Children's Books discussion

I just got ds the Top-Secret: Personal Beeswax: A Journal by Junie B.. It's excititing because I think it will encourage him to write more. I wish there were more of a variety of books like this.

We are currently having the kids read through their travel journals from a trip we took to Europe three years ago. We read at the dinner table, right after we've eaten. It's so fun to hear the different styles between my son (literary, descriptive, sometimes brooding) and my daughter (three years younger, full of happiness and feelings, always making the topic positive). We'll be traveling again this summer and right away they're discussing what sort of journal they'd like to have this time.

I love travel journals, and keep one myself when we go on adventures. My children have also kept journals when reading books for school. This is something that was started by a teacher many years ago, and both my kids have continued the practice even when they haven't been asked to. It helps them dive into the book on another level, having to summarize characters and plot twists, etc...

One way we've encouraged the kids to journal is to purchase for them really fun writing utensils. My daughter loves mechanical pencils, and my son has inexpensive fountain pens and colored ink. It's hard to find fountain pens like you can in Europe, but if you look hard enough you'll uncover some that can cost only a handful of dollars. Whenever I travel abroad I stock up on them and bring them home for neighbor kids or nieces and nephews. Anything that can encourage a child to write is a good thing!

Chandra~~He is enjoying it so far. We read Junie's entry together and then he writes his entry.

I think it's helpful to encourage children to add pictures to journals. This might be helpful with a child reluctant to write. Cutting out pics from magazines or taking photos...like of the dog or a trip, and putting them in a journal, encouraging your child just to write a caption might be a good way of introducing him or her to journal keeping.
I'm a writer, so I always have a notebook with me. I think writing is wonderful, but then I do it all the time. LOL.

I haven't seen Junie B.'s journal but I know there is one that goes with Diary of a Wimpy Kid that many of my students like to write in.

As a teacher, I have my students keep dialogue journals. They write 2 x per week and I read and respond 1x per week, and they are kind of like a conversation, telling each other something, asking questions and responding.

I love the idea of a travel journal. I also liek the idea of letting them add pictures to the journal or making it a combo of sketch book/journal...if that's what your kid likes (as a kid, if I'd been required to sketch along with my writing that would have really turned me off...)

Other ideas...a gratitude journal...each day writing down 1 to 5 things you're grateful for.

Good/Bad... what good thing happened that day/what bad thing happened that day? (or what was the best thing, what was the worst thing?)


Or maybe make it a little like a scrapbook...but not as fancy (unless he wanted to) Have your son choose a photo of him/the family/a party/etc. and then have him write the story that goes with that photo...his perspective. I think I"ll try this with my own kids this summer.

In my journal, I used to write down my dreams, books I was reading, songs I liked, as well as events happening in my life. I kept a journal quite faithfully from age 11 to age 25. NOw I don't journal much but do blog, which is similar.

Each entry is filled out by Junie B. and the other identical entry is blank so the child can fill it out. So for example: Mother's name:
Three words about her:
Father's name:
Three words about him:
Other people in your family:
What I like best about my family:
What I like least about my family:
Draw a picture of your famiy.

Also, we have a regular notebook that ds writes in. But....he won't write in it on his own. I come up with ideas, but I am TIRED of thinking of things. Plus, we keep losing the notebook. :-P

The Junie B. book is easy and we can't possibly lose it! lol

I also have the Diary of a Wimpy Kid one to start when he finishes the Junie B. journal. (They have come out with a new Wimpy Kid journal, I noticed. I bought the old one.)

I know this isn't exactly what you were asking for regarding journaling, but I think pen-pal letters are another great way to get reluctant writers interested in communicating their ideas through words. Often the letters cover similar things that journals would (what is happening in the child's life) but there is the fun of expecting a reply! ;-) While this is especially rewarding with peers, it can also work with grandparents or other relatives. Of course, email is an option now but I think there's nothing like writing and receiving an old-fashioned letter in the mailbox--kids usually love getting "real" mail.

I'll ask ds if he wants a pen pal. He is horrible horrible horrible about writing to his grandparents, so.....hmm, I'm not sure.

Kirei wrote: "I'll ask ds if he wants a pen pal. He is horrible horrible horrible about writing to his grandparents, so.....hmm, I'm not sure."

Well, I suppose it is different for different kids. I do hope something will spark his enjoyment of writing, though--journaling, letter writing, or something else :-)

I used to keep a journal periodically when I was younger, and when I was on an extended trip...but not much as an adult. I have tried a wide variety of the above topics to get my own kids--particularly my ADHD son who has difficulty with getting the words out of his head--to write. I have almost always had to resort to just telling him what to write about. However, one thing that worked well with my daughter (I will say that she really loves writing stories, so it's less of a stretch for her) is to have her start a journal/scrapbook about something she particularly loves. When she was younger, it was Harry Potter. Now it is Glee. She writes about what she read, watched, etc., her feelings about what she read/watched, also about the individual characters, about the actors in tv or film versions, and she draws pictures or prints them out from the internet. My son often did his journaling about lego things, but we were not quite as successful in getting to dedicate an entire journal to it. We tried with animals when he was much younger, but he just wasn't into it. good luck.

I keep journals and I started using them in the classroom this past year. Some children really responded well to it and it is something I really want to explore further in the classroom. I personally love journaling!

is also great! I used in class once and then bought my students the same type of notebook for them to write in. It was great for them to see how someone else journals and then use that to create their own way to do it.

I want to start a journaling habit myself. Any favorite ideas for adults?