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The best journals for kids are . . .
the journals they write in! And like us, every child will have his or her own preferences.
Just remember . . .
– encourage writing stamina and fluency, not spelling
– journals aren’t meant to be revised or edited unless your child knows in advance
– journals can be seed ideas for more writing which will be drafted, revised, edited, and published
Prompt Journals from Compendium
AJ seemed to find this writing journal from Compendium easy to do since she didn’t have to think of what to write.
Since JJ is six, art is the best way in to writing. She’s been using the art journal from Compendium.
Composition Notebooks
I like composition notebooks for a two main reasons – they’re inexpensive and the pages don’t rip out. (So young writers can’t lose their writing.)
Notebooks from Michael’s Dollar Bin
I got these color-in spiral bound notebooks from Michaels for gifts to students in my writing classes. Aren’t they cute?
Journal Buddies
Mompreneur, Jill Schoenberg, created a 30 day guided journal book to build self esteem and meant to be shared with a friend called Journal Buddies. We haven’t had a chance to try out our Journal Buddies journals yet but my friend, Terry at The Reading Tub liked it.
Parent Child Journal
AJ and I started using Just Between Us: The No-Stress, No-Rules Journal for Girls and Their Moms from Chronicle and Meredith and Sofie Jacobs during our breakfast dates before school. I loved how it helped us to focus our conversation and share something special.
More Journals I Like
Gadanke – Jump Up
Frecklebox Personalized Journals
What about your kids? What journals do they like?
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Melissa Taylor is a mom and educator from Denver who is passionate about playful learning. Thanks for visiting the site!
16 Comments
We’ve just been on a driving holiday and the children wrote a diary. It was wonderful and something I want to keep on going now we are home again. Great ideas!
Nice journal suggestions. I also especially like your tip of ‘encouraging writing stamina and fluency and not spelling’. Sometimes it’s easier for children to write when they don’t get stopped up by trying to ask or worry how words are spelled.
Good reminder about having my kids write this summer. I’ve been pushing reading, but have let writing fall by the wayside.
Daria,
It’s harder to motivate kids to sit down and write, isn’t it? Make it fun and write with them – or have them pick a fun place to write – like the park or zoo.
LOVE this post! I’ve used the memo books covered in fabric to personalize them for myself and my children. We’ve got Spiderman, Dora, and other just random patterns. It has been a great project for my school-age son and my preschooler loves to just add stickers and her scribbles while big brother journals. So many wonderful possibilities! I really want to check out the one with prompts though!
As Daria says, sometimes we are quick to neglect writing in pursuit of developing reading, but the plus side of this is that reading will only improve any future writing activities. Daria – try reading as a writer as a step into focusing on writing again. Before writing, say an informal letter to a friend, read a few examples and use these to determine what language features and organizational elements you’ll need to develop
[...] Journals For Kids [...]
It’s important to distinguish between creative activities and grammar/spelling activities. A journal is personal and creative, so definitely not for grammar and spelling corrections! but it’s also important to help kids write correctly within other spheres of activity.
[...] Journals For Kids [...]
We have journals, but we don’t write in them enough. Good intentions, not enough action. My kids love looking back at older entries. We use our journals as our memory keepers.
You’ve shared some really cool journals here. The buddy journals and mom and daughter journals peeked my interest. I wonder if anyone has made a mother and son, father and son, or father and daughter journal. Wouldn’t that be great! My husband seems too have so much influence with all our kids. Encouraging dads to get involved in writing with kids makes sense.
Our summer is flying by. You’ve motivated me to get a few journals entries done today. Myself included.
[...] good blog about journals for kids here. Share Let’s Make Some Great [...]
I love the prompt journal from Compendium. I provide prompts every day with my Kinders –
http://retrogradelearning.wordpress.com/2011/06/16/i-hate-writing/
[...] The Best Journals for Kids [...]
Great ideas, Melissa. My daughter absolutely loves writing and I encourage her to maintain journals in different shapes and sizes. She loves keeping more than her. I think if that inspires her to write, why not. So we have a travel journal and a night time journal, a letter journal and a nature journal…!
One too many!
[...] The Best Journals for Kids [...]
[...] The Best Journals for Kids [...]