By: Emily Lindsey, Third Grade Teacher
Each and every day, your child is learning something new and something they want to share with you. It can be difficult to get your child to answer specifically about what they learned and a lot of times their answer is “I don’t know”. We both know your child learned something, so how do we get them to share that with you?
Carol Tuttle is a best-selling author and she put together this list of questions to ask your child, instead of the plain old, “How was your day?”.
-What did you do in school today that you really enjoyed?
-Who did you play with at recess?
-What is one fun thing that happened to you today?
-Did you have any embarrassing moments?
-Did your teacher give you any compliments?
-What happened during lunch today?
I encourage you to ask your child these questions on the ride home or when you sit down for dinner. Look at your child’s newsletter, so you can ask more subject specific questions if your child doesn’t have a lot to say. I have personally seen the excitement on children’s faces and the passion they have for learning, but if you don’t ask, then you will never know what triggered their love for science or why they want to write and illustrate a comic book.
During your conversation, your child may discuss with you how they didn’t have the best day. It is important to recognize that your child understands that negative behavior or not following the rules has consequences. However, the best part is tomorrow is a new day. Each and every day your child makes choices. At times, they have the choice to continue that specific behavior or they can turn their day around. It is so important for students not to dwell on mistakes. Students need to learn from the mistakes and move forward in the right direction. I love the saying “Today is a good day to have a great day!” Your child needs to be reminded of this each and every day!