How to Start Your Children Journaling
Encouraging the Writer in Your Child
I was 8 years old when I got my first “diary.” I still remember it vividly. It was a “hello kitty” diary, which had a lock and key. It was awesome not just because I loved Hello Kitty, but also because there was something amazing about the idea that I had a special place to keep my secrets and that nobody but me could read them. In some sense, it was the notion that my diary--by way of the lock that kept others out--was something that was all my own. Something that was just for me and my parents couldn’t take away from me.
Of course, it was just fiction. My diary in this sense, was just an extension of the wishful conversations I’d have with my best friend Nikki about where we were going to live when we grew up and got our first apartment together. You know, that conversation about how our lives would change for the better when we became adults and nobody could tell us what to do anymore :) But obviously, if my parents wanted to read my “secrets” they easily could. The diary lock wasn’t exactly high-grade security.
But even so, it was a fiction that empowered me. Made me feel whole, strong, and independent. In other words, it made me feel important. And, now that I think about it, became the thing that inspired my life-long love of writing. About 10 years ago, I received my doctorate in English literature which enabled me to teach writing at the University. I doubt I would have ever achieved that if I hadn’t started writing at such a young age and attached so much positive emotion to it through the simple act of writing about the mundane events in my life in my diary.
In fact, writing in a journal became so much a part of who I am that when I started college I bought journals and began filling their pages. I remember waking up on a sunday morning listening to my favorite music with a freshly brewed cup of coffee writing about everything from my romantic relationships to philosophy to political events. Whenever I had a really big problem I didn’t have an easy answer for, I would turn to my journal to help my mind “work it out.” In this sense, journaling not only helped my brain learn how to express itself, but it also helped my brain to “think.” Journaling became for me a form of meditation.
Of course not every child who keeps a diary will go on to become a Professor of English Literature or professional writer or even a chronic journaler, but I can tell you that if nothing else, every child who does keep a journal will develop a positive relationship with writing. Writing, the act of expressing oneself through the written word, is more and more becoming a lost art and those who can express themselves not only enjoy cognitive and emotional benefits, but also realize greater self actualization.
It’s no surprise that given how big a role journaling has played in my own life that Chub & Bug would not only design and create our own set of notebooks and journals, but that we’d want to write a detailed guide on the benefits of journaling and how to get kids started journaling. It’s my hope that this post can help you get your little one on the
The Benefits of Journaling for Children
There are so many benefits to journaling that quite honestly it’s difficult to touch upon them all in a single post. For these reasons, I’ve organized the benefits of journaling into 4 categories:
Health Benefits
Psychological Benefits
Social Benefits
Academic Benefits
Health Benefits of Journaling for Kids
Journaling provides numerous health benefits for both adults and children. Specifically, journaling can
Optimize the immune system function
Reduce stress
Lower rates of depression
Track symptoms of illness to aid long term health and wellness
Psychological Benefits of Journaling for Children
The most obvious psychological benefits of journaling for kids is the fact that it boosts emotional intelligence and raises your child’s EQ. Once your child’s emotional intelligence is boosted, they also receive the following benefits:
Explore and express the full range of human emotions in a safe environment, especially emotions
Process challenging emotions, such as fear, anxiety and anger
Carefully think through difficult problems
Provide opportunities for positive self-talk and affirmation
In short, journaling can actually improve your child’s overall happiness.
Social Benefits of Journaling for Children
Children who journal become more confident, which leads to enriched social relationships. As their EQ rises, they get better at finding friends and maintaining friendships.
Academic Benefits of Journaling for Kids
I saved academic benefits for last because these benefits are largely determined by what method and style of journaling is used. However, for a more structure or guided approach to journaling, as say in a scholastic or home schooling environment, children that regularly journal experience all of the following academic benefits:
Improve written expression and communication
Improve spelling and grammar
Improve reading skills
Better working memory
This of course depends on how open or free you want your child’s journaling to be. Obviously, if you and your child do open-ended journaling and you provide a degree of privacy for your child, it will be more difficult to improve spelling and grammar if no one is reviewing their writing. So there are tradeoffs in terms of academic benefits depending on which method and style you choose.
Types of Journaling and Journal Styles
When we’re discussing the types of journaling there are two basic methods:
Open-Ended or Open
Guided
We discuss these in depth below and show how they work with different journal styles.
Open-ended Journaling
With open-ended journaling, kids basically look at a blank page in the journal of their choice and begin filling it with words, images or “content.” In other words, an open-ended journal, which was traditionally called a “diary,” was just a way for kids to write freely.
The benefits of open-ended journaling is that it allows children unlimited freedom to express themselves in the way they want to, without restraint or rules.
The downside is that open-ended journaling can be stressful if your child is having trouble coming up with a topic to write on and can actually hinder their writing development if they’re stressing more on what to write about than actually the act of writing itself.
Guided Journaling
In contrast, “guided” journaling requires kids to respond to a specific topic or what we call a “prompt.” A prompt is simply what it says--something that prompts a writer to write. A prompt can be in the form of a question, but it need not be. It can be anything that elicits an emotional or reaction from a journal writer.
