Afternoons in many preschoolers' households often sound like this:

Mom: "What did you do in school today?"
Child: "I don't remember."
Mom: "What books did the teachers read?"
Child: Silence and a blank stare.

Though many schools provide parents with a preview of the week's activities – or a wrap-up at the end of the week – trying to get your lil one to open up to you about what they did on a particular day can be compared to pulling teeth.

To get the conversation started, try these tips at the end of the next school day.

• Don't ask, just tell. Rather than pepper your lil one with questions about her day, tell her about something new or different that you did today. Present it in a way that she can relate to so that she can share about her day, too.
• Shake up the routine. Don't ask the same questions in the same order every day. Rotate the questions you ask and how they are presented.
• Make it funny. Try telling them about their day by substituting out-of-place details at key points. This should get them talking about what really happened.

To see the rest of our suggestions, read more.

• Move beyond yes and no. Questions that simply require a yes or no answer are not going to spark a conversation. Asking about their favorite part of their day or who they sat next to for snack may start a discussion rather than a dead end.
• Remove distractions. If your lil one has been in school all day and is now home with his favorite toys, he is more likely to play with his toys than speak. Try to hold the conversation in a space where he won't be distracted.

Do you have any tried-and-true tricks to get your wee ones talking?