What Happened Today?
Parent invites child to narrate a recent event or experience using connected sentences. Agent coaches the parent to observe narrative coherence — whether the story has temporal sequence, causal links, and makes sense to a listener who wasn't there. Three phases: open recall, guided probe, and coherence check.
Opens a guided voice session in TogetherTime.
What you'll need
Pick a recent event you both experienced but let child narrate it — do not prompt with the story. Works best about 30-60 minutes after an event, or at bedtime recap.
How it works
- 1~40s
Ask your child: 'Can you tell me about something that happened today?' or 'What did you do at [school/the park/grandma's] today?' Then wait — don't prompt, don't fill in. Just listen. Tell me what your child says and how they structures it.
Watch for: Child describes a recent event using connected sentences
- 2~50s
Now follow up with open probes only — no supplying content. Try: 'What happened next?', 'And then what?', 'Why did that happen?', 'How did that make you feel?' Listen for whether your child extends the story or gets stuck. Tell me how the story develops.
Watch for: Child extends narrative coherently with open probes
- 3~40s
Final check: ask your child to 'tell the whole story to someone who wasn't there' — pretend you don't know what happened. Just listen. Does your child provide enough context for a true outsider to understand? Or does they assume you know the background? Tell me.
Watch for: Child provides sufficient context for a listener without shared knowledge