If you’re wondering to yourself, “What are homeschool morning journals, and why should we use them in our homeschool?”….you’re in the right place! Morning journals have literally transformed our homeschool! And in this blog post I’m sharing exactly how that has happened, and why you should include this activity in your own homeschool journey.
What is a morning journal?
I have a whole blog post written up that deep dives into exactly what homeschool morning journals are, and how to use them. I recommend reading that so you have a full understanding of what they are meant to be!
But in a nutshell, a homeschool morning journal is a creative writing time where your kids can write about whatever they want!
You can provide journal prompts if needed, but most of the time, my kids just want to write about something in their life or on their hearts. This ranges anywhere from an event that happened the day before, a dream they had, or even a made up story!
But, the key to morning journals being effective, is they need to be unmonitored. This is not the time for you to be checking their spelling, or sentence structure. The whole point here is for both younger children and older children to have an outlet for whatever is going on inside their heads – without the pressure of Mom correcting them.
Supplies needed
Homeschool morning journals can look however you want them to look – there is no “right way” when it comes to what you use. But I’m all about keeping things simple and budget friendly, so here’s a quick list of what we use:
- Hilroy Exercise Books (any basic scribbler will work)
- Craft tape (my kids like to make borders on their pages – this is purely optional)
- Stickers (again…optional)
- Pencils and/or markers
Why this is a transformative strategy
I am no homeschooling expert – let me just say that right off the bat! However, I am a homeschool mom who has learned a thing or two over the last couple of years.
I have seen my children go from dragging their feet to the table, to bouncing around excitedly because they know they get to do their morning journals. Seriously! It has made that much of a difference!
It’s no secret that journal writing is effective for people of all ages. There are studies done all the time about the positive effects of journaling. Here is an article that describes the various emotional and mental benefits of journaling for children.
By starting the day with morning journal time, my kids not only get to have fun and be creative, but they have an opportunity to release or explore whatever is on their minds. I have found that this really improves their focus and mood for the rest of the day!
Your Daily Homeschool Schedule
Homeschool morning journals are a great way to kick off your daily homeschool schedule. If you’re still working on creating your morning routine, make sure you add this daily journal activity to your homeschool to-do list. Also, if finding a good morning routine is something you are struggling with, my post on how to create a morning routine that actually works, is worth the read….if I do say so myself! This was an area I really struggled with, but have developed some simple strategies that make a world of difference!
Now that the kids always start their day off with a journal entry, our mornings run so much smoother. This ultimately affects our entire daily schedule, and has a positive impact on how they view their homeschooling experience as a whole.
So, if you want to try the morning journal concept in your own homeschool, I encourage you to make it the first thing on your schedule. It has been a game changer for us, and I’m sure it will be for you too!
Handling a reluctant writer
My daughter (who is 11), is extremely creative and loves all things to do with art and inventions. I often wonder if architecture will be her calling in life – I guess we’ll wait and see! However, when it comes to writing, she has always responded very negatively.
I tried giving her a nature journal and sending her outside to record her findings, only to discover she would write one or two words and then just draw pictures. I’ve given her writing prompts as a starting point, and then told her to write a story of her own from what I gave her. That often ended up with her in tears….and me almost in tears. She is a reluctant writer and it has been our biggest struggle in our homeschool.
Until….homeschool morning journals! I don’t know exactly if it’s the fact that she knows I’m not looking for spelling errors, or if she just enjoys the freedom that morning journals give her – but her creative juices flow like never before during her daily entry time. This is HER journal, and I have nothing to do with it, other than providing her a specific time to write in it.
What I am discovering, is that by allowing her complete freedom with her homeschool journal, her reluctance to write disappears. And even since the beginning of the school year until now, I have seen an improvement in her writing skills when it comes to her other subjects. Simply being given the space to put her thoughts on paper, without any fear of judgement, has turned my reluctant writer into quite the little author. It’s a very cool process to watch!
How younger children can benefit
If your children are still young and haven’t learned how to write yet….that’s ok! My son just turned 6 a few months ago, and other than spelling his name, he really isn’t doing much writing yet at all. However, he loves his morning journal time just as much as my daughter. We just do it in a slightly different way!
First, he draws a picture and usually makes a fun border on his page with decorative tape. Then, (and this is one of his favorite things), he dictates to ME what he wants to write in his journal and I write it down for him. After he’s done, I read back to him what he wrote and he absolutely loves hearing it all come together! Hearing me read to him, and knowing it’s his own words I’m reading, is extremely special for him.
Plus, this is a really good way for young children to practice early literacy skills, and develop their creative thought processes. Dictation is known to help them improve their grammar, organize their thoughts, and make the connection between the spoken word and written word. Not to mention, it’s one of the daily activities they love doing!
If you want more information on how journaling improves your writing skills, readable.com has an article all about this.
Something special for the homeschool family
As homeschool moms, we cherish these years we get to have with our kids. And one amazing benefit of homeschool morning journals, is that by the end of the year, we have multiple completed journals from each child! I plan to keep these journals forever, as a reminder of the beautiful thoughts that lived inside my children’s minds when they were young.
They are like time capsules – capturing the realities of my children’s daily thoughts and preserving them on these journal pages for years to come. There are many great ideas when it comes to homeschooling, but from my own experience, homeschool morning journals has been the best one so far. My children look forward to their school days, I’m seeing an improvement in their writing, and it gives them an outlet for anything on their minds or hearts.
The perfect time to start using morning journals in your homeschool, is now. Don’t wait – you’ll be so glad you did this!
Blessings!
~Maryann
[…] >>>Read also: How Morning Journals Can Transform Your Homeschool […]