Monday, April 13, 2015

Make it Mama: Family Journal

Our family has a tradition of keeping a yearly journal. At the beginning of every year, the kids and I decorate a basic composition book with magazine cut-outs, stickers, and other randomness. Throughout the year the kids, husband (sometimes) and I write messages, draw pictures, note events, glue funny pictures/cartoons we find in magazines, press leaf prints from hikes, and tape on paper souvenirs from places we've been. At the end of each year, it's fun for us to look back at this yearbook of sorts and reflect on the journey. I look forward to seeing how the message from the kids develop as they grow older - I am sure there will be some interesting entries!

I highly recommend keeping a family journal for a variety of reasons. In addition to the documentation of memories, it will help kids develop creative and written expression, foster a sense of bonding with other family members, will help them explore varying perspectives, help develop confidence in writing, assists in the development of language, encourages creative thinking and provides an emotional outlet. The benefits of journaling are many. These family journal keepsakes are something we will cherish for years to come.


This post contributed by Amy Maslow

28 comments:

  1. This is such a lovely tradition that will become more precious as the years go on! I can just imagine the kids finding them in years to come and spending hours looking through the journals and re-living their childhood memories..

    http://www.missnicklin.co.uk/

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    1. Thanks! Yes, I think it'll bring a lot of laughs to look back on when the kids are older!

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  2. I love this tradition! I've known moms who journal or do baby books but having everyone participate is so neat!

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    1. Thanks! Having everyone participate is a lot of fun.

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  3. What a fun idea!! I try to keep separate ones for each kid, but combining it into a family journal seems simpler. I love it.

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    1. Thanks! I have three kids, so I try to simplify when possible, haha.

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  4. this is an awesome idea! thanks for sharing!

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  5. This is a great idea! It will make a wonderful keepsake. Someday you will love going back and reading everyone's comments.

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    1. Thanks! I'm looking forward to reading back over the younger years when the kids are a bit older. There are some doozies in there already!

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  6. It's great to keep a journal and definitely requires some effort as everyone has different schedules!

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  7. What a great idea! I look forward to doing this with my family!

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  8. This is such a great idea ! I never thought about keeping a family journal. A wonderful keepsake.

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    1. Thanks! It's been one of my more successful keepsake projects so far!

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  9. What a great idea! The journals will be great to read with your children when they are adults. Such a wonderful way to keep memories.

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    1. Thanks! I look forward to reading over the younger years when they are older.

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  10. This is such a great idea! I love making art with the kiddos but this I had never thought of. I might just copy you. ;)

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  11. Such a great idea for a family journal! We use a weekly agenda book that we make notes in about our days - used to put photos in it but it was too time-consuming. It's so neat to look back and have those memories preserved!

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    1. Using a weekly agenda book is a great idea too. It is definitely neat to look back on those memories.

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  12. This is a great idea! Creating wonderful moments with the family and than being able to go back and look at them :)

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  13. I love any memory-preservation projects. This is such a unique one, I love that you each write in it. I bet it's so fun to revisit after the year is over :)

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    1. Thanks! It is fun, and has definitely been my most successful memory-preservation project so far!

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  14. I really like this idea. I've never been good at making keepsake items but this seems fairly simple and fun for the whole family.

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    1. Thanks! It is pretty simple to start and maintain and having the whole family partake is the best!

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