Journaling With Your Children
One of the girls in my “Good Morning Girls” group (Melanie) sent me photos of the journaling she has begun with her daughter. First she got a simple notebook and they keep it on her daughters bed.
Below you can see one of their entries. Melanie wrote a little note to her daughter. She told her how she loved her, some plans for the next day and apologized for a disagreement they had earlier in the day.
Her daughter answered her back in the same journal. She apologized and told her mom that she loves her.
1. Draw a picture of something they did that day.
3. Interview them and have them write down all of their favorite things. Their favorite friend, food, book, song, game etc.
4. Write down all the events of their day.
5. Write down all the details of their vacation.
6. Draw a picture and write down all the details about their pet fish, dog, cat etc.
7. Dream. Encourage them to write down what they want to be when they grow up.
8. Use the journal to be interactive. As a parent write notes to your children in the journal and encourage your children to write notes back to you.
I have always loved journaling and from the age of 16 to 33 I journaled every single day!!! Then I started blogging and there hasn’t been enough time to keep up my journals. But I really want to get back to them. One of my personal inspirations for journaling is David and the book of Psalms. Much of that book is simply David’s journal. He wrote when he was happy, sad, confused, fearful and on top of the world! I love his raw expression of faith.
I treasure my journals and someday your child’s journal will be a treasure to them. Don’t correct their misspelling – it’s adorable! Children love to look back and remember previous years of their life. And as adults they will appreciate the tender moments that were captured in their journal.
Walk with the King!
Thanks Courtney! What a great idea!
oh I love this! Even though I have boys – I still think it's be fun to try.
GREAT IDEA! I shared it on The Homeschool Village fb site!
Stef
Oh wow! I can't wait to start this with my daughter. She's only four but I can help her. I love the idea of keeping it on her bed, that way we won't forget! Thank you for the great idea!
Great idea! I used to love journaling, when I was younger.
LOVE the idea! I think keeping a journal is so important in our Christian walk to remember all the lord has taught us. I have never thought of starting my kids on this discipline so early but, I'm going to now! Thanks for the idea 🙂
Oh my goodness!!! My 11 year old daughter and I have been doing this since about January. She writes and leaves it on my pillow. I write before I go to sleep and she reads it when she gets up in the morning. We have filled 3 books so far. This is going to be quite the keepsake. And we thought this was an original idea.
This is a wonderful idea! I was never big on journaling, but I wish I had practiced expressing my thoughts more when I was younger. My daughter is 8 (and a half!) and I think she would enjoy this. What a great way to build our relationship and help her build her writing skills and ability to self express!
Oh, that sounds like a great idea for those with children.
Awesome idea.
What a wonderful idea! The journal will be something to treasure and look back on.
Great idea Courtney! I will try this with my daughter….
Courtney,
I LovE this idea so much! We haven't started our new year yet and while I'm making plans I'd like to incorporate this idea for my children.
I'm going to try this with my husband! We started out long distance and always writing and emailing… we communicated more and fought less then than we do now! Might as well do what works!
My dd and I did this when she was in K, keeping a "Buzz Book" (you can google that). We too wrote notes to each other and I saved them. I'll eventually take the most precious ones and place them on scrapbook album pages.
(Btw, I saw a comment about you being "behind" in scrapbooking. Have you checked out Stacy Julian's Photo Freedom? I sooo recommend it. It was out of circulation for awhile, but Stacy is selling it directly now.)
Blessings,
Toni
Hi Courtney,
Just came across you blog and wanted to say hi! Love this idea. My older sister does this very thing with her 12 year old daughter and it has been such a blessing in their relationship. Thanks for sharing the idea with all of us.
God bless,
Stacy
What a great idea!
My favorite thing to do is use our journals to draw pictures in and write stories in after we have read a book or books. When the child and parent work as a team journaling becomes very interactive and the children can become so creative. Thanks for the post on journaling. 🙂
I really love this idea. I am going to have to try this!
Oh and we have tried your sisters Fappachinos and I must say DELISIOUS! I passed it along to our homeschool group and everyone has raved over it. Thank you for sharing this recipe it really has been a hit! :o)
Many Blessings,
Amy
What I great idea. I did this with my teenage daughter but never thought to start doing it with my 8 year old. Thanks!
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