It’s 3 pm, and time for pickup! Time to see your favorite little people. The ones you’d give anything for, that you’d do everything for. You can’t wait to hear about everything they learned, what they did with their friends, and all the places their imaginations took them.
When they get in the car, you can tell they’re a little tired. But the day isn’t over yet, and you’re ready to attempt to breathe some life into the hours that remain before bedtime.
“Hi sweeties!” you say, ears open and heart ready to reunite after spending a day apart.
“Hi.” one of them pipes up. The other just yawns.
“How was school?” you ask, trying to get the conversation started.
You hear some fumbling around in the backseat, a zipper being unzipped, and the sound of a folder full of papers falling to the floor. But other than that … silence.
“Did you learn anything new today?” you say, holding on hope for something meaningful.
“Not really.” … followed by more silence.
“What do you want for dinner?” you relent. “Chick-fil-A!” you hear, finally confirming they’ve been awake the whole time.
There you go. You got one.
Don’t get down on yourself if this sounds like a typical ride home from school. All day, we and our kids are having our minds taxed and exercised in different ways. For you, it may be keeping up with your professional deliverables, organizing your household, remembering to RSVP to another birthday party, or trying to remember which kid’s basketball practice got cancelled. Meanwhile, your kids are learning how to walk through this life one day at a time by learning social cues, making friends, and feeling new emotions for the first time, all while trying to ace their math test.
Between everything we need to do, it can be challenging to find the time to do things we want to do. It can be even harder to turn the limited amount of time we get to spend together into something meaningful and engaging for everyone. We get it. And that’s why we’re here.
Pennycake was created to help transform the time you spend together into memorable moments. In fact, that’s why we created ChatterTime—to give you playful prompts for meaningful conversations. Read on to learn more about ChatterTime, and how it can help your family turn silent time into conversation time:
Good conversations ahead
ChatterTime is made up of six different categories, each one serving a different purpose to give family conversations a boost. While the cards can be used on their own, anytime, anywhere, a handy dandy spinner adds a game element to the fun, with players spinning to see which category they land on. After a card is chosen, it’s read out loud and others take turns sharing answers. Let’s see what categories we have to choose from:
Convo Cues
When we’re with the same people day in and day out, it’s easy to think that we know them better than anyone else does. Turns out, they may have some tricks up their sleeve. Convo Cues is meant to serve up questions you might not have ever thought to ask, helping you see the world through someone else’s eyes.
Here are some examples:
- “What cheers you up on a bad day?”
- “What is one thing about you that you want more people to know?”
And if you’re looking for something with a little more whimsy, you’ll find that in this deck, too:
- “What would you ask a pet if it could answer you?”
- “What new flavor of ice cream would you want to create?”
Lots of Laughs
QUICK! We need some laughter, STAT! Good thing we’ve got our Lots of Laughs deck, ready to serve up smiles card after card.
Let’s see what we have in store:
- “What do planets read?” … “Comet books”
- “What word is spelled wrong in the dictionary?” … “Wrong”
- “What music does a balloon not like?” … “Pop”
Which of These
Stripes or polka dots? If you HAD to choose, which would it be? In a world of hypothetical wacky scenarios, we all have some very important decisions to make.
Like…
- “Have cat ears, or have a dog tail?”
- “Hug a skunk, or kiss a fish?”
- “Have a talking robot, or have a talking dog?”
Future Plans
Here’s a life hack: if you don’t know what to plan for someone’s next birthday celebration, play ChatterTime with them. As long as you land on the Future Plans deck, there’s a good chance you’ll figure it out thanks to cards like these:
- “What do you want for dinner on your birthday?”
- “What concert would you like to go to?”
- “What is the next treat you want to buy?”
Name Who
Imagine if yearbook superlatives were a game. Now, they are! Each time you draw one, name a person who reminds you of that card. Do any of these remind you of someone?
Name who…
- “…has a lot of shoes”
- “…tells you happy birthday first”
- “…is the most musical person you know”
Share a Time
Have you ever wanted to ask about someone else’s memories, but didn’t know where to start? Thanks to the Share a Time deck, there’s an easy way to get stories flowing:
Try these prompts on someone in your household to see where they lead. Share a time…
- “…you had a friend help you”
- “…you made something special to eat”
- “…you had to walk a long way”
Ways to turn together time into ChatterTime
- Saturday morning around the breakfast table.
- When the grandparents come to visit.
- At dinnertime at home, at a restaurant or while eating on the go.
- During bedtime.
- As a circle time activity at school or with groups of kids.
- To get to know the cousins you haven’t seen in years.
- When you want to turn an acquaintance into a friend.
- Anytime you’re in the car together.
- As a daily playtime to homework time transition.
- When it’s time to turn off the TV on a Sunday afternoon.
Questions and Answers
Q: How many cards come in the box?
A: There are 180 cards in the box, 30 for each category, and three bonus "create your own" cards.
Q: What ages is ChatterTime meant for?
A: ChatterTime is great for kids of about any age. Even if they’re not yet reading, questions include ones the littlest ones can answer and others older kids will love.
Q: Who developed ChatterTime?
A: Pennycake works with child and family therapists, who advised on product design principles. Each pennycake game is designed to bring families together and help create meaningful moments of playful engagement.
Q: Is ChatterTime portable?
A: Yes, its box is easily packable or you can just grab a deck or two to take with you. Alternatively, we recommend the On-the-Go version for everyday, on the go use.
