Summer Journaling for Kids
Kindergarten teachers do an incredible job with students during the first year of formal education, however, once the last school bell rings, it is the job of the parents and guardians to reinforce the skills that were acquired during the year.
A “Summer Journal” is a great way to avoid summer learning loss for kindergarten students. Handwriting without tears has so many awesome resources for parents and teachers. It is a website that is worth visiting.
It would be easy for a parent to create their own journal or you could simply order the 48-page Draw and Write Journal.
Lulu Jr. Illustory Book Making Kit is another fun way to get kids writing and drwwing!
How it works
1. Draw a picture. At the top of each page, there is space for the student to draw a picture. Most children ages 5 – 7 love to draw, so this is a great way to let a child be creative. Ideas for the picture could be an activity that they completed during the day. Parents also could provide a focus for the child. Some ideas for drawings could be: draw a picture of the beach, draw a castle scene, baseball game, etc.
2. Write a description of the picture. The bottom half of the page has a section with double lines for a child to write. The writing should describe the picture that was drawn at the top of the page.
As you can see, there are many possibilities for the “Summer Journal.” You and your child can take turns thinking up guidelines for the next activity. Most children love to be creative, so I am sure there will be some very imaginative guidelines.
A “Summer Math Journal” is another great activity to reinforce math skills during the summer.
I hope you enjoy!
Mark Molloy is a teacher, parent, and founder of My Town Tutors, a website that connects parents with teachers who tutor. My Town Tutors lists teachers who tutor from Massachusetts. We are always looking for qualified teachers from all 50 states who tutor to join our national directory of teachers who tutor.
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p.s. Related posts:
Write Now Read Later: Summer Writing Prompts for Kids
Write First Read Later Alien Writing Prompts
Writing Revision Tips for Kids from Author Karen Day
Writing Tips for Kids from Author N. S. Blackman
Writing for Reluctant Readers from Author Ty Drago
Getting Kids Writing With a Progressive Story
Getting Kids Published from This Kid Reviews Books
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Multicultural Books for Kids on Pinterest.
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Children’s Book Activities on Pinterest.
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Thanks so much for the opportunity to write a guest blog. I hope your followers find it useful!
Hi Mark,
Thanks so much for the great post. I think we are all looking for ways to get our kids writing this summer. It turns out that math and reading aren’t enough. We also have to get them writing but since it’s summer, it has to be fun! The summer journaling looks fun! Thanks again!
Great post – thanks, Mark Molloy! My daughter would love filling up these fun journals. Also great to know about your website!
Hi Ann,
Glad you liked his post. The journaling sounds fun. We are going to try that!
Amy. I am glad it was helpful. I hope you daughter enjoys it! Thanks for your comment.
Hi Mark,
Thanks again for your great post!
I love those booklets. I remember my daughter working through them- there’s something about them that makes me want to practice my own handwriting.
Hi Artchoo,
There is something Zen Meditation-Like about practicing handwriting! I totally agree! And I could use the practice because I have the worst handwriting ever! Yet, when you do those books, my writing will look half-way decent! Maybe it’s those lines on the page — three for top, middle and bottom?
This is great! I am a lover of all things Literacy. Id love to be a guest and piggy back off this topic and show others what ive been doing with the kids this summer
Hi Nadine,
I would love to have you as a guest author! Thank you for offering!!!
Great article. Great reminder to pull out our generic generals (2.99 at Target) for the day. I had my two children and my 10 year old niece write about what they had done the prior week while my mom watched them while I shopped :). On return it was fun to review what they had done. My 4 year old merely drew pictures.
Our son has been in a writer’s workshop for two years to help with his reading and now he reads well and very fluently. Just a reminder that writing helps with the reading!
Love the actual drawing journals and will stock up for the year as for $1 more they are worth it!
Happy journaling
Hi Dr. Rajka,
I’d love to hear more about your writer’s workshop. Was that in school or as an extracurricular? My Kindergarten teacher (well, actually for all my 3 kids) says that you have to write to learn to read.
Thank you for following me on Blog Frog. I don’t really know how to use that yet, but I enjoy blogging. I tried and made a mistake in following your blog, so I will come back and try again. Thank you for visiting my blog. As home school mom to a large family, I will REALLY appreciate your wisdom.
Hi Debbie,
Thanks so much for following me! Let me know where you got confused and I am happy to help. Was that a follow on BlogFrog or on Networked Blogs? The easiest way to follow my blog is to sign up for an email subscription which is free. Thanks again!