Teaching your child to journal
Journaling is a beautiful way to document life. Paper allows us to give our thoughts a place in physical reality. One of the most rewarding things I do for myself is to journal.
This is why I wanted to introduce it to my oldest child who is now 11.
What is Big Life Journal?
Hopefully this blog post will inspire you to check out Big Life Journal and encourage your child to start a lifetime of journaling.
There are so many different ways to journal. Some people like to use only pens. Some people like to use ephemera pieces, others save scraps from their journey and include them in the pages.
Teaching your child to journal could be a way for you to incorporate thankfulness and mindfulness into your homeschooling.
I feel that it should definitely be a way for your child to find space for themselves in this big world. It does not have to be super structured although I will offer suggestions.
The most important thing I want to share with you in this post is that every day is worth journaling. Every day is worth documenting.
We recently purchased the daily version of the Big Life Journal. This journal holds a special place in my heart and I really stand behind what they offer in their journals.
It fits with our homeschooling values and really helps with anxiety and expression of opinion.
The main Big Life Journal is filled with writing prompts, questions and stories that allow children to practice metacognition; a fancy way of saying self awareness.
After purchase you will find that they will email you journal writing suggestions but also free worksheets which you can use for your child or if you have a classroom for the entire class.
Journaling promotes communication skills and the benefits of journaling for kids is really endless.
I have noticed that since my child started journaling at age 9 he has:
- Found a place to vent
- Discovered a place to reflect
- Created a guide and focus for himself
- Practiced Thankfulness
- Improved his spelling
I want to labor this point a bit. Anyone can journal. When a child writes, it does not have to be super deep. The practice of journaling is something that will last them a lifetime.
Basic Journal prompts:
- Today I did nothing and this is how it felt…
- Today I went to school and…
- Today was terrible and…
- Today I ate…
- Today…today…
At times when we are scrolling through social media we can find ourselves blown away with elaborate pages filled with die cut packs of ephemera and week long vacations.
Kids alike find wealthier children on holiday or bathing in slime. Everyone looks like they are having the time of their lives ALL the time.
Well, guess what! Everyone cannot afford a lengthy vacation and not everyone has the time. There are people who are physically not able to leave home.
We all have different lifestyles and it is so important for all of us to enjoy life. Check out this activity that Big Life Journal Offers!
High School Kids Journaling
I think most of us are familiar with older kids; teenagers, journaling. The infamous “diary” that so many teen shows build a story around.
A young girl’s journal changed the world at one time. If you have not done so please include The Diary of Anne Frank into your homeschool curriculum.
Big Life Journal offers a teen version as well targeted toward ages 11+. The tweens are starting earlier these days it seems so look to see if you want to bump up the starter journal for your 11 year old.
Since I do not have teens just yet I can only make suggestions of what I plan to do, but I welcome moms and dads of teens to comment below.
My suggestion is to sit down with your teen to discuss values and conduct. I am not the parent who will violate my child’s journal because I do believe they deserve personal space to think things through.
At the same time I am not going to allow my child to spiral to the point where they are a danger to themselves and others.
Get solid on what your family rules are around this journal and overall well being.
What to do with old journals
Totally keep them!!! When I go back to my journals that I wrote when I was 20 years old I must have cackled for days.
Usually nothing is as serious as we make it out to be at the time.
Store the journals in a moisture free place in your home. These kinds of keepsakes are awesome gifts for your child should they get married and have their first child.
If you start teaching your child to journal when they are in elementary school give them back as a college graduation or 21 year old gift.
I promise they will chuckle quite a bit.
In conclusion, the world can be a complicated place. Especially now since marketing has bypassed just TV and print. We are in a direct to consumer world of marketing.
This means that the photoshopped bodies and the beautiful lifestyles they see are no longer obviously marketing.
From the lens of a child Instagram is real. Sometimes even parents can’t see the strings holding up the flying fairies. It’s so important to create a space for your child to think and process things going on in the world.
I hope this blog post about journaling for kids was helpful. Teaching your child will take time and patience but before long they will have their own routine. Read more about how to homeschool in North Carolina on my blog.
Thank you for reading!
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