Journals—the hip, gender-neutral cousin of the diary—have risen in popularity over the past few years for several reasons. They’re a private place for self-expression. They serve as a catchall for anything in the writer’s mind from to-do lists to poems. And, of course, they’re great for recording the events and thoughts of each day.

The summer scaries may still encroach upon your peaceful summer, and if so, consider suggesting journals as a fun and low-risk writing activity to your homeschool student. They’re private, they’re portable—and sure, you can’t exactly check or grade this kind of writing unless your student wants you to. Regardless of what your student is writing, however, they’re writing—and practicing this skill over the summer is the goal.

As journals have grown more popular, more types of journals have been created. Below are several types that will appeal to different personalities of students. Hopefully, your homeschool student will be intrigued by at least one and spend the latter half of the summer beginning their new writing experience, maybe even continuing it as the year progresses.

Disclaimer: this post is not sponsored by any kind of journal. These are just great examples that I have found or used!

1. Bullet Journals

The appeal of the bullet journal is its inclusion of symmetrically-organized dots (or bullets) that fill each page instead of standard lines. These dots can then be connected to create boxes, charts, tables, lists… anything that you can think of! The dots themselves are fairly faint, so plain old writing is still an option as well. The bullet journal is a great option for the homeschool student who enjoys structure but may feel constrained by ordinary journals or planners. Name-brand bullet journals run a bit pricy, but no worries—you can find cheaper options that are exactly the same thing.

2. One Line A Day Journals

The One Line A Day journal provides one page for each day of the year, from January 1 to December 31. Each page is then divided into five spaces—one space for a different year, resulting in a total of five years of comprehensive journaling. Each space is small, designed for (you guessed it!) roughly one line detailing the events of the day. This journal is my personal favorite and is perfect for homeschool students who may feel overwhelmed by the large, blank pages of a less-structured journal or by the need to write copious amounts about each day. Plus, it’s fun to see what you were up to in previous years!

3. Sketchbook Journals

I’ve seen various layouts for this kind of journal, but the basic idea is that, for each entry, the student can write in the lined portion and draw in the blank portion. Inspired by old-fashioned fieldbooks, in which the writer would both take notes about and sketch what he or she saw, this type of journal enables the student to pair writing and drawing together in order to create a comprehensive entry. This journal is an encouraging nudge for homeschool students who can readily express themselves through art but may struggle to do the same through the written word. By putting art and writing together, the student has a brand-new product.

4. Classic Journals

There’s always the tried-and-true option: a lined journal, perhaps with a space for writing the date, that is ensconced within an appealing cover of anything from Batman to inspirational quotes to incredible amounts of glitter. Many homeschool students want the pages, length, and space to express their thoughts, recall the day’s happenings, or jot down some creative ventures with no fuss and no muss. For these students, the classic journal is the way to go—plus, there’s no shortage of fun covers that appeal to the student’s interests.

Your homeschool student may show zero interest in journaling, and that’s totally fine. These four types are simply suggestions to help you explore the world of journaling and perhaps include your homeschool student in that exploration as well. The ultimate goal here (as it often is within my blog posts) is to show your student that writing is more than paragraphs and papers. It can be fun, personal, and individualized—and journaling is a great way to discover this.

Danielle Nettleton

Curriculum Editor

Essentials in Writing

“Excuse me, Athena. That sounds like a school activity, and the point of summer is that children are off school. Why would I want to inflict more compositions on my kids during their vacation?”

Thank you for that question! There are two main reasons homeschool parents may wish to require summer writing from their students.

1. Some homeschool students NEED the extra practice.

As Danielle pointed out in her “Summer Scaries” blog post, low-pressure, non-graded writing activities over the summer can help some students maintain their writing muscles. In some cases, these muscles atrophy over vacation, and students begin the next year having forgotten all they ever learned about composition.

Requiring summer writing not only provides homeschool students with practice, but it also demonstrates that writing is not exclusively an academic activity. Breaking that mental boundary may be the breakthrough your student needs to write well and freely.

(Check out Danielle’s blog post! Solid encouragement for homeschool parents entering the summer months.)

2. Some homeschool students WANT the extra practice.

Some of you may be blessed with a student who LOVES writing, and you should encourage that kind of expression and development! While these students may dive into writing on their own, a little guidance may benefit them—especially younger students.

With these two groups in mind, let’s dive into summer writing ideas! While I encourage you to develop your own ideas and prompts, here are some suggestions to get started.

(Check out the EIW textbooks for guidance about how to approach each of these compositions.)

Summer Writing Prompts

Expository Writing

Think about topics the student will want to write about or things you want them to think about. Writing about these important topics will help them put thoughts and/or feelings into words, which benefits their personal development and not just their academic performance.

Try some of these prompts:

• What kind of person do you want to be? Write a paragraph explaining at least two positive traits you want to see in yourself and why you want them.
• A goal is an idea that someone puts into action. What is one of your goals? Write a paragraph explaining what your goal is and how you plan to accomplish that goal.
• What is one of your favorite memories? Describe the memory and explain why you like it.

Journal Writing

Journaling is a way to record events, but it can also develop self-awareness. Writing journal entries will help students realize they can write for themselves, not just a teacher.

Here are some ideas for journal entries:

• Keep a daily journal of a trip you take this summer. Write 3-4 sentences about whatever you want to record about each day.

(Tip: When I was in elementary school, my mother purchased daily planners as “journals” for my sister and me. The planners provided a limited amount of space for each daily entry, which made the task seem less intimidating than endless empty pages.)

• Describe three things you want to do or be when you are a grown-up.
• Write a journal entry about ten of your favorite things, including items, activities, and foods.

Narrative Writing

Writing stories—original or reimagined—is a great way to foster imagination in homeschool students. Narrative writing can be entertaining and freeing, for there’s no right way to tell a story!

Let your student’s imagination run wild! But in case they need it, here are some suggested prompts:

• Is there a book, movie, or video game that has an ending you don’t like? How could the story have ended better? Rewrite the ending in the way you think is best.
• Write your own version of a fairy tale. Maybe Cinderella doesn’t want to go to the ball, but to the ball game! Maybe Puss in Boots isn’t just a clever cat, but a shapeshifter! Maybe St. George doesn’t want to kill the dragon, but learn to ride it! Rewrite a fairy tale in your own way.
• If you could go on a dream vacation this summer, where would you go? Write a narrative of your vacation—where you would go, who you would be with, and what you would do.

May these few writing ideas inspire you to come up with your own specialized prompts! Summer writing is a chance to shirk off the restrictions of academic prompts, which by necessity are general and impersonal. However, with summer writing, you can get personal with your kids!

For example, if I were coming up with summer prompts for my 13-year-old homeschooled brother, I would include:

• Write a paragraph explaining the best way to take care of the dozen baby chickens we just purchased.
• Journal about how you felt after seeing Avengers: Endgame on opening night.
• Imagine what it will be like to interview at the Lego Company when you are old enough. Write the story of that interview and how you get the job.

Happy summer, everyone! And happy writing

By Athena Lester
Head of Curriculum and Scoring