like you understand what you need to do? Have you decided on a way to approach your assignment that would be really interesting for you?

Preparing ahead

  • Is there anyone who could use some kindness right now? What could you do for them?
  • Do you have to bring anything special to school tomorrow?
  • Do you have forms I need to fill in?
  • What homework do you have? Do you need my help with it?
  • Do you have everything you need to do your homework?
  • Is there anything you need to hand in by the end of this week?
  • Do you feel you have everything you need right now for school?

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30 interesting questions that parents can ask their child after school | Material:

Coronavirus is rather psychoterrorism… Doctor of Medical Sciences, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Professor, Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, specialist in the field of epidemiology and preventive medicine, demography, social psychology, philosophy Igor Gundarov.
According to the expert, this whole pandemic is like a play put on by the WHO. Why shouldn’t the WHO create a normal information center where citizens would be informed, where one could get objective and reliable information, where one could see all the statistical data?

“This is the example of Italy,” says Gundarov. – There are 60 million of them, 600 thousand people die naturally in them every year. Let’s recalculate for days, which means that in Italy 1,600 people die every day in a stable mode. And here is the information about the death of 400, 600 people from the coronavirus. Are they taking into account ordinary mortality or plus to that?

The question really arises: “Isn’t this a performance?” The academician also noted that the media show how a military convoy of 30 vehicles is walking through the center of Rome – they are carrying coffins! “I am absolutely sure,” the scientist says, “that no normal ruler would do this. The coffins with the dead are taken out at night!” It looks like a staged performance, created just to frighten an already frightened audience even more. At the same time, according to the head of the Italian civil defense service, Angelo Borrelli, people “died with the coronavirus, and not because of it.” Borrelli noted a sharp increase in the number of recovered in Italy – 689people per day, their number reached 5129. Maybe it’s better to blow it in all the media?

Also with the ambulance in Russia. Doctors and paramedics in frightening protective suits and masks are leaving for patients, as if it were a plague or cholera, and not the usual variety of SARS. After all, the coronavirus infection has long been described in textbooks, the COVID-2019 coronavirus is not a particularly dangerous infection, it is a classic severe SARS.

Yes, and in Moscow, according to Gundarov’s calculations, up to 11 thousand calls daily. Are there those 22,000 protective suits every day? After all, they must change every time if the authorities really want to protect both doctors and patients.

“The fear pandemic has not affected all countries,” Gundarov continued. “An example of the most balanced approach is Sweden, which is not going to introduce quarantine, but has long taken steps to counter COVID-19.”

“And is it even possible to talk about a pandemic?” asks the doctor of the highest category Irina Lavrova. “If we compare the outbreak of coronavirus infection with real pandemics of smallpox, cholera, plague, Spanish flu, then 1/3 of Japan died out, according to open sources, every 8th in Europe. “Spanish flu” in the first 30 weeks of its existence killed more than 35 million people. At the same time, almost a third of the world’s population has been ill with the virus. And died – from 60 to 100 million people. And, of course, the list of pandemics of the 21st century published by WHO cannot be compared in terms of the number of infected and dead with the current outbreak of coronavirus infection.

So, for example, against the background of SARS, bird flu, swine flu, an outbreak of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (and this has already happened in the world!) – only swine flu stands out, with which 1,632,258 people fell ill and 284,500 died. Yes from the usual seasonal flu, the death rate is much higher – about 650 thousand people a year, from tuberculosis – 1 million 300 thousand people. Why not declare a tuberculosis pandemic, for example, and start really fighting it?

Indeed, even our quarantine measures are strange. In Moscow, Sobyanin imposed restrictions on public events, people are forbidden to gather in large numbers over 50 people. But at the same time, the metro continues to operate as usual, and there are more people there than at any rally, and more than 50 people can gather in each car.

Or another example: for some reason, newly arrived citizens are only screened… at airports! But what about railway stations? Moreover, if a person is passing through Moscow and flies / goes somewhere further, they don’t even believe him, they check only those who remain in Moscow. And if a person is really contagious, will he go quietly further into Russia? Would this be how a real epidemic would be fought if it really was so dangerous?

But at the same time, such “quarantine” measures paralyze the normal life of citizens. This has never happened in the history of our country, even with the most terrible epidemics. Even social security services are closed, and it is impossible to issue, for example, child benefits.

All doctors were very outraged by the new recommendations of Rosportrebnadzor on self-isolation, which were told by the representative of the committee on social policy and health of the All-People’s Union of the Renaissance of Russia, doctor Alina Lushavina. These recommendations, in her opinion, are absurd and run counter to international norms, SanPiNs and other documents. A reasonable question arises: “Are they legal at all?” So, for example, a person who arrives from a country where COVID-19 is “raging” must sit alone in an apartment for 14 days! He is forbidden to be in the apartment with his relatives, it is forbidden to leave the premises even for a short time – for groceries or to the pharmacy, personal contacts are prohibited. It is assumed that relatives should buy food for him, leave it at the door and leave. And control over compliance with the regime of self-isolation is assigned to the district police and the district therapist. And in the case of leaving the apartment, such a “self-isolated” person can end up in jail. And electronic and technical means can be used for control.

