Conversation Starters : Ages 2-7
What is your favorite silly face to make? Silly sound?
If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
Name three things that are fun for you.
What is your favorite silly face to make? Silly sound?
If you joined the circus, what would your circus act be?
Name three things that are fun for you.
What is one thing you are waiting for, or looking forward to, right now?
What is your favorite part of the school day?
What was your favorite thing you did this summer? Why was it your favorite?
What’s something you couldn’t do when you were younger that you can do now?
What is something you are waiting for, or looking forward to, right now?
What does it mean to be patient?
In the Elephant and Piggie Book Waiting is Not Easy, Elephant has a hard time waiting. Do you have a hard time waiting for things? Like what?
Do you know what it means to have a crush on someone? Have you ever had a crush on anyone? Has anyone ever had one on you?
Do animals show each other love? How?
If you could marry anyone in the world, who would you marry and why?
Do you have any resolutions or goals for this year? Name three.
What was your least favorite moment or memory from the past year? Why?
What is your favorite moment or memory from last year? Why?
If you could go anywhere in the world (or out of this world) where would you go? What would you do there?
What’s one new activity you’d like to try but are scared to try? Why are you scared?
Do you have a favorite memory of something you did with your family or at school? Tell a story about it.
Dream up a superhero dedicated to giving. What’s his or her name? What would he/she do?
Do you know someone who is a giving person? Who is it and what makes them so?
How do your friends or family help you?
Can you think of a real person or a television, book or movie character who acts like a bully. How?
What does the word “bullying” mean to you?
In the book Wemberly Worried, Wemberly the mouse worries about everything, including school. Do you worry about school? What do you worry about?
If you were a teacher and could teach your students anything at all, what would you teach them?
What do you like most about school so far?
What is your favorite summer food to eat?
Name one thing you saw this summer that you’d never seen before.
What was your favorite thing you did this summer? Why was it your favorite?
If you were free to do anything you wanted all day, what would you do?
What do you think about rules? Do you think they’re important? What are some rules you have in your home or at school?
Talk in detail about something or someone you’ve seen change, like a sibling, the moon or a caterpillar.
If you could change one thing about your family or about school, what would it be?
In the book Green Eggs and Ham, Sam-I-am refuses to try green eggs and ham. Then he does and he likes them. Has something similar ever happened to you?
Questions to spark a conversation with your family.
Name three springtime activities that make you happy.
If you were a season, which season would you be and why?
What will you miss most about winter?
There’s a song that goes: “when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore…’ What other foods does the moon look like?
What makes you feel loved?
Name five people you love most in the world, and why (animals are OK too).
What personality traits did you get from each of your parents? (ie patient like dad, friendly like mom, etc.)
Name your favorite tradition for each season, e.g. drinking hot chocolate in winter.
Come up with three silly new traditions for the world. Or for aliens on another planet!
If you could create a new tradition for our family, what would it be? Or how would you change a family tradition we already have?
Talk about two things for which you felt thankful or grateful for today.
How do you feel when you receive thank you cards from your friends or when they say ‘thank you’? Why?
Who is your favorite storybook character? What do you imagine he or she feels thankful for?
Have you ever been teased by a friend? How did it make you feel? How do you think a friend feels when he or she gets teased?
Talk about something nice someone did for you this week, or something that made you feel better.
If you had superpowers, what would they be and how would you use them to help people?
What is your favorite thing to do outside?
What one thing do you do now that you need an adult for but would like to try to do all by yourself?
“A person’s a person no matter how small…” writes Dr. Seuss in his classic book Horton Hears a Who. What do you think he means by that? (or if you own the book The Sneetches, read and discuss).
Tell a story of eating over at a friend’s house.
Have you met any new kids since you went back to school or daycare? How are they different from you?
What is one way you have shown compassion to a friend recently or a friend showed compassion to you?
Talk about the last movie you saw or book you read where someone was compassionate.
What does it mean to be compassionate? How is this different than just being “nice”?
Have you ever had a fight with a friend? How did you resolve the fight?
What are the qualities of a bad friend?
Who is your best friend? Why?
Talk about a time when you showed loyalty to a friend. How about a family member?
What does it mean to be loyal? How is this different than just being a good friend or a good sibling, daughter, son, etc?
What are 3 things you can do for someone who isn’t feeling well?
How do you know when you can trust another person?
Do you like when other people share with you? Why?
What is one thing you did today that helped other people?
What is one way that you take care of yourself?
If you are sick or sad, what can someone do to care for you?
What was one caring thing that each person sitting at the table has done for you in the last week?
What is one thing you can do to help a friend (in the next day, week, month, year)?
What can you give or do for someone that doesn’t cost any money?
What is something you own and love that you would like to share with someone else?
What was the best gift you ever received?
Who at school makes it feel fun?
What is your favorite thing to share with friends? What is the hardest thing to share?
Tell me your favorite story about our family. Why do you like this story in particular?
