• Index cards 
• Markers 
• (If you prefer, you can type, print and cut out question cards.) 

Step 1: Write a question on each card.

Step 2: Ask your child one of the questions and encourage her to give reasons that support her answer. Remember to ask the important question, “Why?” Keep the conversation going by inviting others to agree or disagree and give their reasons. Here are some suggested questions, but feel free to use your own!

What would be more fun: spending a day swimming in the ocean or spending a day playing in the snow? 

• Which is more delicious: an apple or an orange? 
• Would you rather go up and down a slide all day long or swing on a swing set all day long? 
• What kind of musical instrument do you wish you could play? (examples: guitar, drums, violin, piano, saxophone, trumpet) 
• If an animal had to come to our house for vacation, would you want it to be a hippo or a panda bear? 
• What is a job you’d like to have? 
• If you had a robot, what would you make it do? 
• Is it more fun to Hula-Hoop or jump rope? 
• Would you rather have purple hair or purple hands? 
• If there were no cups or glasses, what would you drink out of? 
• Would you like to go on an adventure under the sea or in outer space? 
• If you weren’t allowed to walk, would you rather get places by hopping or skipping? 
• Which would be more fun: being in an airplane or being on a train? 
• What is one thing you like about the person to your left? 
• What is one thing you like about the person to your right? 
• What would you do to cheer up a person who feels sad? 
• Would you rather plant a flower garden or a vegetable garden? 

Step 3: Add more question cards as you work through this set. Have fun!

Supply details that may help your child reach a conclusion. For example, if the question is, “If an animal had to come to our house for vacation, would you want it to be a hippo or a panda bear?” you can offer some information to help her decide. You might say:  

“Hippos like to stand in water, they walk slowly and they eat mostly grass. Where could a hippo stand in the water at our house?” or “Pandas like to climb trees, they are furry and they mostly eat bamboo (which is a long green plant). What could a panda climb at our house?” 

Probe your child further when she gives her reasoning. Add some “what if” questions to exercise her decision-making and problem-solving skills. Ask your child to come up with questions of her own.