Restorative Practices at Home

Circles are a great tool for having meaningful conversations as a family. After someone decides a topic, every member of the family gets their turn to share their response without interruption. Everyone’s voice matters, and we all get to know one another a little better.

• During meals or while preparing meals
• During car rides
• During bedtime or morning routines
• Preparing for something stressful
• Through texting

Affective questions elicit expressions of attitude, values, or feelings. These kinds of questions prompt the individual to think about how their behavior impacted others, what can be done to repair harm, and what are the needs of both parties.

• "How do you feel about that?"
• "Is that important to you?
• "Would you like to....?"

Validate Feelings - Make statements and ask questions that validate feelings. Try to stay objective and allow the individual to speak from the heart.

• "Are you alright?"
• "How are you feeling right now?"
• "What do you need now?"
• "What will make it better?"
• "How can I help?"

Perspective Building - Ask questions that rewind the event and give clues to perspectives of all individuals involved.

• "What happened?"
• "What led up to this?"
• "I'm curious - what were you thinking at the time?"
• "How did you feel when that happened?"

Moving forward

• "How can we make sure this doesn't happen again?"
• "What do you need to see happen now?"
• "What can you do in a similar situation?"