Getting your teens to talk

When you ask your child how his day was, do you get one word answers like "Fine"? Try asking open ended questions such as, "What was the best (or worst) thing that happened to you at school this week?" Instead of "Are you done with your homework?" ask a question like, "What interesting homework assignments or projects do you have coming up?" If you ask an open ended question, you're much more likely to get an answer that can start a conversation.

It also helps to make it a two-way street. Be sure to talk to your kids about what's going on at work or in your life - especially as they get older.

Does anyone else have any conversation starting tricks, especially for tweens and teens?

Carpool Confusion

I have two children that each belong to multiple carpools and it was driving me crazy trying to keep track of the different schedules. I have been using Google Calendar for the last year or so to organize our carpool schedules and to share them with other parents we carpool with. This has been going pretty well, but it doesn't have very sophisticated notification. A new service I just found seems like it might fit the bill. Check out https://www.dividetheride.com/ if you're looking for a free carpool organizer that notifies you when plans change.