Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“If you had unlimited money for one whole day, walk me through exactly how you'd spend it, hour by hour.”
What to listen for
Notice whether the plan is mostly about things (buying, collecting) or about experiences and people (bringing friends along, doing something big together), that split tells you where their excitement currently lives.
If they include other people in the day, especially giving them something, that's a sign they feel good when they get to be generous and want more chances to matter to others.
If they say they don't know, try narrowing it: "okay, just the first hour", some kids need the enormity of the question shrunk down before their imagination can move.
What this tells you
How they'd spend a dream day reveals what actually excites them right now, underneath the routine of school and chores.