The Write Stuff - Homeschool Journal Writing
>>>>What did you require for journal writing? Did you have any assigned topics or insist on a certain length per entry?<<<<
What is your purpose for journal writing? Perhaps it's different than mine. My goal was to get my children to write quickly on any subject, in their own handwriting. That's what they have to do for the SAT essay question. In high school, my children wrote a longer paper every week, and they practiced essay writing each week as well. For both of those I would correct grammar, punctuation, and style. They did so much writing, I didn't feel like it was necessary for me to edit their journal, and editing it was not my goal.
Keeping my goal in mind, I didn't much care WHAT they wrote about, so much as I cared about the length and how quickly they did it. For that reason, I gave them each a small 4x6 or 5x7 spiral ring notebook. When I assigned them a journal writing activity, they were allowed to write about anything they wanted, but they had to fill one whole page in their journal. As they got older, they wanted it kept private, and that was fine with me. I just wanted to be sure that they wrote a whole page. For that reason, I had them hold up the book from across the room, and if I could see from that distance that they had filled a whole page, then they had met my expectations. I tried some books for journal writing, but my kids felt frustrated by being told what to write. Again, my goal was for them to write, and I wasn't interested in the topic. For that reason, I allowed them to not use a guide, but just write from their daily lives.
So my advice would be to consider what you are trying to achieve. Then adjust your journal writing requirements to meet YOUR needs for YOUR children. I'm sure that varies from family to family.
I hope that helps!
Blessings,
Lee
What is your purpose for journal writing? Perhaps it's different than mine. My goal was to get my children to write quickly on any subject, in their own handwriting. That's what they have to do for the SAT essay question. In high school, my children wrote a longer paper every week, and they practiced essay writing each week as well. For both of those I would correct grammar, punctuation, and style. They did so much writing, I didn't feel like it was necessary for me to edit their journal, and editing it was not my goal.
Keeping my goal in mind, I didn't much care WHAT they wrote about, so much as I cared about the length and how quickly they did it. For that reason, I gave them each a small 4x6 or 5x7 spiral ring notebook. When I assigned them a journal writing activity, they were allowed to write about anything they wanted, but they had to fill one whole page in their journal. As they got older, they wanted it kept private, and that was fine with me. I just wanted to be sure that they wrote a whole page. For that reason, I had them hold up the book from across the room, and if I could see from that distance that they had filled a whole page, then they had met my expectations. I tried some books for journal writing, but my kids felt frustrated by being told what to write. Again, my goal was for them to write, and I wasn't interested in the topic. For that reason, I allowed them to not use a guide, but just write from their daily lives.
So my advice would be to consider what you are trying to achieve. Then adjust your journal writing requirements to meet YOUR needs for YOUR children. I'm sure that varies from family to family.
I hope that helps!
Blessings,
Lee
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