This contest is now closed.
But you can still buy my book here!
AND please click here for a FREE DOWNLOAD - the fruit of this contest- 60 good questions for kids!
If you like that, don't miss Good Questions for Valentine's Day!
---------
You are hereby invited to participate in a contest hosted for my own purely selfish motives.
The prize: A free copy of my book, Weak and Loved,.
My selfish motives include, but are not limited to, the following:
I want you to share my website.
I want you to help me have a peaceful road trip with my children.
I want you to read my book.
The contest: That's a good question!
How to play:
Imagine you are stuck in a car for innumerable hours with six children under the age of nine. Imagine the strong desire you have to keep the peace, so Father can drive. Imagine also that you are a dreamer; that even in this cramped van smelling like chicken nuggets, you aspire to create a family bonding experience.Now, get creative. Work with me. Let's get the children talking, thinking, and imagining. (I need your help, because this is when I start staring blankly out the window and the creativity disappears in car sickness and clock-watching.)
Write a good question, using one of the following formats:
What would you do if...
If you had to choose between...
Questions may be simple or complex, and they may contain more than one clause or question.
Good example:
What would you do if a giant rat knocked on your door and asked you for some cheese? What would you do if that rat was a mother rat with babies?
Bad example:
If you had to choose between eating cereal covered in dog drool or sleeping on a pillow made out of dirty diapers, what would you choose?
(This is a bad example because 1. It's gross and 2. The responses would mostly be limited to "ewww." Not much intellectual stimulation.)
Please avoid the following subject matters: body fluids of people or animals, potty humor, private body parts, or other gross stuff. The children will already be talking about most of these things.
How to enter:
Leave your ideas in the comment section, on my facebook page, or email me at emilymariecook AT weakandloved DOT com. Then, please share this post with your friends. The contest will be open until midnight Wednesday, January 18. Multiple entries will be accepted and will count individually for the random drawing.
How to win:
Two winners will be chosen.
1. The Creative Genius will be chosen by my children and me, after our upcoming very long car ride. The winning question will be the question that gets the biggest and best reaction from the children. It will get them thinking, debating, and imagining... for at least 5 consecutive minutes. (I'm dreaming big!) If all goes well, I will have stories to share!
2. The Lucky One will be chosen at random via random.org.
I will announce the winners on January 30.
(Please allow 2-4 weeks for shipping. See complete contest rules here.)
Soooo...
If you had to choose between entering this contest (thus helping me and my kids, giving yourself a chance to win my book, and sharing my site, and making my day), or ignoring this completely..... what would you chose?
What would you do if Jesus invited you to ascend into heaven now? Would you go, or would you stay? What would you do if you stayed here?
ReplyDeleteI hope this is the sort of question you were looking for.
God's blessings.
Rick
Emily, I love your idea of having a fun "conversational" type of game for the log car ride. My mom said when I was about 4 I would walk around asking people questions like "would you rather get run over by a truck or find a nickel?" Deep, huh? Anyway, how about what kind of tropical or jungle animal would you want for a pet? Why?
ReplyDeleteYes! These are great!
ReplyDeleteTheology- biology- zoology- all good topics!
(though they are a little too young for politics or current events... but not too young for basic economics... hmmmm)
I have a scenario question with multiple possible follow-up questions:
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do if one of your toys came to life? If you could pick a toy to come to life, which one would it be (and why)? What would the toy do? How long would you want it to be alive (and why)?
(The last one might get the obvious response of "forever", but maybe one of the older children will think about the consequences and/or responsibilities involved with having a living toy.)
I used to pretend my stuffed animals had unique personalities and wish they would come to life on a regular basis. :D
If you had to choose between doing your Mom's job for a day or doing your Dad's job for a day, which would you choose and why?
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do if Jesus came (in person, so you can see him) to stay at your house for a day? How would you know it's Him? Would you invite anyone else over? If so, who?