The benefits of guided journaling is that it puts less pressure on a child to find a “suitable” topic to write on. For children who aren’t especially creative, developing the prompt is half the battle and promotes needless stress.
The downside of guided journaling is that it restricts your child’s freedom and reduces flexibility when it comes to journaling. For kids who are inherently creative, this can be a huge issue.
But not all prompts are created equal and the secret to guided journaling, especially for kids, is developing prompts that are tailored to children and what they are passionate about. Keep reading to find out the best journaling prompts or kids of any age.
Once you answer the question as to whether your kid’s journal will be open or guided, you can then address the larger question about format or “styles”. Here is just a small list of different journal styles you and your child can use to help them get the most out of their journaling experience.
9 Journal Styles to Ignite the Writer in Your Child
Conversation or Shared Journal--You and your child share the journal and enter into an ongoing conversation. In this instance, the journal isn’t “secret” and in fact improves communication between parents and their children. It’s also great because rather than having to develop a specific writing prompt or having to think of something creative to write about, your child can simply “reply” back to you in the conversation. It encourages writing development through engagement in a larger dialogue.
Visual or Art Journal--Does your child like to draw or paint? Not every child is “verbal” and some children learn visually. More importantly, some children have serious learning differences such as dysgraphia, which actually means the act of writing interferes with or inhibits learning. For these kids, communicating through a visual medium can be a game changer. However, art journals are also great for kids who think they are not artistic or not creative--to show them how creative they truly are. At some point in your child’s learning journey, I recommend a visual journal. However, for this style journal, you’ll want to get paper that can support heavy media like paint and markers. See our list below on the supplies you’ll need to get your child started journaling.
Montage or Collage Journal - Similar to a visual or art journal, a montage journal enables creativity, but rather the focus being on traditional art, such as drawing and painting, this journal allows your child to find “writing objects” in their world and develop a “story” around it. For example, you can encourage your child to cut out a headline from a magazine or newspaper and then paste other visual or verbal objects onto the page with it, developing a compelling story. Again, an excellent journal to start for very young children, especially those in preschool who are learning to read but need to practice their fine motor skills. The act of cutting our objects for the learn can help them express themselves and hone their motor skills!
5-Min Q&A 365 Journal--The 5-min Q&A journal is actually a form of “micro-journaling,” in which your child along with every family member responds to a single question on a specific day. Each family member answers the question in not more than 5 minutes. This not notly helps to insure that journaling is happening daily but also helps your child situate writing within a larger context and conversation, which is how they would actually approach writing in the real world.
Compendium or “Fill-In” Journal-- A compendium or fill-in journal is a type of combination of a “guided” journal coupled with a “visual” theme, providing a visual and a prompt or question that your child “fills in.” These journals are best for younger kids who are just learning how to write or kids with learning differences, especially those with dyslexia and dysgraphia. It’s also great for kids who are visual learners and are inspired more by visuals than blank pages.
Creative Writing Journal--The focus of this is verbal creativity! Do you have a child that loves to tell stories? Or write poetry and Haiku? Why not make their journal experience a completely creative experience? This journal style can be open-ended, guided or a mixture of both. But the best way is to include famous quotes or bits of poetry or prose from your child’s favorite writers. Even using photographs or paintings to get them started as a response. The sky's the limit!
Create Your Own Comic Book--The comic book journal is probably one of the best and funnest styles of journal for kids. Like an open-ended journal, this style allows your child to develop their own comic book, complete with visuals and dialogue. What makes it great is that it helps develop their artistic talent, while also helping them refine their writing skills. And it does all this in a very exciting way! As an added bonus, it helps them understand larger literary concepts like “character” and “scene.” I used this style with my child who hated writing and it truly enabled him to get excited about it in a way that traditional writing prompts or open-ended journals couldn’t.
Science Field Journal--Is your child hands on? Do they learn better by being “immersed” in a topic than through abstract methods? Well, a great way to get them interested in writing is to connect it to something they love such as science and show how writing can enable them to better understand the world around them. There are both open and guided options for this Science Field Journal style, but what they both share is that they require the writer to go out into their world and engage with it directly and then make organized reflections about their experience and what they learned from those interactions. You’re also not limited by traditional STEM fields and can use the field journal for “social science” as much as standard science.
Lego Builders Challenge Journal--A builder’s journal is a bit of a “planning” journal topic. As a guided journal, you can provide “challenges” for your little one and then have them writing their process they used to build it and their reflections on the project after word. You can leave pages in the journal blank for open-ended challenges to encourage your child’s creativity. You can also have your child choose to build something with any medium and them have them write an entry about the process of building something they loved. Your child might love legos or be obsessed with them. If so, this could be the way to ignite a love of writing early on :)
When Should Kids Start Journaling?
A common question parents have is when is a good time to start your child writing or journaling? Well, the good news is that now that there is so much flexibility with journaling, including all of the different types of journal styles, you can start your child when they begin preschool. For example, starting a 3 or 4 year-old with a “fill in” journal or even a visual journal can get them on the right track.
