Thinking about starting up a journal with your students?
There are many ways to approach the experience of keeping a journal in preschool. As you read about our journals, I hope you will be inspired to take what we do and run off in a direction that works best for your students. For today, I am just going to give you a little sneak peak at our journals and ten simple tips I use for keeping a journal…
Tip #1: Choose your method for keeping a journal
In our classroom, we use a blank book for our journals. I buy two sets each school year. The pages of the first blank book are usually filled up by the end of December and we begin with a new blank book in January. I have seen folks use pocket folders with clasps in the center to hold paper, file folders with holes punched in the center, or spiral bound notebooks. Whatever your choice is, keep in mind how your journals will do over the long term (a matter of several months) and how well the children will be able to manage their journals during that time…
Tip #2: Choose where you will keep your journals
We keep our journals in a clear file holder on the wall. The children can get them out on their own and put them away on their own. We talk about this at the beginning of the school year and remind the children not to put their journals in their cubbies but to keep them in our journal holder so we will have them all throughout the school year…
Tip #3: Choose your writing tool for your journals
We use good quality Crayola crayons in our journals for several reasons…
- One reason is that good quality crayons are bright, colorful, and easier for preschool age children to work with. With colored pencils, for example, the drawings seem to be too light to see clearly. This is due to still building fine motor strength and control.
- A second reason is that crayons are less messy than using something like markers. Markers will bleed through the paper or smear and in time, this can make for one messy looking journal which does not do a very good job of inviting the children to do their best work.
- A third reason is because crayons tend to keep the children focused on the drawing or writing process rather than on exploring a tool. With pencils, for example, our students want to explore the erasing more than the writing or they can easily get distracted by wanting to sharpen their pencils.
So we save the markers, pencils, and other writing tools for the other writing experiences in our classroom and stick with the crayons for our journals…
Tip #4: Consider how often your students will write or draw in their journal
In my classroom, we have journal time once a week but I am considering changing that next year. I think next year we will stick with the once a week for the first half of the year so I can make sure the children have a good grasp on how to use and care for and write or draw in our journals. Then for the second half of our school year, I would like to leave the journal experience open to the children to explore anytime they would like…
Tip #5: Give your students guidance on your journal process
At the beginning of the school year, I walk my students through the process of opening the cover of their journal, then go page by page until they come to the first page that is still left blank before they begin adding something new.
- Finding the next new page helps the children to use their journals in an organized fashion.
- Finding the next new page helps us (the teachers or parents) to go back through the timeline of their journal entries.
- Starting at the beginning and finding the next new page emulates the reading and story telling process for the kids.
Tip #6: Decide whether or not you will write in the children’s journals
After the children complete a new journal entry, they know to bring their journal over to where ever Mrs. Courtney and I are and then they are invited to “Tell us their story.”
- Sometimes the children will tell us long and elaborate stories and when this happens, we listen to their story then write the “condensed” version using as many of their words as we can. We do not add our own words to the story or modify their story – we just condense it.
- If the children just tell us a simple title or make a simple statement, then we write that down exactly as we were told – even if their story doesn’t seem to go with their drawing.
- We almost always add a quick date below each journal entry for the parents to see the timeline on journal entries when the journals go home.
Tip #7: Know the stages of drawing
At the beginning of our school year, it isn’t unusual for some of our students to choose one color of crayon and quickly scribble one large blob (for lack of a better word) on their paper then say “I’m done!” We don’t correct this but rather still have the children come and tell us their story. Even though it may look like a blob to me, it may very well be a meaningful picture to the child and scribbling anything is definitely an important part of the beginning stages of writing. As the year progresses and the children seem ready, we begin applying different techniques to slow the children down and to get them to focus on drawing something more specific in their journals. We try different techniques as needed…
- Using more than one color. We might tell the children they can draw anything they want but must use at least three different color of crayons in their drawing.
- Drawing cubes are an excellent way to get children exploring different type of drawing techniques and symbols and stories in their journals
- Journal prompts (as shown below) work well for our older students.
- Drawing Prompts (also shown below) work well for most of our students.
Tip #8: Using journal prompts
A journal prompt can be in the form of a children’s book you have read, a unit your are exploring, a trip you have taken, the weather you are experiencing, a specific word you are highlighting, and the list goes on. There are several ways to give a journal prompt..
- Prompting from a recent experience: We might mention to the children something like, “You all spent lots of time building a snowman today – perhaps you would like to share something about snowmen in your journals today.”
