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Listening To Kid When She Talks

Discussion in 'Schoolgoers & Teens' started by Angela123, Feb 18, 2020.

  1. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Good point. Getting to know about the child's school day and who are the friends etc. helps in many ways. It gives the parent some idea of what happens in the child's day. And if any school or friends related issues crop up, the parent has a context to go by.

    I remember reading an article long ago about good questions to ask kids. The main guideline was to keep the question open-ended, not ones that can be answered with a yes/no.

    1. Do you get to choose where to sit in class? How often does the teacher rearrange seating?
    2. When I was young, teachers made us sit boy next to girl to keep the noise down. What does your teacher do if one kid is talking a lot in class?
    3. If you are done early with the work, do you get to read story-books? Or, just sit quietly?
    4. How often do kids get sent to the principal's office from your class? (kids love to gossip about this)
    5. What reward system does the teacher have for the class? Is it fair?
    6. School assemblies - do you like them?
    7. Bathroom pass? Go to bathroom with buddy?
    8. Does any kid not take part in Valentine's Day? Halloween?
    9. Any kid does not recite the pledge of allegiance?
    10. Least favorite classroom rule?
    11. In math worksheets or any quiz, do kids cheat?
    12. Tattling versus reporting? (Tell kid: In my childhood in India, all tattling was encouraged, even rewarded.)
    13. Class monitor system of India, is there something like that in school in the U.S. (ask kid)
    14. What is the hardest thing you did in school today?
    15. Lining up near the door to go out to recess or lunch: what order? Is there a line monitor?
    16. Does the teacher have a pet? (real animal, not a classroom kid as pet). Teachers talk a lot about their family/pets.
    17. Who do you sit with at lunch? How many kids per table?
    18. What are lunchroom /forum rules?
    19. How is this year's teacher different than last year's?
    20. Is your teacher the strictest of all the 3rd grade teachers?
    21. Who is the funniest kid in your class? Is a nice funny or gets into trouble funny?
    22. School library - how often they go. How does she choose the book? By the cover?
    23. At the end of the school day, what happens in the 5 minutes before the bell rings?
    24. Who is the janitor? Schools have janitors who have been there for years and are loved by the students.
    25. Which is the quietest time in the classroom? Noisiest?

    The trick is to keep the questions casual. Link it to something else happening in the house or the car at that time. With time, comes the intuitive awareness of when to stop asking more on a given topic.

    My favorite question to ask kids younger than 10 in my neighborhood is what they think of Trump. : )
     
  2. KashmirFlower

    KashmirFlower IL Hall of Fame

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    Good points @Rihana! Glad that I know most of that questions answers that means my kid shares a bit with me .

    It gets interesting by telling little our story , their dad story, or some of their close friend or cousin referring, with fun time, overall becomes nice experience, but with lot to do and stress can’t happen the same every time, but we try what we can,
     
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  3. Angela123

    Angela123 Gold IL'ite

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    This is a great set of questions. I will definitely be using all of it. That trump question sounds very interesting!
     
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  4. Angela123

    Angela123 Gold IL'ite

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    Yes, i use my school story to get started with hers. I have seen that If I talk about math hws, she would reciprocate how her math work in school is. I am planning to continue using this!!
     
  5. Vaikuntha

    Vaikuntha Platinum IL'ite

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    @Rihana
    Your set of questions are 'printout' worthy!

    So using these, with mine.
     
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