Tonight with your 9 to 12 year old
The prompt
“If you had unlimited supplies and nobody to tell you no, what would you build?”
What to listen for
If the answer is big, weird, or wildly detailed, their imagination is running free and unguarded, a great sign they feel safe enough to dream out loud without worrying it'll sound dumb.
If they hedge with "that's impossible" or make it small and practical, they might be a little too used to filtering their ideas before sharing them, worth reminding them dumb ideas are welcome here.
If they can't think of anything, don't worry, try again another night with a narrower prompt like a treehouse or a room.
What this tells you
This shows you how free they feel to imagine without self-editing, which says a lot about how safe their inner world feels right now.