Fruit of the Spirit ~ April Journal Writing Ideas ~ Gentleness

Copywork: Have your child copy one of the following scripture verses into his/her journal. Encourage your child to draw a representation of the copied scripture.

"Let your gentleness be evident to all." ~ Philippians 4:5

"Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." ~ Colossians 3:12

"But you, man of God, ... pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness." ~ 1 Timothy 6:11

Acrostic Poem: Brainstorm and record with your child words and phrases that depict the meaning of "gentleness". Have your child match the words and phrases with the corresponding letter in the word "gentleness" to create an Acrostic poem. To learn how to write an acrostic poem, click here: Acrostic Poem Writing

Five Senses Poem: Have your child complete each phrase to create a 5 senses poem.

In a gentle world:
I see ...
I hear ...
I touch ...
I smell ...
I taste ...

My Gentle Prayer: Have your child write a prayer asking God to help him/her to have a gentle attitude, to show gentleness to others and to remember to use a gentle voice.

Paragraph Writing: Encourage your child to draw a picture or a series of images depicting "gentleness". Some ideas for gentle images may include: a breeze through trees, a lightly flowing stream, birds flying, holding a baby's hand, a lullaby, a mother comforting a crying child, a dad teaching a son how to _____.

Have your child write 3-5 sentences about his/her gentle picture(s). Remind your child that a paragraph often starts with a main idea (i.e. Gentleness can be seen in God's creation. Or, i.e I can show gentleness to others in many ways). The rest of the paragraph consists of 2-4 sentences that "prove" or "show support" of that main idea.

Fruit of the Spirit ~ March Journal Writing Ideas ~ Faithfulness

During the month of March, you may like to use the following journal writing ideas with your child. The focus this month is on the seventh part of the fruit of the spirit - faithfulness.

Copywork: Have your child copy the old hymn (or a part of it), "Great is Thy Faithfulness". Discuss with your child how God's faithfulness is described through the imagery of this hymn's lyrics. The lyrics from the song can be found here: Great is Thy Faithfulness



Journal Starters:
Faithfulness means ...
An example of faithfulness is ...
I know that God is faithful because ...
I can show faithfulness to others by ...

Story Response: Read Matthew 25:14-31. Two of the servants were called "good and faithful" by their master. What characteristics made those two servants "faithful"? Have your child record in his or her journal how he/she can be faithful with what God has given him/her i.e. money, talents, material goods, etc.

Deeper Thinking ~ Obedience is a result of faithfulness.
Discuss the above statement with your child. Encourage him/her to record his/her own thoughts about the relationship between faithfulness and obedience in his/her journal. Using an example of a faithful dog being obedient to his owner may be a good place to start with describing faithfulness in a relationship. Then you can relate this to family relationships and to one's relationship with God.

Fruit of the Spirit ~ February Journal Writing Ideas ~ Goodness

During the month of February, you may choose to focus on the sixth part of the Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness!

Copywork: Encourage your child to find one or two scriptures that refer to "goodness" or "good" and copy them into his/her journal, or have your child copy one of the following suggested scriptures. Encourage your child to add a colourful picture to complement the scripture.

He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD. ~ Psalm 33:5

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! ~ Psalm 34:8

And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart ~ Galatians 6:9

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? ~ Micah 6:8


Defining Goodness: Have your child think of a definition for the word "goodness" and record it in his/her journal. Then have him/her look up "goodness" in a dictionary and compare the dictionary definition with his/her own.

List Making: Have your child brainstorm and record a list of the things that are good in his/her life. Discuss with your child the blessing that these good things are. Thank God with your child for these blessings and/or have your child write a thank you prayer in his/her journal.

Deeper Thinking: Read with your child Philippians 4:8. Discuss how meditating on the things that are mentioned in this verse would increase "goodness" in his/her life. Is there a corelation between meditating on God's Word and truth and the goodness that is demonstrated through our lives? Have your child record some of his/her thoughts into his/her journal.

