Share in your child's learning adventure - How do I get my little munchkin to talk about their day?

For many children and their parents, Grade Four can bring about a real period of change. As many children begin to outgrow the very natural, slightly egocentric viewpoints they held as younger children, they often become less and less inclined to want to talk about themselves, or more specifically their school day, with parents when they get home. For many students in the late primary years, home is a place to 'switch off', it is a place of rest, play and nurture. Like many adults, the last thing some want to do is to have to talk about, and re-live, their 'work' day.

Add in a range of other complicating factors, such as variations in children's ability to identify their own growth over extended periods -particularly in less 'measurable' pursuits such as reading, writing and speaking - as well as the  hidden learning that occurs through genuine play-based and experiential learning, and any discussions that do happen can often leave parents wanting more.

Therein lies a challenge. As parents and carers, we want to respect our children's feelings and be sensitive to their needs, yet we love hearing all about our children's exploits and want to share in their learning adventure. We want to celebrate their achievements with them and support them in the best ways we know how. We want to show them we value learning and we want them to know that we care about them and their day.

So how do we address the challenge? 

Well, hopefully this page offers one possible way of opening the dialog.