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favorite, least favorite, tomorrow…

Oh Joy

Oh Joy

A friend of mine recently told me about a family she knew who played the Rose, Thorn, Bud game every night at dinner. I loved the idea and immediately implemented it for dinner time with our kids—except we call it more literally, "Favorite, Least Favorite, Tomorrow". The idea is that during dinnertime, we go around the table and everyone tells their favorite part of the day, their least favorite part, and what we're looking forward to tomorrow. It often helps us hear more about what Ruby did at school, encourages us to share what we did at work with the kids, and Coco ends up having the same three answers every single day (since she's only 2).

My favorite thing about this daily exercise is that it gives us a moment to reflect upon the day, get caught up on what everyone did at school, home, or at work, and mostly, it has given my kids (mostly Ruby cause she's old enough to process it) a chance to think about both the good and bad parts of a day. And how to look forward to a different and better day tomorrow. It's also given my husband and I a way to tell the kids about not only the best parts—but also the worst—parts of our day. It's made us think how explain to kids why something didn't go great that day and how you still got through it.

If you've never tried it before, I encourage you to. It's so simple, but it makes you stop and reflect even if for only a few minutes. Especially on a day like today when lots of things are changing and you may be unsure of what's next, it helps to make you hopeful towards the potential that every tomorrow holds.

{Photo by Oh Joy}

10 comments

  1. That is such a great idea! I don’t have my own family yet…but even just with my roommate or friends! Thanks for being such a sweet inspiration, Joy! <3
    xoxo

  2. This is a wonderful activity. I mentor in a youth group of high school aged kids and we do “highs and lows” every week, which is similar. I am going to talk to the other mentors about adding in a “hope” for the next week. Thanks for the idea!

  3. Can you share Coco’s answers? I’m so intrigued by what they are! I love her daily “beach” answer on instastories!

  4. Hi Eva,
    Her answers are:
    Choo Choo Train
    Let It Go
    Shoo Fly
    She always says some versions of these three phrases as the answers! ;P
    Joy

  5. LOVE this! Growing up we always did the best part of our day so that my mom could get us talking. One time at a camp we sidnhighs and lows and we always had to do one more high than low but could share however many things we wanted. Love the small prompts instead of the open ended “how was your day?”

  6. We do “highs and lows” in my kindergarten classroom. It’s so amazing to see children learn to reflect on their day, support one another, and even problem solve. For example, when a student reported that he couldn’t find someone to play with at recess, the class shared suggestions on how to solve the problem for the next day. His high the next day? “So many people asked me to play today!” The same thing happens when kids share that they miss their parent who is on a business trip or they report that their sister broke a favorite toy. They celebrate together when someone shares good news about a loose tooth or a trip to the zoo.
    I feel so strongly that making time for this in our day helps our kids learn about the differences (both positive and negative) in the lives of others and how to use those differences to create community. I can’t wait to see what these amazing little people do in their future.

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