That is, they put a person in an apartment like a guinea pig, hung up a camera and will watch him for these 14 days. “That is, not an emergency commission is created from epidemiologists, virologists and doctors – as it should be according to SanPin standards in the event of an epidemic, but the district police officer will monitor them! From which it follows that this is not epidemiology, not medicine – this is a purely political document that establishes total control over citizens!” – says the doctor. And those who violate this regime are offered to be sent to isolation wards and to initiate criminal cases against them! What does this have to do with medicine?

For comparison, the doctor gave the rules that worked for especially dangerous diseases such as plague, cholera, yellow fever, etc. in the USSR. There, the persons who were monitored were not isolated, were not restricted in their freedom of movement, they simply transmitted data about their location and visited a medical institution during the incubation period of a particular disease. “And we are talking about plague, cholera, yellow fever! Lushavin emphasizes. “People who came from countries where there was an outbreak of such really dangerous diseases did not isolate!” Then why do it now? Is the coronavirus worse than the plague? Obviously not, it just turns out, apparently, the goal of the struggle of the current “epidemic” is not medical, but purely political.

Hysteria and panic are largely due to the mass media, which clearly stir up the atmosphere. “Look how the media is reporting the news,” says independent journalist Ilya Baltabaev. – The TASS agency wrote that a 79-year-old patient with coronavirus died in Moscow. At the same time, she had a whole “bouquet” of other, really serious diseases, any of which could be fatal for her. But it was the coronavirus that made the headline. And the population perceived this as if she had died from the coronavirus.” In fact, the woman died from the fact that a blood clot broke off from her.

Moreover, the journalist says, for some reason almost no emphasis is placed on positive news. Few people say that in China, 83% of coronavirus patients have recovered. The whole world is afraid of the number of deaths in Italy from the coronavirus. But let’s look at the statistics. The average age of the deceased is 79.4 years – that is, elderly and obviously sick people die. In the same way, older people die from the complications that the usual seasonal flu gives, they die from pneumonia – simply because these diseases are difficult for a weakened body.

In addition, Roskomnadzor began “cleansing” inside the country. A note about another patient who died and may have been infected with a coronavirus was published by the online publication Magadan Speaks. The publication wanted to be punished for this publication! Just because the publication was out of the general frightening canvas? The TASS agency, which published similar news, but in the right way, no one punishes.

On the morning of March 23, some channel authors on the Yandex.Zen platform reported that their “karma” had been reset to zero. This is a parameter that is recalculated once a week and determines the page’s place in the ranking. With a zero rating, the page gets no impressions at all. They also linked this to the fact that their channels have materials about the coronavirus. Is the independent news filter really working in Russia?

“There is an opinion that this is only the beginning, and the situation will only get worse,” the journalist says. – I believe that all this pressure, hysteria is beneficial to the authorities. A frightened population is more likely to agree to anything. Whether it is total control or the adoption of Putin’s amendments to the Constitution.

In many ways, the worldwide panic over the coronavirus is a special operation planned by the powers that be. According to independent analysts, it was conceived and carried out by those who hold all the world’s media in their hands, and in general are at the head of the whole world. Scientists from the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich studied 43,000 multinational corporations and found that in the end they are controlled by only 147 families, who hold 60% of the world’s GDP in their hands!

British intelligence officer John Coleman, having studied the archives of the secret services to which he had access, published the book “The Committee of 300. Secrets of the world government.” He also wrote that all world processes are controlled by a small group of very influential and super-rich people. And all the presidents of countries are servants of the world government, their independence and election is an illusion:

“A parallel top-level secret government does not operate from dark basements and secret dungeons. It is located in full view of the White House, the Congress, 10 Downing Street and the British Parliament. These people are IN SIGHT. These people are the servants of the World Government and the New World Order.”

Is it because the whole special operation against the coronavirus pandemic is going on so smoothly and smoothly in all countries of the world, because there is a single control center? Then what is the end goal? John Coleman wrote about it. Global population decline – the theory of the “golden billion”. “At least 4 billion ‘useless eaters’ will be wiped out by 2050 through limited warfare, orchestrated epidemics, deadly fast-acting diseases and starvation until the global population reaches a manageable level of 1 billion.

The second goal, in our opinion, is the total control of the rest of humanity. Nicholas Rockefeller told the American film director Aaron Russo: “The ultimate goal is for everyone in the world to have a radio frequency identification chip (RFID chip) embedded, and all money will be tied to this chip, and whoever protests and does something against us, we will disable the chip.

The frightened people, tired of constant quarantine, chaos, uncertainty of the future, will agree to everything – if only there was order. And he will gladly accept any dictator who will put things in order. But this dictator will establish complete total control. Informed people are already writing about it now: the coronavirus will go away, but control methods will remain.

The society digitalization project has already been launched in Russia. We are waiting for:
digitalization of schools, digitalization of medicine, digital ID and biometrics should replace passports and personal signatures for citizens. Further, all public places will be equipped with video cameras with face recognition and connected to a single database, where the most complete information about each will be collected. Also, everyone will be assigned a social rating, which you will be forced to lower for any “offense” before the state.