- Prompting from a well loved children’s book: We might say something like, “In our book, the children planted a seed and it grew big and tall – perhaps you could draw a story about a seed too.”
- Prompting from a specific word: We might say, “What is one word you heard us talk about a lot today?” As the children choose a word, we will invite them to consider drawing a picture about that word in their journal and then writing the word in their journal too.
In any case, we still leave the journal process open to what the children would prefer to draw. Sometimes the prompt is needed and preferred and other times, the children will have their own ideas of what interested them that day.
Tip #9: Using Drawing Prompts
Drawing prompts are similar to the other journal prompts that were mentioned above but when giving a drawing prompt, I actually do a little art lesson on how to take basic shapes like circles or triangles or squares to create a familiar object. A drawing prompt is very helpful for children who need that little extra encouragement to try something new in their journal…
Remember, it is important to not take over the journal experience by structuring it too much to meet your own expectations. Use different techniques and prompts to help your students expand on their skills in drawing and story telling where needed but keep any approach or new technique in balance. While inviting new skills for writing and drawing don’t get so caught up on this that you begin to intrude on your students’ ability and opportunity to use their own ideas and imagination…
Tip #10: Encourage your students to tell each other their stories
At the beginning of the year, we only have the children share their journals with the teacher, but I have found that towards the middle to end of the year, it is a good idea to invite the children to share their journals with each other. When they share with one another, it brings new value to the journal experience…
- By sharing their most recent journal entry with each other, the children are gaining even more story telling practice.
- Sharing their most recent journal entry also encourages the children to reflect on their own thoughts and drawings.
- I noticed that when the children take the time to share with their peers, they also end up answering questions from their peers about their choices, drawings, or the story.
- And the process of listening to others tell their stories and the chance to look at other drawings gives the children new inspiration for things they can do in their own journals.
I am sure you have other experiences about keeping a journal that would be great for us to know or perhaps you have questions about something I have shared today. Feel free to leave a comment below and we will continue the discussion on journals in preschool.
Available on Amazon
Links to Grow On
More ideas for Journals can be found here on my Journal Pinterest Board!
What age are your children when you introduce the journals? Do you think very young threes could be successful with journaling? Would you make any modifications to you description above?
My students are three to five. For young threes, prepare to have lots and lots of scribble pages going on. The focus would be more on how to find that next open page in the journal but by the time they get to about 3.5 their drawings will gradually begin to take on new form. Just remember to make sure you are offering lots of different types of coloring and drawing opportunities throughout your classroom and not just in journals so that they gets lots of freedom to explore drawing tools. Threes really are all about exploring the tools for… Read more »
We journal too, and I love how you’re using it! Pinning.
Thank you for the pin:)
I love, love, love this post! Your tips are wonderful, and kids are so proud of their work when it is in book form.
I think even us grown ups love seeing our work in book form! There is just something special about having that collection of our memories and drawings all in one special book.
Thank you for this post! We have journal time too and I’ve never been 100% confident on how to approach journal prompts. This is great. Is there a particular time of day you find the children more receptive to writing in their journals? I just have as part of their center time, but I’m not sure it’s the best time as they are sometimes so focused on other things. Thanks so much!
We don’t do journals in center time – we sit as a large group to write in our journals for most of the school year. For young children – journal writing isn’t always something that they will find as interesting as going off to play in blocks, sand, or dress-up so the children just sort of rush through it to get it over with rather than really getting invested in the process. So we set aside a specific time each week to talk about our journals, brainstorm them, and then all the children go off to get their journal, add… Read more »
Oh, and we do our journals at the very end of our day – before going home. We allow about 30 minutes for discussion and drawing and story telling then the kids go and get their bags and head to the pick-up line!
Thanks so much! At the end of the day is a good idea…I’ll try it:)
Where did you purchase the journals? They look like they are just the right size.
There is an amazon link at the bottom of the post to where you can purchase them. I get mine from our local school supply store here in town:)
Hello, I’m writing from Argentina. I read your blog almost every day finding interesting new ideas for my class.. I work in public school in Buenos Aires, our everyday reality is different but I’m always looking for ideas to adapt to our situation, traying hard to improve it. I loved this journals idea, I was wonderind how do you present the journals to the chidren? do you tell them they are going to write or draw about things that happen in their lives or they can draw anything they want? I don’t know if my english is appropiate, I apologize… Read more »
Hi Namoi, If you look down on the left hand side of my blog, there is a translate button. It should translate the post to a language you might be more easily able to read and understand. In the post, I talk about what we write about. But to give you a quick answer, we take a variety of approaches. Sometimes we write about what we are doing in preschool (like making a snowman), sometimes we choose a specific word to draw (like a flower) and write the word too, and sometimes the children just choose what interests them to… Read more »
This is a great article, Deborah! You should develop a session on it for pre-K teachers. I bet it would draw a crowd!
