To get their imagination flowing, ask your kids open-ended questions like these:

1.   What would make today a great day? If you find yourself with a free day with nothing to do, ask your kids first thing in the morning what would make this day perfect. Their responses will enable you to see what they’re thinking and feeling. You can have a whole discussion on what the perfect day looks like, and then, if possible, do as many of those things as you can! When kids see their visions come to life, it encourages them to keep thinking outside the box.

2.   What do you think a good title for a book would be? It seems like a simple question – but naming a book forces creative thinking about the story’s content, without your kids even realizing they’re doing it. Take it a step further by encouraging them to write and illustrate a short story with that title!

3. If you were given a million dollars, how would you spend it? The answers you get to this question can be very telling in terms of what’s important to your kids. It’s a good question to ask periodically as your kids grow – you’ll see the answers go from materialistic to altruistic and everything in between. Let this question start a discussion and encourage them to think of ideas they hadn’t considered before.

Questions like these help kids of any age think outside of the box. For more ideas on connecting and communicating with your children, visit our website.