Bonding with the family

The kids have had the last two weeks off of school. There was Christmas last week and then New Year's this week. They have had the chance to visit with family they don't get to see every day. They have also gotten the chance to spend time with friends.



We also decided that we want to do something fun as a family. My friend posted a picture on Facebook in December and I realized right then that I found what I wanted to do with my kids! Family journaling!

Source

Lakeshore is a site with a lot of wonderful products for teaching children. They also have free printables. The journaling caught my eye for several reasons.

1. My kids love to write
2. I love to write
3. In the computer age, we need to work on our penmanship

Journaling has SO many other benefits as well. As a family that is working to grow together, the journals will help the children in areas where they cannot express. Monkey and Bullfrog know that we will share these journals at the end of the year, but they can state if they want it read before then. This is the one area where they can express themselves completely without any fear of consequences. I do not have to fear a stranger hacking into their journal and finding out their secrets or them posting pictures that may fall into the wrong hands. I am okay with giving them this outlet.

So, how do the writing prompts help?

I have given the children a full page to write. If they choose to only write on the prompt at the top of the page, they are getting a chance to unwind. If they want to write more, there is plenty of space. They can use pictures and words to express their anger, fear, anxieties, and even look back and see how those emotions came about.


Life is not easy and kids do not always understand why things happen. I am not asking my children to ever understand what took place that led up to last year. What I want to do is show them that we can use bonding activities and other methods to express ourselves. We never let the sun go down on our anger. I know that sounds cheesy, but it is one thing that we make sure of. There are kisses and hugs for everyone. I am hoping that with these journals that they will get to the point where they will feel comfortable sharing everything with me. The first step is me showing them that I am willing to let them see the inner me in my journals.