Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“What's the last thing you built or made completely out of nothing?”
What to listen for
An excited, detailed description shows real creative confidence, they trust their own ideas enough to bring them into the world without needing instructions.
If they mention making it for someone else or to show someone, that tells you creating things is also how they connect and seek approval right now.
If they can't think of anything recent, that might just mean their days have been busier with structured activities lately, worth carving out some open-ended time this week.
What this tells you
This shows how much room they currently have to create freely without a set outcome in mind.