E is for Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

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

What a fun idiom—three rhyming words that tickle the tongue.

As a teacher, I reveled when a student “got it” and announced, “That’s easy!” There was always a that retort, “Easy peasy lemon squeezy!”

What is easy peasy lemon squeezy? In reality, it is not that easy to squeeze lemons. You need a strong hand to clasp a half a lemon and squash the juice out. Seeds need to be picked out, and there is the danger of a lemon squirt hitting your eye. I suppose lemon juicers make the squeezing job easier. Buying a lemon-shaped container filled with juice is the easiest squeezy solution. 

Master Chefs take years to perfect their lemon squeezy style and skill. They must choose the perfect lemon, find the just right way to slice, and squish the juice out and discard the seeds without suffering a squirt in the eye. It takes practice to complete the task quickly and efficiently. A Master Chef has to attend and tweak so that when a lemon needs squeezing, the job is easier than the last time. And each time a lemon needs to be squeezed, a new method or style may emerge. Learning continues. 

The same theory goes with journaling. Writing may seem easy peasy lemon squeezy, but it takes practice, experimentation, and time. At first, journaling is a struggle getting into a routine. Even a habit you want is hard to establish. 

I had written in notebooks and diaries since I was eight-years-old, but it took years to find a habit that fit me. Even when I did find a flow, things changed, and I had to evolve and learn to journal in new ways. These days I can say journaling is easy peasy lemon squeezy. It is part of who I am and what I do. Each day I practice because journaling gives my rambling thoughts clarity and a voice.

Let’s write about what is easy peasy lemon squeezy. Think about something you do almost every day that once took a lot of practice but is now, you know, easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Date your entry.

1. Primary Prompt: Draw a line dividing your picture box into two parts. On the left side, draw yourself learning to do something that was hard. Perhaps it is coloring in the lines, bouncing a ball, pumping your legs to swing on a swing by yourself. Now draw yourself on the right side of the picture box doing the task so easily. It is now easy peasy lemon squeezy. Don’t forget to draw your expressions. Label the parts of your picture on both sides. Write sentences like: Bouncing basketballs was hard. Now I can bounce a basketball better than my big brother.
2. Intermediate Prompt: Think about what was hard to do last year. What took lots of practice—playing musical scales, tying your shoes, climbing the rock wall to the tippy-top? How long did it take for this task to be easy peasy lemon squeezy? Did anyone help or encourage you? If so, how did that person help or encourage you?
3. Upper-Intermediate Prompt: Think back to something that took a lot of time and perseverance to understand and master. Did you ever give up, take a long hiatus? Why? And why did you return to it? Was there someone who helped you through the rough spots? Does this hard-earned easy peasy lemon squeezy skill give you pleasure? Are you motivated to keep pushing yourself to the next step where it’s not so easy peasy lemon squeezy?

Until tomorrow, Everyone.

Journal On!