Hello Parents of SGR! At the last PTAC meeting, it was suggested that I give parents some tips to aid communication with their child when they get home from school.
We’ve all been there. You ask your child, “How was your day” and you get a one word answer, “ok….fine … good…..(and sometimes) BORING!” Here are some conversation starters to be used when you have some quality time with your child and would prefer a more in depth conversation.
School is your child’s job so why not all take part in a discussion of the Highs and Lows of your day on the job. You can share what your high was or the best part of your day at work then take turns having your children share what the best part of their day was at their job (school). Or maybe you want to start out with the low or worst part of their day so you can end on a positive note identifying what the HIGH or best part of their day was that day.
Along with sharing your Highs and Lows, why not Count Your Blessings and share something that you’re especially thankful for that day. Research will back the notion that the more the brain practices thinking about something, the better you become at it. Today I was extra thankful that….(I had time during conferences to write this note to PTAC parents).
We talk a lot about the four “Be’s” at SGR:
Be Respectful-who was showing respect today and how were they showing it?
Be Responsible-who was showing responsibility today and how were they showing it?
Be Safe-who was showing safety (emotionally and physically) today and how were they showing it?
Be Kind-who was showing kindness and how were they showing it?
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a foundation from which all other learning takes place. It’s very difficult to learn letters and math skills if a child is unregulated and is having BIG feelings which make it difficult to think. Here is a short video that describes what SEL lessons are and why they are so important.
Another important part of a student's day is playing with their friends so ask them who they played with or who was one new friend they’d like to get to know better. This will expand their friend base and be helpful if their only friend happens to be absent that day.
Here’s another list of questions you could run off and cut apart to have in a jar at your kitchen table or in your car to be used whenever time allows:
What or who made you smile today?
What book did your teacher read for the class today?
What was your favorite part of your school day?
Did you help anyone in class today?
Did someone make you laugh?
Who sat next to you at lunch?
Did anyone show an example of unkindness? What did you do?
What examples of kindness did you see today?
Did anyone say something that surprised you?
Give your day a rating of one to ten — why did you choose that number?
What challenged you today?
Did anyone in your class get in trouble?
Did someone or something inspire you today?
What new things did you learn?
Did someone get in trouble today? What happened?
Who did you share your snacks with today?
Do all the classes play together at recess?
What was the worst part of your day?
How were you brave today?
What questions did you ask your teacher today?
What are you reading in class?
What was the most challenging rule you had to follow?
If you could go back and change one thing about today, what would that be?
What made you proud today?
If you could sit anywhere in class, where would that be?
What’s your favorite subject?
What’s your least favorite subject?
What do you hope to achieve before school ends this year?