My Favorite Free Resource
During seasons of change, challenge, or the mundane, one of the best resources I have used with my students—at home as well as in the classroom—is journaling. Journals are inexpensive and easy, teach logic and narrative, promote mental health, and provide wonderful nostalgia for later years. And, thanks to the internet, great journal prompts are easy to find free.
Growing up as a homeschooler, my mom encouraged us to journal about three days a week—and we did. To this day I have tall stacks of spiral notebooks on my bookshelves that begin with infrequent entries of 2-3 sentences and frequent misspellings, and that grow in length and style as the years go on. Some entries test out self-expression in poetry, others new designs, stories, and a wide range of maturing emotions. My journals became my safe place to try new ideas, express frustrations, and admit shortcomings—I am grateful for them all.
As a public high school English teacher, I incorporated journals into the start of each class day, giving students 5 minutes at the beginning of each period to either respond to a prompt or free write. Students came back years later to tell me journaling was one of the best parts of their day.
When it came time to homeschool my own children, I brought the habit of journaling into our weekly routine as well. In the first few years, before my kiddos become prolific writers, I acted as scribe—focusing my goal on them developing the art of writing rather than the act of writing itself. As their handwriting became more confident, they begin to write their own entries and I coached alongside—mostly encouraging them to show rather than tell, to use descriptive words, to use punctuation to clarify, and to connect the logic dots so the reader could follow. Notice that spelling and grammar are not on the list—I wanted journal entries to remain as positive an exercise as possible.
Somewhere around grade 5 or 6 I no longer read their entries, scanning quickly simply for length and that they did not write “dog” 50 times across the page. At this stage journals become a private place for them to express ideas and feelings. As tempting as it is to step inside their heads and sneak a peek at their entries, I do not. Instead, my teacher skills of editing, corrections, and instruction are applied to essays, labs, and other reports.
In the hardest of seasons, journals have been a respite. In the best of seasons, journals have been a game. In both we have found that five minutes a day of this simple exercise can reap a lifetime of treasures.