20 Ideas to Get Past "Fine" and "Nothing"

When I get home every day I ask my kids about their day and what they've learned. Every day they try to give me the same responses: "fine" and "nothing". Neither of these are ever accurate. I observe this same typical parent-student greeting in the parking lot every day after school.

Here are 20 ideas to get past "fine" and "nothing" when you greet your child after school:

1. Give them some "think time" by telling them what you are going to ask them, so that they can start thinking about your question.
2. Ask them how computers (or other technology resources) were used in class today.
3. Ask them a follow-up question related to a previous issue.
4. Ask them who they worked with in a small group and what they learned from that partner.
5. Ask them to think about the vocabulary (not spelling words) they are learning and to use one of those words to tell you what they studied today.
6. Ask them to describe something that they wrote down in class.
7. Help them to formulate a question that they could ask the teacher about something they didn't understand.
8. Ask them to predict what they think that they will do in each subject the next day.
9. Ask them to read (something from their backpack- such as an AR book) for 60 seconds and count how many words they read.
10. Ask them to show you something from their backpack that will help you learn something about their day.
11. Ask them to draw you a picture of the best (or most difficult, etc.) part of their day and then to explain it to you.
12. Pretend to be a T.V. news anchor and interview your child about their "highs" and "lows" for the day.
13. Make an appointment for a specific time to hold an "important meeting" to ask your child about their day.
14. Ask them to tell you the objective for math or language arts that was written on the board.
15. Ask them to share a "Quotable Quote" that they heard during the day.
16. Draw a line representing a spectrum, (one end could be "agree" and the other "disagree") and then ask them to respond by pointing on the spectrum as they answer your questions.
17. Ask them to show you a gesture or hand signal that was used in class that helps them remember something.
18. Ask them the funniest thing that happened today.
19. Ask them if they got to speak with any other adults at school other than their own teacher.
20. Ask them when their next math topic test will be.

Always require your children to respond in complete sentences and to explain their responses. "Fine" doesn't answer the question and "nothing" just can't be true.

Please help brainstorm some additional ideas by commenting on the link below.