Journaling?

[MiniBlondes]

I remember when I was in 4th grade, our class began every day with 15 minutes of journaling. We were encouraged to write openly and freely about anything. Sometimes our teacher would write a sentence starter on the board but we didn't have to use it. I remember that being my favorite part of the school day.

 

Does anyone here do journals? With or without sentence starters? Do you do it in addition to typical writing curriculum or do you do that by itself? Do you correct it grammatically in any way?

Edited July 29, 2012 by MiniBlondes

[Element]

I have ds do 15 minutes a day of journaling. I used to give him prompts but he hated it so now he just does his own thing. I wrote a little bit about it in the first paragraph of this blog post from January.

 

ETA:

 

With or without sentence starters? Without. I used to give prompts, but ds hated it so now I don't. Do you do it in addition to typical writing curriculum or do you do that by itself? We do it in addition to our writing program. Do you correct it grammatically in any way? No. It's a place where ds can write without worrying about being corrected. I do read the entries, though, so that I can see what he needs to work on in other subjects (spelling, grammar, etc.)

Edited July 29, 2012 by Element

[MiniBlondes]

Thank you! :)

[edeemarie]

We do journaling every day. I do give the kids prompts, only because they are young still. I typed out about 150 prompts (some of them included FREE WRITING) and we put them in a jar. They take turns picking one out every day. I don't correct grammar but I do try to keep note of it to work on during spelling or grammar time.

[Hunter]

This might be WAY offtopic, but...I think it is something that is never talked about in homeschool journaling posts, so...I'm going to talk about it, juuuust in case it's useful to someone :-0

 

Sometimes journals are used as a self-discovery tool. Often even when that is the purpose, prompts and student writing will be ALL about OTHER people and events the writer has no control over. At best the writer is only describing their REACTIONS to these people and events. For self-discovery, the writer should never mention a specific person or a specific event. If they notice a PATTERN in their reactions to a certain TYPE of event, that is okay.

 

So a self-discovery prompt might be to use sentences using the word "I", and not to use the name of anyone else. To stay entirely focused on themselves, and never allow another person to take over THEIR journal.

 

For people that don't know themselves being asked what their favorite is, is impossible to answer. They do better being given a single food, type of music, etc, and asked to notice their body's reaction to the item, and what they think that means.

 

Some people tend to dump trauma while journaling and become overstimulated and triggered. If a student has learned a simple knitting stitch, it's good to keep a scarf project nearby, and make sure they know they can close the journal and knit several rows before opening it and writing again. Knitting produces a rhythm that can slow and regulate brainwaves and heartbeat and breathing.

 

If this is too offtopic I'm sorry. It's just that journaling for some people, both kids and adults can actually be harmful. It crosses over into areas outside of merely being used as an academic tool.

[MiniBlondes]

This might be WAY offtopic, but...I think it is something that is never talked about in homeschool journaling posts, so...I'm going to talk about it, juuuust in case it's useful to someone :-0

 

Sometimes journals are used as a self-discovery tool. Often even when that is the purpose, prompts and student writing will be ALL about OTHER people and events the writer has no control over. At best the writer is only describing their REACTIONS to these people and events. For self-discovery, the writer should never mention a specific person or a specific event. If they notice a PATTERN in their reactions to a certain TYPE of event, that is okay.

 

So a self-discovery prompt might be to use sentences using the word "I", and not to use the name of anyone else. To stay entirely focused on themselves, and never allow another person to take over THEIR journal.

 

For people that don't know themselves being asked what their favorite is, is impossible to answer. They do better being given a single food, type of music, etc, and asked to notice their body's reaction to the item, and what they think that means.

 

Some people tend to dump trauma while journaling and become overstimulated and triggered. If a student has learned a simple knitting stitch, it's good to keep a scarf project nearby, and make sure they know they can close the journal and knit several rows before opening it and writing again. Knitting produces a rhythm that can slow and regulate brainwaves and heartbeat and breathing.

 

If this is too offtopic I'm sorry. It's just that journaling for some people, both kids and adults can actually be harmful. It crosses over into areas outside of merely being used as an academic tool.

 

I can definitely see where you're coming from.

[helena]

This might be WAY offtopic, but...I think it is something that is never talked about in homeschool journaling posts, so...I'm going to talk about it, juuuust in case it's useful to someone :-0

 

Sometimes journals are used as a self-discovery tool. Often even when that is the purpose, prompts and student writing will be ALL about OTHER people and events the writer has no control over. At best the writer is only describing their REACTIONS to these people and events. For self-discovery, the writer should never mention a specific person or a specific event. If they notice a PATTERN in their reactions to a certain TYPE of event, that is okay.

 

So a self-discovery prompt might be to use sentences using the word "I", and not to use the name of anyone else. To stay entirely focused on themselves, and never allow another person to take over THEIR journal.

 

For people that don't know themselves being asked what their favorite is, is impossible to answer. They do better being given a single food, type of music, etc, and asked to notice their body's reaction to the item, and what they think that means.

 

Some people tend to dump trauma while journaling and become overstimulated and triggered. If a student has learned a simple knitting stitch, it's good to keep a scarf project nearby, and make sure they know they can close the journal and knit several rows before opening it and writing again. Knitting produces a rhythm that can slow and regulate brainwaves and heartbeat and breathing.

 

If this is too offtopic I'm sorry. It's just that journaling for some people, both kids and adults can actually be harmful. It crosses over into areas outside of merely being used as an academic tool.

 

I agree and I appreciate you bringing it up!

 

I've decided to stick with science/nature studies journals. They can be personal and reflective in their own little way.