Journaling for Kids and Updates

Hello everyone! Thought I'd do a little update on how journaling for me has changed recently, and also how to use this website (since I don't update so frequently anymore). First, our official GJ group that has met once a month for about 2 years has disbanded for now. Many of our members moved, and others have moved on to blogging to fill the journaling void. So, because of our low numbers, we decided to start journaling on-the-fly again like we used to. We still get together, whoever can, whenever we need, to have fun coloring and expressing ourselves. Man, when you don't do it for a while, you really do miss it!

So, because I haven't had to do formal classes, I haven't had assignments for a while. When I have good ideas, I'll still post them, and I'd love to have anyone else become a contributor to this blog if you are doing classes in your area. Post your pages and assignments here! Also, I used to keep the links updates on the side so you could search through JUST assignments and JUST creative challenges, but hey, you can go ahead and look through the Blog Archive for old ideas. They are titled well enough. Post-baby Cami is not as thorough as she used to be. Please browse and get some great ideas and I'll try to get some more pictures up when I can.

Lastly, it occurs to me that this blog background is not very Giant Journaly. I'm going to change it to be more colorful and reflective of how GJ works. Anyone want to do a page with the title to use as my title bar? I may get around to it sometime. So that is how things are on the website nowadays.


JOURNALING FOR KIDS:

I just did a little journaling class for a group of homeschoolers ages 4 to 11 or so. It went really well and I think the kids really like it! I wanted to post a few ideas about things I've done with kids in the past that have been fun, in case there are others of you out there who want to start this with your kids.

• Footsteps. Stamp, draw, or paste footsteps of any kind (animal, dinasaur, shoes, etc.) and underneath or in them, write giant steps you've taken in the last year or so. Did you learn something new? Did you finish a class or a grade?
  
  
• Collage. Find favorite things, colors, pictures, or anything you like in magazines and cut them out. Past them on your page in a collage. You can color or write around the pictures.
  
  
• Mosaics. Draw an outline of something or paste in a picture from a coloring book, and instead of coloring it in, find the colors in magazines, cut them out in fun shapes, and paste them in your picture. You can use big or small pieces.
  
  
• Fantasy Island. If you had your own island, what would it be like? Would there be mountains, rivers, secret caves? What would you do there? Who would come with you?

• Finish the squiggle. Have someone else draw a short squiggle on the page. What does it look like to you? Make a picture out of it by continuing the lines to make a new shape. If you'd like, write a story about your drawing.

• Trace your foot on the page. What kinds of things do you like to do with your feet? Write everything you can think of on or around your foot and decorate the page.

• Doors. Cut small squares out of colored paper and paste or tape them on your page so that they can open like a door. Label the doors with questions and underneath the doors, write the answers. Questions could be things like "What is your favorite book?" or "If you had $100 dollars, what would you do?" or even "10+10="--you decide or have someone ask you questions.

• What is your first memory? Can you remember when you were very small? Try to draw a picture or write something about the very first thing you can remember. It could be an experience, a person, or a thing.
  

• Leaves. Go on a hunt for beautiful fall leaves. Put them underneath your page and rub over them with the sides of crayons. You can use the same colors as the leaves, or choose new ones. If you'd like, write around your leaves things that you like about the fall, or things that are changing with the seasons.
  

• JUST COLOR! Try to fill one entire page with color. Don't leave ANY white space. You can do one color, several colors, shapes, or whatever you want! Just fill up the space.

• Heroes. If you could meet one person, who would it be? Find a picture of that person and paste it in your journal. Write what you'd want to do with or say to that person.

• Remember to use layers. You can use other paper, paint, cutouts, whatever you want! Just try new creative things, new art supplies, and do things you've never done before. If you just want to write what you did that day, go ahead! Have other people draw or write in your journal, and paste in things you don't want to lose. Just have lots of fun and don't worry about anything looking good. Have fun!

There you go, some quick ideas. I'll try to post some others that I've done as I remember them or new ones as I do them. Good luck and happy journaling!!

We're Back!

Sorry for the delay in assignments! I have updated all the ones I've got. Our group skipped December, and I didn't make an assignment sheet for what we did in January or March, but I'll explain it here. I'll try to keep up a little better on updating, and one of these days I'll finally get pictures of my fellow journalers' pages and post them! Keep checking back with us.

January: We did a "What's On Your Mind" page. We all chose our own style, and just wrote what was on our minds. I used the "brainstorming" technique with lots of different colors and levels of thought. I did a bonus page during color warmup about how I felt my brain is not working up to capacity during my pregnancy.

March: We went back to the old "get to know you" cards and did a fun night of asking and writing answers to random questions in our journals. Last nights questions included, "Absolutely or Absolutely Not: Plastic Surgery, Over-the Hill Gag Gifts, etc.," "What is your fondest childhood memory," and "What do you do to vent?" It was fun and easy. You can buy a little box of cards or make up your own.

We have had a lot of interest in journals lately, especially in the homeschooling area lately. Kids sure love GJ too!

When my camera is working again, I'll post some new pages. Meanwhile, I hope you are having fun journaling, and please send me any of your pages or ideas!

Assignment: FOOTSTEPS

This month, we are going to put our best foot forward. This means we are going to trace, print, or paint our feet directly onto our pages. Here are some choices about what to do with them once they are there:

1. When are some times you have put your foot in your mouth. What have you done to forgive yourself for these times, or do they still bother you?

2. What can you do in your life that will help you put a step in the right direction? Is there something you feel you need to change, and you just need to get started?

3. To be a little more avant garde, just write your feelings about your feet. Do you like them? Are you grateful for them? Do you try to stay off of them as much as possible? Have you thought about your feet at all?


This is my page. I painted my feet and stamped them onto a whole spread and then wrote a lymiric about them. After I took this picture, I also wrote my impressions and thoughts about my feet around them and covered the rest of the page.

Creative Challenge: GET PERSONAL

Put a little bit of yourself into your pages--literally. One journalist said she put a picture of herself, actual or drawn, on every page. Think about how you can leave a little of yourself behind. A thumbprint? A portion of a photograph? The color of your hair?

Assignment: CHRISTMAS PREPARATION

We all know the millions of things we have to do each year to get ready for Christmas, but what about those preparations we’ve long forgotten? Whether childlike, Christlike, or festive, we can get into the Christmas spirit by thinking about more than decorations and cookies!

1. What would Santa Claus bring to you this year? Write a letter to Santa telling him what you would like. Have you been naughty or nice?

2. What gift would you bring the infant king?

3. “Thank you for my festive sweater.” People pull out all the stops at Christmas time to be festive. What is the most festive clothing you’ve ever donned for the holidays? OR, you can draw what you would put on your festive sweater.

Creative Challenge: Freehand

Do you feel lacking in the artistic department when it comes to freehand drawing? Forget your fears and draw with childlike abandon! It’s ok if you draw stick figures, or vague representations, just be confident and draw.

Assignment: OVERBOARD

All of us at some time or another do more than we need to do to get a job done, or feel more passionately than is necessary about a comment or a situation. Sometimes we just pack our lives so full of stuff that there’s hardly any room for us left in the boat—we feel like jumping ship! This month, think of some ways you’ve gone overboard, and how you can avoid it in the future.

1. During what times or events have you gone overboard, or done more than is necessary. What would have sufficed? Why did you do it?

2. When do your feelings gone overboard? Is it a specific time in your life? Is it hormonal? Is it defensive? Is it passion? What is it that makes you feel you’ve maybe gone too far?

3. What is your “ship” full of? What can you throw overboard to make room for yourself?