Journal Starters:
I show goodness to others by ...
God shows goodness to me by ...
I want to do good because ...
Sometimes I am not good because ...

Fruit of the Spirit -December Journaling Ideas - Peace

Scripture Copy work ~ Discuss with your child the meaning of "peace" in the following scriptures and then have your child copy one or both of the scripture(s) into his/her journal.

Isaiah 9:6 ~
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a child is given;
And the government will be upon his shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Philippians 4:6,7 ~
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Definition ~ Have your child ponder on the word "peace" and then record his/her own definition of "peace" in his/her journal. Have your child look "peace" up in a dictionary and compare definitions.

List making ~ Have your child brainstorm a list of descriptive words that represent "peace" or "peacefulness". Some ideas to start him or her thinking may include: "lagoon", "stillness", "bedtime prayers", "contentment", "baby sleeping", "breeze", etc.

Haiku ~ Have your child write a haiku entitled "Peace". A haiku is a 3 line poem: The first line has 5 syllables, the second line has 7 syllables and the third line has 5 syllables. If your child has completed the "List Making" journal entry above, then words and phrases from that entry could be used within the haiku poem.

Journal Starters ~
One time when I felt peaceful was when ...
I show a peaceful attitude by ...
I can feel God's peace when ...
Peace is when ...

Fruit of the Spirit - November Journaling Ideas - Patience

Below are some journaling ideas that you may like to use this month with your child:

Definition ~Have your child come up with a definition for "Patience" or find its definition in a dictionary and record it in his/her journal.

Copywork ~ Have your child copy the following "Patience" scripture into his/her journal:
I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. ~ Psalm 40:1

Observe and record ~ During the next month, encourage your child to look for ways that he/she and others are showing patience. Have him/her record his/her observations through pictures and/or words.

Webbing, Charting, or Listing ~ Corinthians 13:4 says, "Love is patient and kind". Encourage your child to think about what this means. How can he/she show love to others by being patient? Have your child record his/her thoughts using a web, chart or list.

Acrostic Poem ~ Write an acrostic poem for the word "Patient" using words, phrases and ideas that were brainstormed in the previous activity. Information on how to write an acrostic poem can be found here: Acrostic Poem

Prayer Journal ~ Have your child write a prayer asking God to help him/her to demonstrate patience when having to wait.

Short Story Picture ~ Have your child look at the picture below and think about who the koalas could be waiting patiently for, why they are waiting and what might happen once the "somebody" or "something" awakens. Have your child use the following sentence as the first sentence of his/her short story: "They sat patiently waiting for him to wake." Then have your child write 2-5 more sentences to tell a short story about what happpened next.

Fruit of the Spirit ~ October Journaling Ideas ~ JOY

Below are some journaling ideas that you may like to use this month with your child:

Copywork ~ Have your child copy the following "JOY" scripture into his/her journal:
"Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." ~ Nehemiah 8:10b

Copywork Assignment ~ Have your child look up in his/her own Bible one or two favourite verses about joy. To help you get started here are some references:
Romans 15:13
Psalm 33:1
Proverbs 15:13
Proverbs 17:22
1 Thessalonians 5:16

Music and Journaling ~ Listen to the song "Hymn to Joy"by Beethoven at the following website: Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee. Play the song once and have your child listen and move to the old hymn. 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 or two 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 JOY. Encourage your child to record ways that people demonstrate joy. (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 daily joy even during trials and hardships.

Acrostic Poem~ Encourage your child to write an acrostic poem for the word/phrase "Joyful", "Joyfulness" or "Filled with Joy". First, have your child brainstorm words or phrases that are related to joy. Then, have your child match the brainstormed words with each letter in the acrostic poem. Following is an example of an acrostic poem:

J is for jovial faces
O is for often praising
Y is for your pleasant words
F is for feeling content
U is for up in spirit
L is for laughing often

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.