Journaling

Posted on November 30, 2007
Filed Under Activity, Free |

I mentioned in my post on Doing the Days that I would tell you about our experiences of journaling - so here they are!!

I got into journaling (although I had always journaled a little) after reading The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. She advocates the use of morning pages - 3 pages to be written every morning. About absolutely anything that comes into your head. A lot comes into my head (most of it rubbish!) and I enjoyed having an outlet for it - I think most bloggers would agree with me! But it isn’t easy to write with 2 toddlers ‘helping’! So I bought them journals too - and that began a rewarding journey for us.

Of course, at first the children couldn’t write  (in any legible way!) - I supplied them with a large tub of stickers, pens and glitter sticks.  Sometimes we would paint or cut and paste straight into the books, or take them to the zoo with us to draw pictures of the animals (we still do that!!). I love to look back on those early journals - I think some of their little drawings may have been lost (or thrown out!) it they had been on separate pieces of paper, but in a little book they are a treasure. Now, the children use lots of journals for different things - holiday journals, book reviews, general drawing and painting, nature journals.  They still don’t do a lot of writing in them - but I hope they keep up the habit of keeping a journal as they get older. They have both recently set up their own blogs and enjoy uploading photographs of their artwork, but I still think there is something very wonderful about thinking with a pen in your hand!

I would thoroughly recommend buying (or making) a small notebook for the children in your life, and introducing them to the joys of journaling. If you need more inspiration, here are some links;

And a journaling story. One day my daughter showed me some scribble writing she had made in her journal. “Wonderful” I said, “What does it say?” “How would I know?” she said puzzled, “I can’t read yet!!”

Comments

2 Responses to “Journaling”

  1. Sharna Rief on December 4th, 2007 7:58 pm

    I liked the books you are reading this month but I thought you might like to know about one of my favorite Christmas books. It is “A Certian Small Shepherd” by Rebecca Caudill. Mom first started reading it to us in about 1965 when it was in a women’s magazine. Then it came out in book form and she read it every year during our Christmas celebration until her death in 1996. she gave each of my brothers and sisters a copy with an inscription in it to keep up the tradition. I just became a granma and my gift to my son’s family will be a copy of the book with the same inscription along with a copy of the CD recording of mom reading it. I thought you might be intested. One question is this a group from the UK? It is agreat website
    Sharna in Central Illinois

  2. admin on December 4th, 2007 8:54 pm

    Hi Sharna
    Thanks for the comment - the book sounds great !
    Yes - I am in the UK. I am very glad you like the website. best wishes, Julie.
    PS Many congratulations on becoming a granma!

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