So, my six year old is one of her kind. A very confident, chilled and no rush kinda girl (so far). She's one of those who can be very easily distracted, has her own moods and style of doing things (i know all kids have that, and she's not the only one... i am just trying to feel special at her expense!). And it is actually very hard for me as a mother to try and mould her into the things that i want her to do (i know every mom's story these days, but mine can be super stubborn and then emotional most of the times).
One of the things that i have always struggled with is, to get to know how was school? There would be days when i would ask her, " Meher how was school?" and the response would just be a blank stare in my face. As she grew a bit, we graduated to a line " It was ok!!" But then school started to become more than just play time, so obviously i wanted to know more, so i began to ask "what did you do at school today?" And her mere reply would be- "nothing mom!". Yes, plain nothing, and i would be like, ' darn it... five hours at school and they do nothing!!'.
I don't blame my poor baby for all this, but the whole idea of talking about your entire day even as an adult can seem daunting at times. But, as a doting mother you feel you should at least know a little about the part of their lives that they lead without you being around. Now that she's at primary school, I've been trying a few tricks that seem be coming around a bit, and i really really hope that they keep on helping me.
So instead of a simple "how was school?", i try to ask:::- What was the best thing about school today?
- Who made you laugh today at school? Or who is the funniest person in your class?
- Who was the one you didn't want to sit with at school today?
- Who would you like to play with at recess time tomorrow?
- Who's your new friend at school these days? Or who do you want to be friends with at school?
- When were you bored today?
- Tell me one thing that you learnt today?
- If i get a call from your teacher tonight, what would she say about you?
- Which is your favourite place in school?
- What was your favourite part of lunch?
- What word did your teacher use the most today?
- What was the hardest word you heard today?- And this is my favourite one, as she always tries to say it and generally would make no sense and we'll sit for days figuring out what is that she's trying to say!! haha...
