20 Powerful Questions to Ask Your Kid on the Last Day of School
Every year, my family has a favorite go-to tradition on the last day of school.
We don’t post first-and-last-day-of-school photos of our kids on Facebook. We don’t fill our car with balloons for that last school pickup. And we don’t have ice cream for dinner. (Or at least we don’t have ice cream for dinner every year.)
Our one tried-and-true, never-miss-it last day of school tradition is something completely different.
Every year, we ask our kids 20 questions.
Bonus: As a bonus for joining my weekly newsletter, get this free printable last-day-of-school questionnaire and fill it out with your child to capture a heartwarming snapshot of them as they are right now.
The BEST Last Day of School Interview
This isn’t a random game of “Twenty Questions.” During our last day of school interview, we ask our kids the same questions every year. Questions that are perfect for finding out what’s really on their minds at the start of the summer.
Questions like:
- What’s one thing you learned this year?
- What do you want to make this summer?
- By the end of this summer, how will you be different?
Our kids’ answers give us a powerful peek inside their minds at each age. Like the year my oldest said her favorite color was “rainbow,” or when my second oldest said the worst part of summer is “hotness,” or this year when one of my kids said the one place she wants to go this summer is “the place where I can eat all the candy I want.” (Girl, SAME.)
A while back, I made a free printable last day of school interview for our own family, and today I’m sharing it with you so you can get in on the fun too.
Related: 100 Non-Boring Questions for Kids to Get Them Talking
A Free Printable to Remember Your Kid’s Dreams for Summer
What little project is bouncing around in your child’s mind as he starts his summer vacation? What is your daughter most looking forward to over the break? How do your kids see themselves changing over the summer?
Use this free printable last day of school interview to capture the wild schemes your kids are brewing at the start of the summer – from building an epic sandcastle to finishing a 10,000-piece jigsaw puzzle to seeing how many days in a row they can get away with skipping a bath.
Use these pages to record what they remember learning in school this year. To find out what you can do to make their little hearts sing this summer.
After you’re done, file the last day of school interview or stick it in a binder. It’s the perfect complement to this printable with 20 first day of school questions.
Then in a year or 5 years or when your kid is heading to college – or all of the above – you and your child can flip through their answers together. You’ll smile, you’ll laugh, you might even cry.
This snapshot of your child’s hopes and dreams at the start of every summer will be a gift to both of you for years to come.
Here’s the first page. Scroll below the photo for a link where you can get the full printable, including all the fun summer questions on the second page.
Related: 16 Powerful, Creative Ways to Preserve Memories With Your Kids And Make Time Slow Down
Get Your Free Printable Last Day of School Interview
Don’t worry if it’s a week or even a month into the summer break, and you haven’t done this yet. It’s never too late to start.
- Get the last day of school interview. You’ll get the printable, plus join my weekly newsletter! Just click here to get it and subscribe.
- Print. Any paper will do the trick, but card stock† would be ideal. (Note: The first two pages are for elementary-school-aged kids, the next two are for middle-school kids, and the last two pages are for high-school kids. The main difference is the wording on a couple questions and that the formatting for the bigger kids’ versions is a teensy bit more grown-up compared to the other versions.)
- Interview your child, write down their adorable answers, and you’re DONE.
Want More Awesome Questions?
For an everyday peek inside our children’s hearts, we keep our favorite set of family conversation starters in a mason jar on the kitchen counter. That way, it’s ready to go for the times we need an extra dose of connection.
We use these questions every night with our kids, and they’ve been a game-changer, helping us end every day feeling connected, loved, and happy. Click here to get your own set.
Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear
Your Turn
What’s your favorite question for a last day of school interview? Share in a comment below!
Feature photo in Pinterest image by D Sharon Pruitt.
Wow, this is such a fun idea! I’m so glad I happened upon your website, and happened to check out this article so near the end of my own kid’s very first school year. :)
I honestly thought I was going to sign up for your newsletters just to get that one thing I was interested in (the one to curb whining :P) but I am finding that I really like your style and I am looking forward to checking out a few of your other ideas too. Cheers! And thank you for putting yourself and your ideas out there! :)
Thanks for this lovely idea which just has reached Germany :) I translated the questions and wrote them down in a little journal for my daughter to fill in. Now I’m going to buy a second journal for my son. And maybe even a third, for my other son, who is just three but will probably want to join the party!
Hi, I’m trying to find the first and last day of school interviews for each grade level. I keep trying, but the link emailed to me keeps giving me the first and last day of summer interviews. I’m hoping you still have them for each grade level. I’ve done them with all of my kiddos since Pre-K! (Finishing the 12th year with your interviews!)