Record ~ Reflect ~ Create Your Days
Journaling can help us create the learning environment our children need, identify and take on challenges, and find joy our homeschool days.
Why Journal?
Journaling clears out the clutter in our head. It helps us process our needs, wants, and worries.
It is a place for us to put the things we can’t say or aren’t sure how to say.
A journal is a place to record whatever is sitting in our mind, filling or weighing down our hearts.
It is a place to have a conversation, ask questions, find solutions, make lists, doodle, and allow time for pause.
A journal is a place to put first thoughts, write down ideas without the need for a plan, ask ourselves wonderings without the need for an answer.
Let’s Begin Together
Let’s begin! Grab a journal! It can be as simple as a spiral notebook or new word document.
Find a quiet, comfy place to sit. Turn off your phone and any notifications. Set a timer for as little as ten minutes. Start writing. Don’t worry about spelling or grammar or even making sense. It’s okay to switch topics or change thoughts. Try to keep your pencil moving.
Not sure where to start? Look below for journal prompts. Use them as guides or not at all. They are simply one place to begin.
Bookmark this page. Each day, week, or month return and choose a prompt or several. Remember, this writing is just for you.
Journal Prompts for Homeschoolers
- Begin with- This year… Today… I wonder… I need…
- Describe what a typical homeschool day look like?
- If your days were a temperature, how would your days feel?
- What parts of your day go well? Which parts feel hard?
- If you could do just one thing all day with your homeschooler/s, what would you choose? What would they choose?
- What is one thing you’d like to do differently this month, semester, year?
- What would you like to keep the same?
- What classes, curriculums, resources, books did you and your homeschooler love last year? What made them wonderful?
- What questions do you find yourself asking?
There is no one way or right way to journal. Our handwriting can be messy or neat as we want. Spelling and grammar- they don’t count.
Below is a snippet from my journal-
This year my word is BE. I want to BE more present. More present when I sit at the table with Sophie while she practices long division. I want us to read more together, make more time for art and hands-on science. Ever since COVID and our homeschool co-op’s move online, it feels like we’re moving at warp speed. Why? Why do I feel like we just need to get it done? It’s not the learning I want to fly through. It’s the chaos of the unknown. The fear of sickness. It’s the anxiety of the news and truth and violence I want to fast forward and move away from.
What can I do?
I can go to bed early and snuggle up with my girl and a good book. I can get us up earlier so we feel ready to begin. I can make smoothies. I can focus on learning and enjoyment instead of how many lessons we’ve completed. I can pull out games and paint markers, the basket making kit I’ve been saving, remind myself we are not running a race.
Journal Prompts for Winter
- Winter is . . . Winter brings . . . Winter feels . . .
- Write about the things your family loves most. Maybe make a list of each person and jot down the thing or things that bring them the most joy. Do these things live in your day to day life? Can they?
- Write about a really good moment this week.
- Write about a really hard moment this week.
- Write about where you are in your homeschool journey.
- If your homeschool days this month had a name what would they be called?
- What is something you have learned recently?
- What is something you’d like to keep working on as a parent, teacher, human?
Here is a snippet from my journal-
Winter is my least favorite season. This year, 2021, it rings even more true. I feel stuck. What’s worse is I already felt stuck before the snow and ice came. My children are feeling this too. Especially my teen, who like me, would rather not be cold or wet. Today, when I woke up and saw another four inches covering the ground, I went into what my children refer to as Robot Momma Mode. I needed something to control. I scanned the room for things I could fix, put in their place, check off my list. I told my kid they couldn’t do anything until xyz was finished.
It was a crappy start to the morning and I made it worse.
Thankfully, I’m learning to catch myself when I start moving into robot control everything mode. Not always before but it’s progress.
I apologized to my kid and explained how I was feeling. I told them I trust them to do what they need to do. I do.
I cleaned the dirty ceiling and bathroom, which made me feel less stressed. That was something positive I could do.
I took a Claritin to ward off the allergy attack any kind of moisture in the air gives me.
I journaled.
The day reset. The snow didn’t look quite imprisoning.
Journal Prompts for Spring
- Spring brings… This spring I want to…
- What is beginning? What is something that is growing inside you?
- Thinking back to the last several months, what has worked well? What needs revision?
- Write about something you loved doing this school year.
- What is something you are giving yourself this spring?
- What is something you feel confident about? What is something you could use help with?
- Write about a moment in homeschooling you want to remember.
- Write about a time where you helped your child overcome a challenge or you yourself overcame a challenge.
- Finish any of these sentences- I feel…I need…I am…
Here’s a snipped from my journal.
I feel more capable moving through the hard moments in the day when we can go outside and be together in the sunshine. I’m eager to be back the picnic table doing science and reading in the hammock. I’d rather homeschool in spring, summer, and fall and vacation somewhere warm in winter. Maybe that’s what high school for my youngest will look like. We’re working a lot on growth mindset. My challenge is not feeling fixed about her fixed mindset. It’s hard when there are things to try but fear gets in the way. I fear not trying something and missing out on what could be working. My homeschooler is the opposite.
This spring I am saying yes to spontaneous in-person playdates and remembering how less seat work doesn’t equate to less learning. We’ll try starting our day even later. Mornings continue to be tough, but by noon she is awake and excited to learn. Why start earlier? We don’t have to.
I’m also saying yes to more journaling- together and on my own. This clears the clutter and what ifs out of my brain. I already feel more focused. We should start our days this way or at least, I should.
Our children benefit from journaling too! They can use the journal prompts above or try any of the ones below.
Writing Prompts for Young Writers | Spring
Writing Prompts for Young Writers | All About Fall
Looking to add journaling and creative writing time into your homeschool day? It’s wonderful!
Creating a Writing Practice with Our Children
Create a Writing Basket | Encourage Young Writers
I also offer creative writing classes and tutoring sessions to help students become more proficient writers.
Current Class Offerings on Creative ELA
Current Class Offerings on Outschool
Feel free to leave any snippets of your journal in the comments below.
Here’s to journaling- recording, reflecting, and using what we find in our minds and hearts to help us create the homeschool days our family needs to learn and love to learn.
