Journal Writing ~ Fruit of the Spirit

Journal writing is strongly encouraged for Grades 2 and 3 students. Grade 1 students are welcome to start participating in journal writing once they are able.

Throughout the 2009-10 school year I will be providing journal writing ideas relating to the Fruit of the Spirit. These journal ideas will be posted on this blog near the beginning of each month. Throughout the month feel free to pick and choose from my journaling ideas or to design some of your own. (The Fruit of the Spirit journal writing ideas for September are provided at the bottom of this post.)

Please note: Last year I provided journals for students to use. However, this year I am leaving the journal choice up to you. For students who like to include drawings with their journal entries, you may consider providing a Hilroy notebook that has the pages split in half with a blank space on the top and lines on the bottom.

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Some Other Journaling Thoughts ...
Journaling should be a joy, not a burden. Usually at the end of the year your child will delight in going back through his/her entries.

Journaling should be flexible. You are welcome to implement journal writing in whichever way you see fit. Below are some ideas to encourage a variety in your child's journaling:

Copy Work ~ Have your child copy quality literature into his/her journal. "Quality Literature" may include scripture, poems, quotations, hymns, etc.

Journal Prompts ~ Provide an idea or prompt for your child to write about in his/her journal. Some journal prompts can be found here: Journal Prompts

Shared Writing ~ This process is accomplished by passing the journal back and forth between the parent and child. Each participant takes a turn to add to the journal entry until both concede that the entry is complete. A more interactive way of writing!

Personal Journaling ~ Journal writing can be a very personal experience. Your child may desire to use his/her journal to record words and images that are meaningful just to him/her. Ideas may include: writing out goals, hopes, dreams, birthday lists, responses to changes in his/her life, drawing images from a vacation or outing, etc.

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Fruit of the Spirit ~ September Journaling ~ LOVE

Copywork ~ Have your child copy the following scripture into his/her journal:
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." ~ Galatians 5:22,23a

Copywork ~ Love Scripture ~ "Let us love one another, for love is of God." ~ 1 John 4:7

Music and Journaling ~ Choose a worship song from your own music collection that talks about God's love or loving one another. Play the song once and have your child listen and move to the worship music. Play the song a second time and have your child draw a picture in his/her journal to represent the song. Encourage your child to write a sentence at the bottom of the journal entry that describes his/her drawing.

Webbing, Charting, or Listing ~ Have your child brainstorm words and phrases that are descriptive of LOVE. Encourage your child to record ways that he/she could show love to others. (Here is an example of a web layout: Webbing)

Prayer Journal ~ Have your child write a prayer asking God to help him/her to demonstrate love to others.

Love Response ~ Throughout the month encourage your child to record, through drawing and/or writing, ways that he/she has demonstrated love to family, friends, neighbours, and strangers.