50 Questions to Ask Kids After School Instead of What Did You Learn Today?

One of the hardest parts of being a mom is seeing my kids go off to school and not knowing every single piece of their school day story. It’s just so hard to extract information out of them!

I can’t be the only one out there who’s asked a kid, “what did you do today at school” and hear “nothing” or “I don’t know.”  In an effort to extract more information out of my kids about their day, I came with a set of questions to learn more about their day.

50 Questions to Ask Kids After School Instead of What Did You Learn Today?

Who did you sit with at lunch today?
Who traded at the lunch table today?
What color were the teacher’s shoes today?
Who did you sit with on the bus?
What book did the teacher read to you today?
Who did you sit next to during circle time?
Who said something kind to you today? What did they say?
Who did you say something nice to today? What did you say?
What did you play at recess?
Who needs a friend at school?
What did you do after lunch?
What did you do today right before lunch?
What word did the teacher say a lot today?
Who said something that made you laugh today?
What did you play with during choice time?
How does the teacher tell the class to be quiet?
Who isn’t in your class, but you wish was?
What did you have for snack?
Who was the line leader today?
Who was absent today?
Who has a really neat backpack?
What posters do you like looking at in the classroom?
Where is your desk? Who do you sit near?
What was your favorite part of the day today?
Did you see the principle today? What did they say to you?
Did you see the janitor today? What were they doing?
What were some of the school announcements today?
If you could change anything about school, what would it be?
Who has a fun lunchbox? What does it look like?
What is the most traded lunch item at your table?
Which other class did you see today? Where did you see them?
Who is your classroom buddy? What are you working on?
If your teacher wasn’t a teacher, what other job would they be good at?
What color shirt did your teacher wear today?
Who visited your classroom today?
If you went to the office today, what did you go there for? Did you get to run an errand?
If you could change seats with anyone in class, who would you trade with? Why?
What do you want to learn more about at school?
What do you want to learn less about at school?
What do you wish the teacher knew about you?
If you could trade seats with anyone in class, who would you chose?
What special class did you have today? What was your favorite part of that time?
If you could be the teacher, what would you do?
Who would you like to get to know better from your class?
What is one crazy thing that happened at school today?
What would happen if you brought your pet to school?
If I got an email from your teacher today, what would it say?
Did you see someone’s mom or dad today? Who?
What does your favorite pencil look like?
Would you rather write with a pencil or pen? Why?

Here are a few tips to make sure after school time together includes lots of smile worthy moments.


Timing is everything. While it is our instinct to barrage our kids with a million questions when we see them after school, give them a chance to get settled.

Set the stage for homework. Keep all the supplies you need to help your kids do their homework in one spot. Our spot is the kitchen table and I like to keep all of our supplies right off the side of the table.

Just pick one. Instead of overwhelming them with a huge list of questions, just pick one from the list and ask. When they answer, keep the conversation going by asking a follow up question.

Ask them over a snack. When the school day ends, my kids need a snack! It’s so much easier to keep them talking when there is a snack to share too.

Goldfish® are the perfect afternoon snack for us. Here’s why we love them.

They are always baked with real cheese.
There are no artificial flavors or preservatives.
Goldfish® are colored with colors sourced from plants such as annatto extracted from the reddish seeds of the Achiote tree.
Want even more great ideas about how to cultivate smile worthy moments with your kids after school? Follow Goldfish® on Pinterest, YouTube or visit their website!