Ask Me About My Day: The Importance of Reflection
Let’s walk you through a very important 20-30 minutes in your child’s life that happens almost every day. It is 5:00pm and you pull into Greater Midland Community Center’s parking lot. You park and enter the Early Care and Education doors to pick up your child after they have spent most of the day at school. You place your mask on your face, and walk into the building. That first moment your child sees you, they do not get to see your big smile or the full excitement you feel because of the mask blocking some of your face. Wearing a mask when you first see them, makes how you communicate in the next few minutes even more important!
No matter if you are heading home, or going to run errands. You normally ask your child, “How was your day? Did you do anything fun today?” Do you get the typical “I don’t know” or “Nothing” response? If so, we are all in the same boat at one point in our child’s educational journey! Below are some tips to highlight some key parts of their day to help promote recalling activities.
Here are some tips:
When you get into the car, try to reflect on the day as soon as possible. I know often we get going to the next part of the day, but by making the effort to reflect on the day immediately, this shows the children that you are invested in their school.
At school, we have a daily routine that consists of the following parts, Large Group, Small Group, Work Time, Story Time, etc. When asking “What did you do for large group today?” This helps the child focus on one part of the day versus the entire day.
When talking about school, show excitement. This helps set up your child for success. I know we all have those days that are hard, but if we help find one positive moment, this will help them have a positive outlook on school as well.
Repeat back to them what they said and provide a follow up. When you do this, it teaches the child that their conversations are worth your time, which will build on their self-confidence.
Be in communication with your child’s teacher. See what theme they are learning about, if anything fun is coming up. All of our teachers have lesson plans! Ask to see them! By knowing what is planned for the day, this can help guide conversations with your child.
Tell them about your day! Tell them something exciting that may have happened. Or even something that was not so great, but how you handled it positively. This shows that your day is not always perfect, but it is how we react/handle the situation is what determines the outcome.
We all have a million tasks to complete every day after work/school. By taking time out of your busy schedule to help your child reflect, you’ll help build a stronger relationship/bond. Also, do not hesitate to reach out to their teacher. If you are struggling with recalling activities, let them know! We love having families involved in their child’s education!
For more information on this topic, check out these great resources:
Tired of hearing “fine”? 10 tips to get your child to talk about school
How planning and reflection develop young children’s thinking skills
