Journal with your Granddaughter

Start the new year off right--journal with your granddaughter.

I've never done much journaling until I retired. I did journal with my students when we had quiet journal writing time in class. I always enjoyed that. But that "grab your journal at the end of the day and write about your day" kind of writing--not so much. I found it boring. It was always the same old, same old--"I got up and drank my coffee, went to the grocery store, prepared dinner..." You get the idea. Not very exciting and certainly nothing to look forward to writing or reading. But then my friend suggested a happiness journal, and that was fun. And something I looked forward to. I'm sure you've heard of them--the premise is to write a list of five things that brought you happiness that day. Easy-peasy and it fills you with gratitude. That got me exploring other journals. I looked online and I now have a gratitude journal, an "I want to remember" journal, a prayer journal, a bird journal and on and on. I even keep a menu journal. 

One day my granddaughter and I were talking about journal writing and she commented that she often couldn't think of anything to write about at the end of her day. I told her I had the same trouble, but that I had found some great prompts for journal writing online. I sent them to her. Then we started sharing with each other what we had written. We did this all through emails and texts. It was fun!

I'll share with you the prompts that got us both started on journaling more often and sharing with each other:

Write to me via my contact page. I'll be glad to send you this list.

Another good list. Finish the sentence.

Added bonus? A great bonding time with your grandchildren!

Besides sharing our responses to the above questionnaires via text or emails, I enjoyed talking to her about her writing when I visited with her at her house. She would often drag me up to her room to show me what she had recently written. I loved it!

And if you have a grandchild that is a reluctant writer,  those one word prompts are great. And making a list seems infinitely easier than trying to come up with a paragraph or two about your day--ugh. And it's the reflecting about your day that is important. And oftentimes, one of your answers in the list enables you to write about a specific happening that you wouldn't have otherwise remembered. 

A new plan for 2019. . .

As always happens, my oldest granddaughter and I got caught up in the daily happenings of our life, and have been neglectful as far as sharing our journal. But I plan to crank it up again in this new year. And hopefully involve both my granddaughters. I've been reading that one should journal as you close out one year and begin a new one. Here, I'll show you what I mean--

Questions for both you and your granddaughter:

1. What did I learn this year?
2. What did I accomplish?
3. What would I have done differently?
4. What were the most significant events from the past year?
5. What happened to me that I feel good about?
6. What fun things did I do?
7. What problems or challenges did I encounter?
8. How am I different?
9. Make a list of at least 5 things that I am grateful for from this past year.
10. What habits/behaviors do I want to stop in the coming year?
11. What are some of my good habits/behaviors that I want to continue?

Final thoughts~

My reasons for sharing this with other grandparents are twofold. First, as I previously stated, it's a great bonding time for you and your grandkids. And as we start 2019, it's also a good time to suggest to your grandchildren that they reflect on their past year, and set some goals for the coming year. I also read where it's important for grandparents to check with their grandchildren to see how they're doing in achieving their new goals that they set for themselves. After all, that's what we're all about--being important role models and mentors in their lives.

And second of all, my fellow grandparents, we need to be about journaling ourselves. If you've never journaled, it's not too late to start. And how fun for your grandchildren to read when you depart this earthly home. They'll get to know you even more! And WE'RE NEVER TOO OLD TO MAKE NEW GOALS FOR OURSELVES! No matter the age, it's never too late to start something new, learn a new skill, have some changes you want to make for the new year. We can do this.

Lastly, if you've ever journaled with your grandchildren, please share. And I'll share with my readers. I love hearing from you.

I'll end with this quote from Robin S. Sharma:

"Writing in a journal reminds you of your goals and of your learning in life. It offers a place where you can hold a deliberate, thoughtful conversation with yourself."

And this one you can share with your grandkids:

"It allows me to get things out of my head and work them out in a way that feels safe." Emma Watson

Parting shot~

Yes, of course you can do this with grandsons. I have two grandsons--a 14 year-old and a 5-year-old. Trust me when I tell you that I'm not sure how journaling with me would go over with the 14 year old. And my 5-year-old is not writing yet. He's still in the pre-writing stage. I do know that he and his daddy replay his day at bedtime. My son often asks him some of these same questions: What did you do that was fun? What are you proud of?  Things like that. Any way you can get your grandchildren to reflect on their day/week/year is a good thing--whether it's shared journal writing or in conversations.