An Introduction-Journal On!

Welcome to my 2020 Blogging A-Z April Challenge. Each day, I will post a Journal On! Daily Writers’ Workshops lesson and prompt. Teachers, parents, and students may use the material to encourage daily writing practice, spark insight, and develop mindful reflection.  

An Introduction

Journal On! Daily Writers’ Workshops

Welcome to Journal On! Daily Writers’ Workshops. I am an author and a teacher and will join you through these workshops. Journaling is a creative outlet. With practice, the written words paint the pictures and feel the emotions of the moments. Memories stir. Reflection reveals paths, solutions, and offers peace. Storytelling is born.   

Due to COVID-19, schools are closed, and it is not for just a day or two of snow play. Many parents, children, and teachers are home, isolated from friends, routines, and comfortable habits. The daily schedules are not familiar, and palpable stress hovers throughout the very long days. Children feel the pressure and anxiety as intensely as adults. 

The goal of Journal On! Daily Writers’ Workshops is to provide daily writing practice, inspire creative thought, and promote mindful expressive writing. I had adapted the design of my workshops for children between the Pre-K to middle school ages. However, children of all ages may find the prompts beneficial and fun. 

Journaling is the practice of keeping a “diary”. It explores thoughts and feelings surrounding events or everyday happenings. To that end, journaling keeps the stories that fill our lives. Life has its shares of highs and lows and plateaus. We wake up, meander through our routines, and return to the day’s end. Along the way, stories collect from our observations, our interactions, and adventures. We celebrate the upside of life. The hardships are pondered and wrestled with as we attempt to find answers. The stories that stick stand out and are shared. Memorable ones are retold and remembered through the generations. We become the storytellers. 

I will post a quick lesson and a prompt through April. Teachers are welcomed to post on their virtual classrooms for their students to access. Parents may present the lessons and prompts to their children, then let their children write as independently as possible. There are three prompt levels: Primary, Intermediate, and Upper-Intermediate. There are no right or wrong answers, just stories waiting to be told by you. Students can upload their assignments to their teacher’s virtual classroom and/or save them as a portfolio for their return to school. 

If students can upload to their teacher’s virtual classroom, I suggest one of three modalities. Send an actual document. Although I profess that handwriting journal entries provides a richness and memory to the writing process, transposing to a word processing program has its advantages. Another alternative is to take a clear picture of the entry and upload as a jpeg. The final option is to upload a video of the student reading the journal entry out loud.  

I’m very excited to join you. Please send me comments and suggestions. It is the best way to share and grow on our journeys. 

Are you ready to begin?

                         Journal On!