Therefore, if we agree to quarantine now, just keep silent and endure – by 2024 we will become full-fledged slaves of the New World Order. Just until 2024, the program is designed for the transition to the full digitalization of society in Russia. It is noteworthy that the voting on amendments to the Constitution is not yet planned to be canceled due to quarantine. There is an opinion that the main thing in the amendments is that Putin will subdue all branches of power: executive, judicial, legislative. His terms will be “reset”, and he will be able to rule until 2036. The independence of local self-government – the last sip of democracy for the people – is canceled by amendments and built into a single vertical of power headed by Putin. That is, voting is not canceled, because the amendments to the Constitution also fit into the plans for establishing an authoritarian-totalitarian society?

At the end of the Round Table, a resolution was announced in which the participants demanded:

1. Immediately stop misinforming and injuring the psyche of the population and ban all federal media from broadcasting information about the coronavirus for more than 20% of the air time.

2. Provide specific tests for COVID-2019 for public control. There is evidence that the live COVID-2019 virus has not yet been isolated, a test for it has not been created, and the genome has not been isolated – that is, the public has been misled. Everything must be done so that independent scientists are convinced that the words of the media do not differ from reality, we have already experienced too many fake media.

3. Provide all public health facilities in all regions of the country with specific tests for the COVID-2019 virus, and not for the covir-SARS virus or for common coronaviruses (as is being done now according to medical officials).

4. Publish daily real information about the number of cases whose diagnoses are confirmed by tests for COVID-2019, and not by tests for the usual coronavirus, suspected or established by the clinical picture. Ensure that the public commission can control the real statistics of cases and deaths from the COVID-2019 virus.

5. Repeal unnecessary and senseless quarantine measures in educational institutions and distance learning as excessive and thoughtless, violating the fundamental rights of us and our children. Disease statistics do not give the right to declare either an epidemic or a pandemic!

6. Create an emergency commission, which will include experts independent of Rospotrebnadzor, such as academician I. Gundarov, A. Chuchalin, I. Vorobyov and other immunologists, virologists, epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists who will develop competent measures to prevent this virus, as well as all subsequent possible infectious epidemics of influenza and SARS, as well as develop sanitary and epidemiological measures, schemes for sanitary and educational work among the population and tactics for treating coronavirus COVID-2019or similar viruses.

7. Impose a special anti-coronavirus tax on all oligarchs and billionaires in the country in order to reduce social injustice in our welfare state. People who are quarantined by the state are deprived of their livelihood and may simply starve. And the oligarchs, into whose business people’s budget money is poured, are simply obliged to return this money to society in such a difficult period for everyone! The redistribution of funds in favor of the poor is the practice of any developed country in the world, but for some reason not Russia!

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10 questions to ask children after school instead of “How are you?” – HEROINE

When asked “How are you?” after school, many children answer “okay” and retire to their room. Unfortunately, such communication negatively affects relationships and closeness with parents. Therefore, it is important to know what questions to ask the child after school so that he himself wants to talk with you.

1. What did you play with your classmates during recess?

This question will not only let you know how the child spends time, but also help him train his memory. Let him name what he did with his classmates. You can also ask who was the winner or which game they liked the most.

2. Do you think one of your classmates could become a doctor?

Doctor, teacher, firefighter – in this question you can substitute any profession that requires certain traits and skills. Ask the child to tell which of his classmates could get it in the future.

This will allow not only to dream up together with the child, but also to learn about what qualities of others seem to be most valuable to him. And also about his relationship with his classmates.

3. What is your favorite place at school?

The child may respond that his favorite place is the classroom, the hall during recess, or the noisy dining room during lunch.

But it happens that children note completely quiet, not crowded and secluded places in the school – the corner of the corridor, where there are the fewest classes, or the lavatory. Be sure to ask why he named these particular parts of the school – often behind this choice is a desire to hide from classmates or conflicts with them that the child hides from you.

4. What made you laugh today?

Ask your child to tell you what made him smile while studying. This will help to understand whether he enjoys school or not. If for several days the child cannot remember something positive and pleasant, it is worth finding out why this is happening.

5. If you could buy one thing for school, what would it be?

Probably, the child’s answer will be far from rational plans for the purchase of new desks and textbooks. Most likely, he will prefer new gym balls or a huge designer to play with his classmates at recess.

But after analyzing his answer, you can understand what the child finds attractive and what could make him happy.

6. What did you and your classmates talk about at lunch?

This question will help you find out what your child has in common with his friends. Or think about the reasons why he prefers to eat silently and alone. In any case, the better you are aware of what is happening between classmates and your child, the easier it is for you to understand, support or sound the alarm in time.

7. Tell me one new thing you learned today?

This question can be asked to the child about once or twice a week. He will help you understand how diligently he behaves in the classroom, listens to the teacher, and also remembers the material covered. But it is not necessary to be based only on the school curriculum – information received from classmates can tell a lot about the interests and passions of the child.

8. If you could change one part of your day, what would it be?

There are two answers to this question.