So you've bought your children their journals and they have decorated, covered or prepared it because of course your read my previous article and journaling - and you were inspired and excited and want to develop your children's talents and giftings. And you are all ready to go and waiting for the next article. Been a bit slow in coming I know but with all our excursions around Cape Town and wanting to blog about it before I forgot everything (yes I know - doesn't say much for my short term memory). So this journaling article was put on the back burner.
This is a always a great place to start. A surprising way even to discover a little more about your own child. I have always found my children's journals a delight as I constantly find out new things about them every time they journal.
* Preschoolers and Kindergarten: Write their name and surname in big bold colours. You can do a pencil outline and let them write over it. You could also get them to cut the letters out of a magazine and stick over the letters. Add a photo, or get them to draw a picture of themselves. I always loved my children's first pictures of themselves, and its amazing to see how this changes over time.
* For the beginner and intermediate writers: Let them write about things they like - dislikes, favourite colours, best friends, their best movie. They can even add their own drawings or magazine cut outs of these if they can't write well. To help them you could even create a mini page for them to do this. They may also need headings or words to guide them.
* Older children: They have been chosen to win a prize and one of their friends or family members have to stand up and tell the audience who they are, what their achievements are and what makes them remarkable - What would they say? This also a wonderful opportunity to give some very positive input into your children's lives. They may struggle as its always harder to say nice things about ourselves than of others but you can prompt them with their strengths. In fact this would be a good activity for you moms! You could even ask your children to help you and give you input. If you dare!
The key to developing a love for journaling is start as young as possible ( no they don't need to be able to write when you start). The focus is not perfection but developing a joy for writing, or doodling or drawing in a familiar book.
The second key is approaching your choice of topics in a creative out of the box sort of way. Expecting children to just write a page is a big ask until they are comfortable with journaling. The way to do that is to give them topics that are inspiring and interesting.
Create a Personal Profile
This is a always a great place to start. A surprising way even to discover a little more about your own child. I have always found my children's journals a delight as I constantly find out new things about them every time they journal.
* Preschoolers and Kindergarten: Write their name and surname in big bold colours. You can do a pencil outline and let them write over it. You could also get them to cut the letters out of a magazine and stick over the letters. Add a photo, or get them to draw a picture of themselves. I always loved my children's first pictures of themselves, and its amazing to see how this changes over time.
To make it more fun:
1. Let them do a hand and foot print on the page
2. Take a photo and go and develop it with them, little ones LOVE photos of themselves
* For the beginner and intermediate writers: Let them write about things they like - dislikes, favourite colours, best friends, their best movie. They can even add their own drawings or magazine cut outs of these if they can't write well. To help them you could even create a mini page for them to do this. They may also need headings or words to guide them.
To make it more fun:
* Older children: They have been chosen to win a prize and one of their friends or family members have to stand up and tell the audience who they are, what their achievements are and what makes them remarkable - What would they say? This also a wonderful opportunity to give some very positive input into your children's lives. They may struggle as its always harder to say nice things about ourselves than of others but you can prompt them with their strengths. In fact this would be a good activity for you moms! You could even ask your children to help you and give you input. If you dare!
To make it more fun:
1. Let your child sit in front of a mirror and do a self portrait
2. An autobiography worksheet - this might help with some guidelines
On a last note:
The key to developing a love for journaling is start as young as possible ( no they don't need to be able to write when you start). The focus is not perfection but developing a joy for writing, or doodling or drawing in a familiar book.
The second key is approaching your choice of topics in a creative out of the box sort of way. Expecting children to just write a page is a big ask until they are comfortable with journaling. The way to do that is to give them topics that are inspiring and interesting.
Happy Journaling!
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Many great ideas for kids to learn to journal when they are young. I still journal and believe it is a blessing.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, I love it, I don't think I am nearly as diligent with my journalling as I am with theirs, but I love to watch them grow in this area
ReplyDeleteSuch lovely creative ideas!
ReplyDelete