Do you know any stories about your grandparents when they were kids?
Tell me about your favorite activity in school. What did you learn from this activity?
What is the best book you have read in school this year?
What is it like to be a kid? What is it like to be a parent?
Who is the funniest person you know?
Who did you play with today?
What is the earliest story you know about an ancestor?
Do you know some of the jobs that your parents had when they were young?
Do you know some of the lessons that your parents learned from good or bad experiences they had during their childhoods?
Do you know how your name was chosen, or how your parents’ names were chosen?
Do you know the story about how your parents met?
What is your latest project?
What is your earliest memory? If you were to write your autobiography, would you start with this memory or with a different one?
What traits about your mom or dad would you like to have when you are a grown up?
What are some things other people do that cheer you up when you’re down?
What would you say to someone who wanted to give up on a task you knew they could finish?
What would you say to someone who was sad?
What would motivate you to try new foods or activities?
What were you excited about when you got out of bed this morning?
What would your perfect day be like? Where would you go? Who would be with you?
If you woke up tomorrow and could do one thing that you can’t do right now, what would it be?
What was your last thought before going to sleep last night?
Tell me what you think the future will be like.
Why do you think it’s important to not give up on something right away?
Have you ever had trouble doing something at first, but kept at it until you figured it out? What was it?
What’s one fun thing you hope to do in the next year?
On your first day off, what’s the one thing you really want to do?
What are you hoping to do this summer?
What would you like to do this weekend?
Who is your favorite character from a book or movie? Would you make the same choices in his/her shoes?
How do animals show their loyalty? If you have a pet, how do you show loyalty to each other?
How do your favorite cartoon characters show loyalty to each other? Think of Batman and Robin or Shaggy and Scooby, for example.
If snow could fall in any flavor you choose, what flavor would it be?
If you had a pet dragon, what would you name it? What would you do together?
If your pet could talk, what do you think s/he might say?
If you were king or queen of the world, what would you do?
What is your favorite silly face to make? Silly sound?
What would you like to be for Halloween this year?
If you had an extra room in your house, what would you use it for?
If you met a group of aliens who were very different from you, how would you treat them?
If you traveled to space, what would you miss from Earth? Why?
Would you ever travel into space? Where would you go?
Imagine you are a part of a family of animals in the woods. What animal would you choose to be? Act out the animal, and see if your family can guess what it is!
If you had 3 wishes, what would they be? (And you can’t wish for more wishes!)
If you could be an animal, what would you want to be? Why?
If you did the grocery shopping, what would you buy?
If you could grow a mustache, would you do it? What would it look like?
How old do kids need to be before you think it’s ok to have a Facebook account? Why?
What is your favorite animal?
How do you feel about bugs?
Would you rather be very tall or very short?
What is your favorite game to play with the family?
Do you think it’s more fun to be a parent or a child?
What special talent(s) do you have?
What does your teacher do really well?
What is your favorite food? Your least favorite?
What is your favorite season? What do you like about it?
How do you feel about sharing? Do you like to share? Why or why not?
How do daddy or mommy show fairness at home? Or how does your teacher show fairness at school?
In the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Alexander has a bad day. Have you ever had a bad day? Did it get better? How?
What is one thing you enjoy being responsible for?
What are 3 things you have to do every day, whether you like it or not?
What has been your favorite part of school this year?
What is your favorite part of the school day?
When you are really upset, what helps calm you down?
What is your favorite place in the world to sit quietly?
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever eaten?
What do you do each day to recharge after a long day? Do you typically get to do this every day? Why or why not?
Tell us a story about something that happened today at school and another story that you made up about something that happened. We’ll try to guess which is which.
What is one thing that happened today that made you feel: happy, silly, friendly, smart? (Perhaps try a different adjective each day.)
Do you know how much your family loves you? How can you tell?
What would you do if you saw someone being treated unfairly?
What is your favorite thing to do as a family?
What are the qualities of a good friend?
What do you think makes a person popular?
Who did you sit with at lunch today?
What rules do you have to follow at school?
What rules do you have to follow at home?
What do you like to do on rainy days?
In The Lorax, Dr Seuss writes “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” What do you care about a lot?
What did you do today that you are proud of doing?
What does it mean to be brave?
What are you looking forward to about next year?
What does it mean to be hopeful?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Has a wish you made ever come true? What was it?
Have you ever had a recurring dream (one that you have over and over again)?
What is something that you dream about?
If people count sheep to get to sleep, what do sheep count?
If you could have any zoo animal as a pet, what animal would you pick?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you want to live?
If you could choose another name for yourself, would you? What name would you choose?
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what food would you choose?
What do you do when you are afraid?
What is your favorite season? What do you like about it?
What is your favorite type of weather?
What is your favorite food? Your least favorite?
What’s your favorite thing to do outside?
If you had three cookies and five friends, what would you do to make it fair for everybody?