Get Your Child Talking

Is the question, “How was your day?” being met with one-word answers or very little response? This is very common for children of all ages. Sometimes, they really don’t want to share what happened during their day. However, more often than not, they actually DO want to share, they just need a little guidance to do so. Try these fun activities to find out more about what actually happened while they were at school.

High, Low, Buffalo

This is our FAVORITE game to play! We play almost every night at dinner. Check out my blog 5 Things I Do Everyday as a Mom and Teacher to find out why these dinner conversations are so important! It’s a simple game to play and good for all ages. Each person shares their high (the best part of their day), their low (the worst part of their day), and a buffalo, which is anything else they want to tell you. It can look something like this, “My high was playing with Olivia at recess today. My low was forgetting my library book, and my buffalo is Mrs. Jones was out sick today so we had a substitute.” These three short sentences open up the conversation for follow up questions and comments. I highly recommend adults playing too. When you share about your day, you model appropriate responses and your children get to see that even adults can have tough times during their day.

Two Truths and a Lie

This is another favorite with our family. This game can be a little tricky for younger kids, so I would recommend playing this game with children over age 5 or 6. The game works exactly like the title states…you tell two truths and one lie, then everyone guesses the lie. This game always ends with lots of laughs and a good conversation.

Conversation Cards

Conversation cards are a great tool to use with kids of all ages. It's a great game to play during family dinners or long car rides. We love using these when we go out to dinner. It keeps the kids engaged and opens up really great conversations. I find my children will now come up with their own topics or talking points even when we don’t have the cards with us. These are important social and communication skills that so many children are missing these days. Below is the set we use at home. Some of the cards require higher level thinking so I recommend kids ages 5-10. They also have packs for families or teens that are geared toward different age groups.

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