Rhyming Prompt: December 21
How are you doing, my dearest friend?
Every once in a while, I like to spend
Some time checking in, and listening, too.
It feels awfully good when friends listen to you.
Why don’t you ask someone how they are today?
Then be sure to respond to whatever they say.
Download the prompts for December 21-24 here as a PDF or here as a Microsoft Word Document.
A close-up of the December 21 prompt. It is printed on cream cardstock with a green border and a green wax impression of a frog. It is nestled in a lit Christmas tree.
Other Materials:
None needed.
Suggested Pose:
Frantz is posed with a friend, and they are having a conversation and listening to each other.
Frantz is sitting on a bookshelf beside a frog friend. They’re having a conversation and he is listening. The prompt is on their laps.
Activity:
Invite your child to ask someone how they are doing. This could be you, anyone who lives in your house, or anyone else they want to call.
Rationale:
So many of the questions we ask each other are simply phatic—we’re asking them because it’s an expected social interaction, and not because we actually want an answer. This activity is meant to disrupt that rote element of socialization and encourage our children to really listen to other people.
Book Recommendation:
I really like Quiet Please, Owen McPhee by Trudy Ludwig and Patrice Barton for this. It’s about a boy who talks so much that he often forgets to listen, but when he gets laryngitis, he gets a chance to see how important listening skills can be. You can watch a read aloud here.
An image of the cover of Quiet Please, Owen McPhee by Trudy Ludwig and Patrice Barton.