J is for Journaling

Blogging through the alphabet with fellow homeschoolers online has become a wonderfully introspective exercise that’s helped identify my mission & aim in educating my kiddos here at home. This week we’re on the letter “J”…

While packing up our house and sifting through boxes for our upcoming move, I stumbled upon a bounty of treasure in a homeschool keepsake box: Notebook upon notebook of the girls’ journals. There are a lot of things I’ve goofed as a homeschool mom, but one thing I’ve done consistently is having my kids journal every single day (year round!) since we began our adventure of learning at home four years ago. In our homeschool, J is for Journaling.

I stockpile inexpensive spiral notebooks (watch for back-to-school sales and buy in bulk!) and daily encourage them to write. Theirs are gratitude journals, each entry penned to God in thankfulness. They count their blessings, thanking the Giver of all good things for whatever is foremost on their minds each day. Even on the gloomiest of days, one can always find SOMEthing to be grateful for… Some entries are quite amusing! They usually include an illustration, and that week’s memory verse for Awana. These days I require at least some cursive, and edit for content, grammar, and spelling– early entries were much rougher and brief.

Though embarrassingly simple, this uncomplicated free-writing is the cornerstone of our home-education and the very first assignment my pupils complete daily. It prompts us to start each day with positivity, humble reflection, and naming of feelings.

a / b / c / d / e / f / g / h / i / j / k / l / m / n / o / p / q / r / s / t / u / v / w / x / y / z