Anyone do journal writing?

[TexasMom]

My oldest always did journal writing when he was in public school. Each kid had a notebook and they spent around 15 to 20 minutes each day writing in it... about anything they wanted to write about. I'm thinking of having him do this at home now. He seemed to enjoy doing it, and it would give me a small chunk of quiet time to work with my 5 year-olds. If you do this, how do you do it? Do you correct the grammar, spelling, etc? Do you have your kids rewrite anything? Or do you just let them "free write"? I'm just curious how anyone else does this. Thanks!

[plain jane]

My kids do journal writing- but only if/when the want to. Since I have girls, they usually want to. :)

 

I let them write whatever they want. Usually it's about something that's happened to them or about to happen. I bought the little notebooks that are half lined and the upper half of the page is blank for them to add drawings. They love to put in a drawing and take care to color them nicely.

 

I do not mark grammar but will sometimes mention a spelling mistake (though won't make them correct it). I want to encourage them to put their thoughts to paper and I think they'll enjoy looking back on them when they're older. I feel that if I correct grammar and spelling that it would suck the joy that they have in writing in their journals. We're in our 3rd year of doing this and by the end of the year I always notice huge improvements in the quality of their writing, so something is working. :)

 

I try to have them do journal writing 2-3 times per week, depending on what is going on. If they don't feel like doing it one day, we simply do a writing assignment instead. I wouldn't force them to do it but I think it's a good way to get them going on creative writing and finding their voice. It's really neat to see their different temperaments show through in their writing and how they view similar experiences.

[Kuovonne]

My big girl does her journal every day. Yes, it is something "schoolish" for her to do independently while I work with her sister. I have her do one page per day: write a bit, draw a picture, and date it. I don't correct anything, although if something irks me I might mention it but not require her to fix it. Mostly I look for things she's done well and gush about them.

[JessieC]

I plan to do this with dd next year, maybe in the second part of the year since she is only 6. I will suggest she write a story, something that happened to her, a person she loves, or whatever else she feels like. I think it's a great way to build writing fluency. I would not correct grammar or spelling. I believe in the "writing process" approach--if there is something in her journal she wanted to develop into a more elaborate writing assignment, she could write another draft and then I would go over spelling and grammar with her.

 

Jessica

mom of 6yo and 3yo, preparing to homeschool

[Sun]

I do this with my son, age 8. I do not mark grammar or spelling, but I do take note of errors and use them for future spelling/dictation/editing lessons.

 

I think writing a page in his writing journal each day has really helped build his writing fluency. Initially, he had a hard time getting half a page, and now he can easily do a page at a time. I think gaining fluency with free writing like this helps him with other types of writing.

[JadeOrchidSong]

My ds 8 and 6 just started doing this. They like it. It is like half a page for ds8 and two sentences for ds6.

[ondreeuh]

Yep!

 

I've heard on this forum that freewriting is totally unnecessary, but it has only benefited my son. He is a reluctant writer but loves the freedom to do whatever he wants in his journal. Most days I have to give him suggestions (write about what you did with your friend yesterday, write about the game you're playing). He struggles to get thoughts on paper and journaling gives him gentle practice. He also enjoys illustrating his journal.

 

He will often flip to the beginning and remark on how much his handwriting has improved. It's a nice record for him to see that practice works!

[ChandlerMom]

Yep. Every day for my 7yo, at least one page in a composition book (she often draws pics on the opposite side), about whatever she wants unless she asks me for ideas (have a handful of options on the top of your head, :lol:) Recently she's been writing lots of creative stories and poetry. No editing by me, though I will have her come back and pick one to revise, expand, correct later on and maybe "publish" as a small bound book with illustrations, etc. I do take mental note of any common spelling or grammar errors and work those into our lessons. :D

 

A wonderful outlet for my little perfectionist -- she needs the freedom to write and not worry about being "perfect". :tongue_smilie: Her writing was getting strangled by writing "programs". We're skipping dictation for the same reason. YMMV but I think it can be a great thing for any kid willing to do it! I don't think I'd force a child this age to do it if they haven't done it already, at least not daily.

[Hedgehogs4]

My ds 9 has just started a journal of his own volition. My dd5 does daily copywork that includes writing the date, the day, and a short sentence or two about our life that day, or a sentence that reflects something that happened in a story we have read. (intro to narration)

[RachelFlores]

I think Journal writing is a great introduction to writing in general. I've taught preschool several times and the last time I included a journal component. This was with a group of 3 year olds and we met twice a week. We were doing a letter of the day curriculum and since it was three year olds their "journal" was about the only thing we did that involved writing. I would help them write the letter of the week, date the page and then they could write/draw anything else they wanted. If they wanted me to write words on their page I would. I would often ask what they were drawing and if I could write that on their page, sometimes they would want me to and sometimes they wouldn't. It was so fun looking at their progress over the year and a great keepsake for the parents. I just started "journaling" with ds (3) and he thinks it is so neat.

 

Dd (5) doesn't journal everyday, but I try to get to it at least once a week. She writes a sentence (sometimes more than one) and then draws.

Freewriting might not be necessary, but I think is an easy, fun way to practice a lot of writing skills that they are learing. Oh, I don't correct, but when she is asking for help I will remind her about punctuation and stuff.

[jasar31629]

We haven't this year but for the past 3 we did. This year we do a weekly scrapbook page.

 

I did not correct much in the past...it was like trying to not scratch an itch. I would however note misspellings on my words-to-work-on list for the future. :) I wanted it to be her area that she could just go for it- she knew to keep it fairly neat so she could enjoy it later, but there were days she wrote a few words and days she wrote a few paragraphs (she was young).

 

I would recommend putting a timer on though...this tended to be an area that she could get awfully involved in and next thing you knew an hour had passed!

[TexasMom]

Thank you to everyone for your responses! I'm now planning to start journal writing next week, and have a pretty good idea of how we're going to do it. So thanks for all of your help!