Josiah expressed interest in starting a journal last October and I was more than willing to accommodate the budding young writer. It was a hit or miss thing over the months. He'd see me sit down with pen and journal and would run for his, or after a fun weekend adventure I might suggest he draw a picture and write about it, but nothing very regular came of it.
We ventured out to Oregon at the beginning of June for a long overdue visit to Nana and Papa's house and during that time I was lucky enough to share a two-hour coffee date with Darla, a dear, gracious lady who has more years of experience in teaching children than I have in just living. I left our meeting encouraged, excited, elated at the opportunity before me to teach my children.
Josiah officially starts kindergarten this fall, and we will be homeschooling, but education is so much more than just curriculum and grades. I've been educating my child since I first held his tiny little body in my arms. I want to teach learning as a way of life. So the idea of "officially" starting school is rather anticlimactic.
One of the many practical tips I took away from my conversation with Darla, one that I implemented as soon as we got home, was to have Josiah write at least two to three times a week in his journal. Make it a habit.
We did.
And now I have a precious book that chronicles our summer from the eyes of my five year old. Every other day he'd write two or three sentences about whatever he wanted and then draw a picture in the space at the top of the page. (Early writer journals can be found at Wal-mart for $2.) I'd make a few corrections, have him practice errant letters in the correct fashion, maybe work on spelling of high frequency words. Simple stuff. No tears and sweat. I wanted him to have a positive experience, a gentle introduction to writing.
And I think he did. He loves his journal. Loves to flip through it and remember, loves to read it aloud to me and comment on the funny ways he misspelled words he's since learned to spell correctly. Bereket is already asking when he can start his own journal... that will be awhile yet. We've just mastered English speaking. Almost.
Slacklining in our backyard. Slacklining is a cross between tightrope walking and a long, skinny trampoline. Casey's new "toy" for the summer.
Josiah and Bereket running the Strawberry Day's kids 1/2 mile race. My favorite.
Ice cream at Katy's Korner. Can you tell who has mint chocolate chip?
Roasting marshmallows over the fire while camping.
We ventured out to Oregon at the beginning of June for a long overdue visit to Nana and Papa's house and during that time I was lucky enough to share a two-hour coffee date with Darla, a dear, gracious lady who has more years of experience in teaching children than I have in just living. I left our meeting encouraged, excited, elated at the opportunity before me to teach my children.
Josiah officially starts kindergarten this fall, and we will be homeschooling, but education is so much more than just curriculum and grades. I've been educating my child since I first held his tiny little body in my arms. I want to teach learning as a way of life. So the idea of "officially" starting school is rather anticlimactic.
One of the many practical tips I took away from my conversation with Darla, one that I implemented as soon as we got home, was to have Josiah write at least two to three times a week in his journal. Make it a habit.
We did.
And now I have a precious book that chronicles our summer from the eyes of my five year old. Every other day he'd write two or three sentences about whatever he wanted and then draw a picture in the space at the top of the page. (Early writer journals can be found at Wal-mart for $2.) I'd make a few corrections, have him practice errant letters in the correct fashion, maybe work on spelling of high frequency words. Simple stuff. No tears and sweat. I wanted him to have a positive experience, a gentle introduction to writing.
And I think he did. He loves his journal. Loves to flip through it and remember, loves to read it aloud to me and comment on the funny ways he misspelled words he's since learned to spell correctly. Bereket is already asking when he can start his own journal... that will be awhile yet. We've just mastered English speaking. Almost.
Slacklining in our backyard. Slacklining is a cross between tightrope walking and a long, skinny trampoline. Casey's new "toy" for the summer.
Ice cream at Katy's Korner. Can you tell who has mint chocolate chip?
I know this comment may be a bit biased but Josiah's journals are amazing!!! If he had been in Darla's kindergarten class, he would have been the star of the class!! His illustrations are so detailed and precise. So happy to see that you both are enjoying the practice of daily journaling. I still remain "gobsmacked" with Josiahs writing skills. You obviously are doing one fine job teaching him, Emily. He is one special little boy!!!
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