Do you ever get jealous when your friends tells you their daughter tells them everything about their day at school? I know I ask my boys how their day was and all I get is “fine”. That’s why I polled my friends and got some open-ended questions for kids to get them talking about their day.
There are also some tricks of when and where to ask the hard-hitting questions.
Best Time to Ask Kids Questions
- Don’t ask right when they walk in the door.
- Give them food first!
- Ask when riding in a car or while they are doing something mindless like bouncing a ball or bathing/showering. Some kids talk more when they don’t have to look face-to-face.
- Take an evening walk or walking the dog after dinner.
- Lay in bed with them at night. (this is when they open up about deeply troubling topics)
Open Ended Questions for Kids
- If you could choose who to sit next to in your class, who would it be and why?
- Tell me one interesting thing about your teacher’s life.
- Did you meet anyone new today?
- What was the best/worst thing that happened today?
- Tell me something kind you did for someone today. (if they say nothing let them know you will ask again tomorrow)
- What did you play at recess?
- What are your Top 3 things you liked about your day?
- What nice thing happened to you today?
- What made you smile/sad today?
- Did you see a friend do something cool?
- Who did you sit next to at lunch?
- What was something delicious/yucky you saw someone bring in their lunch? (I like to get ideas for my kids lunch this way)
- If you could pick a partner to do a project with, who would it be?
- If you could have one person removed from your class and put into a different class who would it be? Why?
- What is your favorite/most boring class? Why?
Print this list plus 5 bonus questions to hang on your refrigerator. I try to read through and pick one or two before I pick up my kids.
FREE 20 OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS FOR KIDS PRINTABLE
Print out this amazing list of open ended questions and get your kids to open up and tell you about their day.
Games To Get Kids Talking
- 1 Minute Drill: They have 1 minute to tell as much as possible about their day. With a time limit it can get them to just blab some information they normally wouldn’t have thought of.
- Earn Your Snack: Have their snack ready and a little extra in front of you. They can earn extra snack if they answer 3 of your questions.
- Pick a game where the winner gets to ask a question and get a response. I especially like to shoot hoops with my boys in the driveway and if I get a basket I get to ask a question. Kids talk more when they are distracted by playing something else.
Show Them How It Is Done
If you are really having trouble, get into the habit of sharing about your day with the highs and lows for a few days and then try asking them after you share about your day. Show them how it is done. You and your spouse need to ask about each others day in front of the kids. Be an example of how the conversation should flow.
What are your favorite questions to ask?
Other Posts You May Like:
Smart Punishments for Kids When Time Out No Longer Works
What To Ask During Parent – Teacher Conferences – Plus a List of Questions
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