When it Comes to Questions for Kids, Open Up!

The more we get kids to talk about the things that are important to them, the more we are helping the - intellectually and in self-confidence.   One way to get kids talking is to simply rephrase your question from "closed" to "open".  It's simple, and takes no time at all.  With just a quick change to the type of question we pose, we're telling our kids that we are really interested in what they have to say.

For instance, if you want your child to tell you about his day at school, a closed question would be something like, "Did you have a good day at school?"  or "It looks like you had a great day, right?" Those are "closed" because the child can answer the question with a simple, "Yes" or "No", and go right back to watching TV.  "Do you feel like this book is hard or easy?" is another closed question because the child can answer the question with one word -- "hard", or "easy".

"Open" versions of the first questions are, "Tell me about your day today in school?" or "What are 3 things that happened today that were good or bad."  The "open" questions are going to elicit much more detail, time and thought from your child.
An "open" version of the second question might be, "What is this book about?" or "What is your (least) favorite part of this book?"

Get kids talking to get kids thinking!

Rainy Day Means Inside Play!

More rain today, which means more crazy kids today.  One way to keep kids engaged indoors is to challenge them to build a marshmallow tower.  Give you kids a stack of toothpicks (don't forget to have a quick safety chat with them about not poking their sister in the arm, ear, eye, etc) and a handful of marshmallows (minis or regular sized) and let them build away.  Tell them you want the highest tower they can build, or the longest bridge, or the  strongest structure. Challenge them to get build a tower that can hold a stuffed animal or that can withstand an "earthquake" (them stomping on the floor beside the tower).  Be creative with what you ask your kids to be creative with!
If you have a couple kids, have them work on team building by collaborating on the challenge.  They're having fun while building spatial ability and teamwork.

The ABCs of Making Alphabetizing Fun!

Want to get your kids excited about alphabetizing? I know, I know...excited about alphabetizing? There's nothing exciting about it, right? WRONG!! When you're a kid, anything can be exciting (yes, even alphabetizing) if the subject matter is of interest to you!

Here's the trick to make something so, so very boring (like alphabetizing) fun for your kids.  Ask your child to list his 3 favorite TV shows (or PlayStation games or sports or Dora the Explorer characters or books or whatever he's interested in), and then alphabetize those!  You'll be amazed how much more "fun" this is, when 1. he gets to pick what's being alphabetized, and 2. it's a subject that he's really into.

Make it harder or more older-kid-appropriate by having your kiddo list 5 or 7 or 10 items, or make it more interactive by having him list 3 and you list 2.

Every child is interested in something - figure out what it is and use that to your (and your child's educational) benefit!