Journal Writing
It’s cheap, it’s helpful, and it makes writing fun! Writing creatively outside the classroom is immensely valuable in expanding one’s writing skills. Journaling provides practice as well as a way of processing ideas and making writing a more natural, less intimidating activity. It can also help your child think through a problem or difficult situation.
There are no rules! Write whatever, whenever and wherever your child likes. Similarly, daily journaling should not be mandatory. That will make it seem like a chore to be avoided, and your child will lose interest.
Nifty Tips & Ideas
• Let your child select his own journal, with a design she likes. If the book appeals to her she’ll be more willing to write in it. She could also make journal entries on the computer.
• A combination journal/scrapbook is also a great project, brimming not just with words but also with your kid’s own drawings and photographs. She might want to paste mementos like movie tickets, postcards, dried flowers, etc. to complement her written entries. This is a fun option for kids who are very visually oriented.
• Specialised journals are something your child might want to experiment with, like one where she could record interesting nightly dreams; or perhaps a travel journal or reader’s journal, for opinions of her favourite books.
• Writing prompts for jumpstarting your kid’s journal may include topics like: Who is your favourite storybook/movie/TV character, and why? If you could live anywhere in the world, which country would you choose?
• Read other people’s diaries! That is, those journals and diaries that have been made public. Reading the work of others cannot only be entertaining and informative, it will expose your child to different writing styles and points of view. An excellent first choice is The Diary of Anne Frank: Anne was thirteen when she began her diary during the Second World War, and she tells of her Jewish family’s experiences as they go into hiding from the Nazis.
Even though your child’s life may not be fraught with suspense and high drama (fortunately), her journal will serve as an intimate reminder of her growing-up years, as well as a place for her to tap spontaneously into her creative energy.
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