Heidi Butkus
I would love to do that! PreK teachers could do so much with journals!!
Hi Deborah, thanks for posting this. I’ve also done journals in my Pre-K class, beside doing some of your ideas I also have the children draw a self-portrait and write their name. We do this once a month, starting the 1st week of school. It’s great to see the progress that they make during the school year and the children really enjoy seeing their own progress when I show them their 1st name writing and portrait at the end of the year
I love that idea Robin! Will keep that in mind for next year!!
Hi! I have used “Science Journals” with children as young as 3. The children draw pictures of things such as plants growing or even a tadpoles growth! We have the children describe what they see and then draw that, dictating their words on each new page. It’s great to see what they say and draw!
Oh Ginny,
I love the idea of using a science journal! Oh I am going to have fun with that idea next year!!!
Lovely ideas. But I have 80 children. We glue some of their work into their ‘special books’. Do you do this too?
Hi Kath,
That is a great idea! Do you also let them draw in their special books?
Hello, I am a preschool student and I am looking for activities about animals but in that case is for deaf students that are integrated in a normal class! I would like different ideas. Thank you!
Hi Juliana,
My best advice is to make sure you are scouring pinterest for ideas! You can start here! https://pinterest.com/teachpreschool/animals/
You are amazing! I wish I could visit and/or be a student. Your journal ideas have helped me think about how I can move our journalling in a new direction and give the children opportunities to express themselves in new ways and at their own pace. Thanks for the inspiration!
I am so glad you found this post so helpful and are inspired to take journals a new direction. I am constantly trying to come up with new ideas for journally too only I tend to get too many ideas which means we would be journalling all day! LOL!
Could you tell me more about how you use your drawing cubes? I haven’t heard of this idea before. Did you draw the pictures and then they try to replicate? This sounds like a way to get some of my more reluctant writers to get involved!
Hi Kristen,
We did something similar to what is shared in this post: https://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/05/a-sunny-day-drawing-cube-game-in-pre-k/ and in this post: https://www.teachpreschool.org/2012/07/the-color-of-birds-and-painting-with-color-cubes/
Basically, yes! The children toss the cube and then whatever lands on top – they draw! We start with simple lines, dots, and circle cubes and work our way up to more advanced drawings.
When your class writes in the journals, do the children write together or in small groups. Thanks
I am implementing journals in my pre-k class. Thank you for your advise!
hello, im hida and just teach children with special needs. can they make their own journal like normal child? thank you so much
Wow, Wonderful ideas!! I am also thinking of starting journal with 3-5 age groups while I’ve been doing with 6 and above!!How can we motivate pre school teachers to start journal with their students? what could be the initial start. would really appreciate your suggestions..
I have just written and ebook on that topic! Coming soon!! But to answer your question, I think it starts with training them on all the basics and giving them a vision and purpose for doing journals. Brainstorm ideas for how journals can be integrated into the daily lesson plans. How they can add dimension to the child’s day and learning. Teachers need to see purpose and value so begin there.
Journaling is so important in the early years. I add a few lines to the bottom of the page & encourage the kids to write their own story. When they bring it to me, I write what they tell me and I’m always surprised to see the growth of their writing skills over the year. Scribbles turn into letters, letters into words, words into full sentences for some children. Open-ended, developmentally appropriate, and inherently differentiated for each child.
[…] Again, drawing can be an excellent tool for communication when your young child has not yet developed writing skills. By providing your preschooler with different drawing prompts every day, you can encourage their creativity by trying to express something new. […]
We use our journals at the beginning of the day. This is a process that has evolved over the course of 3 semesters. It began as as simple sign-in on paper to full-fledged journals. As children arrive, they find their journals at the writing table along with a prompt that has the date on it. Families sit with their children and help them explore the question (or not if they choose) and draw and write with them. Sometimes they spend 15-20 minutes or more working together. As the children finish (at their own pace) we gather together and they share… Read more »
Thank you so much! This is incredible. I taught fifth grade before I became a mother, and now I’m looking for ways to stimulate my young children’s minds. I LOVE your posts.