However, to really encourage writing development and gain full benefits of journal writing listed at the top of this post, you should get your child serious about writing when they are exhibiting all the following signs of readiness:
Can hold a writing implement well and have mastered pencil grip
Can write their own name effortlessly
Can spell even basic two and three-letter words
Have enough fine motor skills to write in a straight line or on “ruled” paper
But I would say that when kids turn approximately 6 or 7 is when they can start seeing the most benefits from standard written journaling.
What Supplies Do Kids Need to Get Started with Journaling?
I have to be honest. I find this section of the post difficult to write because there are just so many options when it comes to supplies for kids’ journaling projects. But rather than try to include them all, I’ll list what I think are the most essential and then throw in a few fun options.
It goes without saying that journaling is one of the most cost-effective ways to really change your child’s life and set them on a life-long trajectory of learning. All you really need to get started are two basic supplies: paper and something to write with. That’s it. Really. You don’t need to make it overly complicated or buy tons of “stuff” to make your journaling project more authentic or educational for your child.
So if I could offer one piece of advIce here it would be to let your child lead when it comes to journaling. Make your decisions on the method and style of the journal based upon your child’s unique needs and interests.
That said, the more your child can control not only the type and style of journal but also the tools for journaling, the more invested in the process and excited they’ll be about it.
So without further ado, here are the basic supplies you’ll need:
A Journal--That’s right he or she will need at least one of the following: a notepad, notebook, mixed media paper, sketchbook, graph paper, blank paper. As I said, they will need something to physically write on. It doesn’t have to be a book that literally says “journal” on it or something that’s expensive and leather bound. Any functional spiral notebook will work beautifully! Try to buy a notebook with a cover that has a theme that your child is passionate about. If they love mermaids, then buy all means, get them a mermaid notebook or set. If they love dinosaurs, then find the cutest dinosaur notebook you can so they love opening that journal each day!
Pens or pencils--Depending on the age of your child, you’ll also want to get some pencils or pens or similar writing implements. You can go with standard #2 pencils or basic ballpoint pen, but you may want to purchase a writing implement that will inspire and excite them. Does your child love unicorns? Why not get them this adorable unicorn pencil set? Age is also important. Because younger children who are still mastering writing often feel more comfortable writing in pencil, which can be erased, than pen, which is permanent and feels more restrictive. Quality is also important because they’ll be using the pencil or pen frequently and it needs to last.
Additional Supplies--Now that we’ve got the basics down, there are also tons of other supplies that can help make your kid’s journaling a fun and exciting experience. These include colored pencils, paint glue sticks, scissors etc. Again the additional supplies you buy should be based on the style of journal your child will be using and should be necessary for their expression while journaling. If your child is doing a collage or montage journal, you'll want to buy scissors to cut out objects and a glue stick to paste those objects.
Other Fun Stuff: stickers, glitter, colored pencils, markers, fabric swatches, charms etc. The key here is to make journaling a fun activity and as creative as possible. The more color, sparkle, texture and dimension your child can add to their journal entry the more connected to it they will be and the more inspired they will be. In short, you want journaling to nurture your child’s creativity, not stifle it.
Personalized Supplies: As I mentioned earlier in this post, kids feel that they don’t have anything just for themselves that they own. My own personal diary was the first object I ever had that truly felt like mine. It empowered me. The same can be said for any personalized supplies you buy for your child’s journaling. Personalized notebooks, pencils or stickers can be a game changer for your child.
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DIY or Personalize Your Own Journal
Personalizing your child’s journal and journaling tools is a great way to get them inspired about writing. But did you know you can actually create your own journal??? Yes, in fact, we wrote a step-by-step tutorial on how to personalize your child’s notebook in 10-minutes or less. This is a fantastic project you can do with your little one to jumpstart journaling.
How Long and How Frequently Should Kids Write in a Journal?
Another difficult question for parents to answer is how long should a child write in a child. More specifically, how long should each writing session be and how frequently should they write?
Once again, I would suggest that you should let your child’s own readiness and ability guide you regarding length of writing session and journaling interval or period. The goal is to honestly build a journaling “habit” with your child that they will have for the rest of their lives. So building up session time slowly while reducing frequency is critical for long-term success.
But a general rule of thumb is to start very young children on visual journals and then promote them to forms of micro-journaling and fill-in journaling for 5 minute session lengths daily.
Once they can focus for at least 10 minutes, which is usually about Kindergarten, increase the writing session length to 10-minutes. As session length increases, you can reduce frequency.
Gradually increase session length to 15 minutes for children between 6 and 7 3 times a week and then 20 minutes for children between 8-10 and 30 minutes for older children between 11 and 12 two times a week.
10 Writing Prompts for Guided Journaling for Kids
Write about your 3 favorite things (foods, colors, songs, movie, etc)
Write about your recent vacation and the best thing you did on it
Write about a character in a move you love
Sketch something you saw today that was interesting to you
Write about 5 wishes that would change your life
Write a creative story about a superhero
Make a doodle and describe how you created it,
Write about 3 things you love about your best friend
Write about 1 place you’d like to travel or visit and why
Write about something you love (your mom, family member, pet etc)
To get more exciting prompts, check out our list of 100 awesome journaling prompts for children.
