Dog Days Of Summer?
by Pat Lansmann

Kids are like dogs. Eventually, they all get territorial and feel the urge to leave their mark everywhere, especially if they know they can go back, sniff around, and figure out where they’ve been. Use this instinctual urge to your advantage and help them create a journal of summer activities and special memories. Journals can be taken to camp, the beach, or stay in the back yard on sparkling, lazy days. On rainy afternoons, your kids can add to their thoughts, or start a new book to experiment with a different style of journaling. Be prepared before that final school bell peals and you’ll be in for the time of your life. And when you create a summer journal, you and your child will have a wonderful memento to look back on. Sniffing, however, is totally optional.

Make Your Own
Sure, you can pick up plenty of blank journals at the store, but with a few basic supplies, homemade journals are a snap. Purchase a composition book and gather up all of your old magazines. Your child can personalize her journal by creating a collage of favorite pictures, words, or phrases and gluing them all over the front and back covers. To preserve its beauty, make sure you cover it with strips of wide clear packing tape. Another version can be quickly crafted with construction paper folded in half, sandwiched between cardboard covers and laced together with ribbon or string. Now, what to fill it with?

Go 3-D
This is a great format for the collectors in your group. Just grab some paper, then tape or glue those treasures down. Have the kids write some thoughts about their entry. For pre-writers, this is a great time for one-on-one help from Mom or Dad. Even the youngest preschoolers can collect, observe, draw and reminisce. Near the end of the summer, gather up all those papers, punch two or three holes on the left and tie with ribbon or yarn. You’ll be surprised at the memories linked to a piece of sea glass or butterfly wing.

Nature Study
The naturalist in your home might enjoy drawing and labeling the varieties of bugs, birds, or animals that pass through your yard. Have the child sketch the sighted creature and use an identification guide for accurate labeling. Include the time of day, date, location of the sighting and weather conditions. This information can be put directly into a purchased blank book or a downloaded version from The Sierra Club. At this site you will also find additional tips on nature journaling.

Dream Book
“ We are the music makers: We are the dreamers of dreams. We are the movers and shakers. Of the world forever, it seems.” -O’Ghaughnessy

More recently attributed to Willy Wonka, this quote applies and appeals to the very heart of some kids. They’ve got a story, or two, or ten to tell. Supply paper pens or several blank books and watch them fill up. If they use loose leaf paper, compile each story as it is completed and at summers end, help your child create their own anthology. If your youngster experiences writer’s block, check out Teachers.net. This website has a huge list of brain stimulating springboards for writing.

Dear Diary
Place paper and pens and place at your child’s bedside. Or give it an air of distinction and splurge on a blank book and pen selected especially for this nightly ritual. After your sweeties have been washed and tucked in, and before that bedtime kiss, give your kids a little private writing time to record the events of the day. Not only does this exercise their writing skills, when you come in to deliver that last kiss, you might encounter someone who needs to talk about an event that surfaced during their writing. It becomes a great time to chat and see what’s going on inside your child’s head.

Audio Journaling
Some kids just begin to tremble at the sight of pen and paper. Tell them you want them to write and you’ll see a visible twitch develop. For these kids, try an inexpensive cassette recorder and blank tapes. Have them record their stories, thoughts, or day’s events, just as if they were journaling. Their brains are being asked to recall, arrange and retell: the beginning elements of all writing. You can take it a step further, by writing down these stories at a later date. Your child might find their stories are better than they originally thought and it may help bridge the gap of getting thoughts onto paper.

Heart Massage
Whatever format your children choose, remind them that you will not check their spelling, grammar or punctuation. Let their creativity and inner exploration be the focus during this season of fun, learning the joys of writing without evaluation anxiety. Then as fall approaches, set a date with your kids and have them bring their journals. As they take turns reading favorite parts to their family members, you’re enhancing listening, reading and reporting skills. You’ll also get to know your kids a little better and will have completed the final lesson of the summer. You will have written on their hearts, that family matters.

Pat Lansmann, Writer & SuperMom
Pat graduated from college with a B.A. in English and a restless creative spirit. She left the workforce after fourteen years to raise her first of three children. She and her husband educate their children at home, through activities such as gardening, arts and crafts, woodworking, cooking and pet care to personalize, enhance and extend the children’s academic experiences.