Magic Microphone

When our oldest daughter started school this year, I never imagined that I would have any trouble finding out about her days away from me. For some reason, by the time she gets home from school she is not in the mood to talk. I thought about this for a week or two, hoping things would change and wondering what I could do to find out more about her days. Travis and I finally came up with the "Magic Microphone". Our "MM" is really a wire whisk, but the kids love it and call it the Magic Microphone. How it works is Mommy or Daddy starts by asking someone at the table a question. Travis and I usually ask questions like "Did you make any new friends today?" or "What was the best part of your day? Who did you play with at recess, sit with at lunch? What was one new thing you learned today? What made you laugh? Did anything make you sad?" and other questions along those lines. The person holding the MM asks a question to anyone at the table they choose. They give the MM to the person to answer. And after they answer they choose someone else to ask a question to. You are only allowed to talk if you have the MM, everyone else has to listen. This has been working out better than planned. A few times when the kids have had friends over to dinner, their friends have loved it and ask every time they come over to play with the MM.
I especially love that the kids are asking questions about everybody's day. We hear all about Daddy's day, and find out what he enjoys most. The kid's questions can get a little funny like "What would you do if you had a farm and had lots and lots of animals"- to which Daddy replies "I would wake up my kids really early in the morning to feed and care for the animals so I can sleep in"... the kids laugh and laugh and have lots of fun. We have only been doing this for a month or so, I hope the kids don't get tired of it! It is definitely my favorite part of my day!