Table Topics   Updated daily!
March 13, 2008
Mind-stretching brain games and conversation starters.
It's the perfect opportunity for sharing stories, building knowledge, strengthening character, and having fun!

There is not a person living who has not done something that he or she later regretted. The lessons we learn from these experiences are what is referred to as "The School of Hard Knocks".

Take turns telling a story about a time when you did something that you wished you had not done. Is this hard for some members of your family to do? Probably, it isn't always easy to admit to our mistakes. But remember, telling about the hard lessons that you learned might prevent someone else from repeating those same mistakes.

Each story teller should also include an explanation of how he or she knew what had been done was not the right thing.

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      Practice Critical Thinking

The brain does not do its best work when asked only to memorize facts. True learning comes from making meaning of what is learned.

How do you make meaning from what is being learned? Deepening understanding is necessary--getting the facts behind the situation. Let's approach this from the direction of the people who seem to be best at getting the facts: reporters. Ask yourself these questions:

Who -   Who will benefit from me learning this information?  The obvious answer, of course, is that you will gain new knowledge.  But look for other benefits.  Learning about bacteria and viruses will allow you to help prevent the spread of disease.

What -  What information is being presented?  This is the paying attention part!

Where - In what situations will this information be important?  Will I take this information into the work field, on to the playground, share it at the dinner table?

When -  Is this knowledge something that I will using today, or is it a skill block that will be used to build on later? The example above of preventing the spread of disease is knowledge that you can put to immediate use. Many math  skills are bits of knowledge that are important to understand so that you can perform harder number manipulations later on.

How -   How does it all come together?  This is how you combine facts and understanding that were learned separately and put them into the bigger picture. Take these facts for example: 

1) the earth sits on a tilted axis and revolves around the sun  
2) polar bears live in the north and have heavy fur coats
3) leaves turn red and gold in the autumn and fall off.

Put these facts together and you have a good idea of how climate is affected by both latitude and time of year.

Why -   Why do you want to continue learning new things and stretching your amazing brain to immense proportions?  The simplest truth here is because it feels good to know and to understand!