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do if you were given a super power for a day? What would your super power be and why?
ReplyDeleteIf you had to choose between being an animal or a kitchen appliance for a day, which would you choose and why? What animal or kitchen appliance would you be?
ReplyDeleteIf you had to choose between being super fast or invisible, which would you choose and why?
ReplyDeleteIf you had to choose one food that would be the only thing you ate for the rest of your life, what would you choose?
ReplyDeleteI think about this a lot.
What would you do if you were stranded on the moon and an alien spaceship full of friendly aliens came and rescued you? How would you feel if they took you to their planet before bringing you home? What would you do during your stay there? :)
ReplyDeleteafter having experienced your life as you see it now...if you could have chosen to be a girl or boy, which one would you choose and why?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat if you could bring back "one" person back from heaven? Would that person be family, best friend or a great leader and how would that person impact you and your life?
ReplyDeleteSuppose you stop for gas on your road trip at the nearest truck stop/McDonald's because you just have to get another Happy Meal and a scruffy looking man walks up to you asking for change for food...what do you do? Do you pretend to ignore him? Do you say sorry I have none? Or do you reach and give whatever you can? Would you hug this person? Would you dare say, "Jesus loves you sir?" Now...how would you react if it were a woman or perhaps a child? What would Jesus do?
ReplyDeleteThese are GREAT! I can't wait to try them out on the kiddos! I am sure I will have plenty of stories to share!
ReplyDeleteKeep the good questions coming!
What would you do if you were a tiny ant living in your own backyard for a day? How would you cope when it rained or snowed, when the humans came out to play in the yard, when you needed to eat? What would the world look like.
ReplyDeleteIf you could be any crayon for a day, which would you be and why? (I'd be yellow, bright & warm like the sun!)
ReplyDeleteWhat would you do if God asked you to pick a season for it to be for a whole year? What season would you pick and why?
If you had to choose between losing your sight for a day or your hearing for a day, which would you choose? (my boys r fighting, I pick hearing today!)
If you could take a group of friends (with supervision of course ;) anywhere in the world for one day where would you go? What would you do there? Why did you pick that place?
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read your book. I'm ordering one right after I comment. :)
(I'd like to put up a book review on my blog once I've read it. I just ordered it. :)
ReplyDeleteI love these questions!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd Leah- I am so grateful for your willingness to review it! I hope you like it :)
We have a three yr old and four yr old. We usually ask the straight up "If you could be an animal, what animal would you be?" or "If you were a colour, what colour would you be?" or "If you could sing a song, what song would you sing?"
ReplyDeleteAnd . . . that's it. My husband's way better at this than me.
Exciting, huh? :D
What if you got them to tell a story?
Like:
"If you wrote a story, would it be about a little boy or a little girl or an animal?"
(assuming they go with the kid)
"What would their name be?"
"Where would they live?"
"Do they have brothers and sisters?"
"How many? Names?"
"Pets?"
"What's their favourite food?"
"What does their house look like?"
"What is their best friend's name?"
"Do their Papa and Nana live close by?"
"What is their favourite treat Nana makes?"
Etc etc
Each kid can either add on or have their own turn.
Another option might be to have the talkers bring a book with them and try to tell you the story from memory?
ReplyDeleteAs for the readers, maybe they could read aloud to the crew?
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Brambly-Hedge-Jill-Barklem/dp/0007450168/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0
Multi-age friendly, you just have to edit out the one pagan nature worship sentence. Truly, there's just one :P
Lastly, if you have a stomach of steel :D
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=geography+songs&sprefix=geogr%2Caps%2C243
I know this isn't really in keeping with the contest, but you'll need all the ammo you can tote :)
OK contest closed last night! I'm working on the master file now! Great job everyone!
ReplyDelete(and lisa, thanks for the extra ideas; you are right I need every piece of ammo I can tote! I haven't read the Jill Barklem series- do your kids enjoy those? I always love hearing about kids books!)