“How was school?”
“Good.”
Sound familiar?
As families settle back into school-year routines, you might be eager to hear about everything your child did while you were apart. But for little learners, “How was school?” can actually be a pretty big question.
Think about everything packed into their day: new people, activities, sounds, feelings, challenges, discoveries, and probably at least a few silly moments. Remembering all of that and then putting it into a neat summary can be a lot, especially for young children who are still building the skills to understand and communicate their experiences.
Instead, try getting a little more specific.
Ask about the little moments
Young children experience so much of the world through their senses and through play. Asking about something they saw, touched, made, or noticed gives them a smaller moment to think about rather than asking them to remember an entire day.
Try an open-ended question like:
- What did your hands touch today?
- What made you say “wow!” today?
- What did you make or build today?
- What was something silly that happened?
- What did you notice today?
There doesn’t have to be a big lesson behind the answer. Maybe they touched something squishy. Maybe a bug made them say “wow.” Maybe they built a very, very tall tower. These little details can be a window into what caught their attention and mattered to them that day.
Ask about the people in their day
School is about more than what children learn. It’s also a place where they’re learning how to be with other people, build friendships, work through challenges, and ask for help.
Questions about those moments can give kids another way into the conversation:
- Who was kind to you today?
- Who helped you today?
- Who did you play with today?
- Did you help someone today? What happened?
Their answers might even introduce you to a classmate, teacher, or moment you wouldn’t have heard about otherwise.
Give them a little time
You don’t have to start asking questions the moment they get in the car.
After a busy school day, some kids may need time to decompress before they’re ready to talk. Give them a little space to transition out of their school day, then look for a quieter moment to connect, whether that’s around the dinner table, during bath time, or while getting ready for bed.
And if you still get “I don’t know,” that’s okay, too.
The goal isn’t to get a full report of everything that happened. It’s to create little opportunities for your child to share what they noticed, wondered about, enjoyed, or found challenging.
At Thinkery, we believe curiosity can start with a simple question. So this school year, try starting small and see where the conversation takes you.