How to Get Kids to Journal

by Jenny

Trying to get a kid to journal can be harder than staying clean standing in a mud puddle...
but it is possible.

We are trying to journal for bible/quiet time. Some of the reasons of journaling or benefits we want our kids to experience are...

• keep a record of what scriptures they've read and be able to look back when they want to recall a certain verse
• learn to meditate on a certain scripture, pray over it, and ask God what He wants them to see
• it can be another way to talk to God, to communicate our thoughts, dreams, prayers...
• they could write a scripture down, then later in the future, He could bring to light knowledge about that scripture in a way they didn't see before
• journaling builds a good habit of spending quiet time with just you and God, reflecting...
• when Jesus was 12, he spent time in the temple listening and asking questions- this is a way for our kids to be like Jesus, listening to God through his Word and asking questions in their journal

Back story about journaling, our kids, learning about tweens, and our church:
     A few years back, my husband and I were at a church leadership conference and were introduced to a curriculum/concept called J12. At that same point my oldest was 10 and I had a heightened curiosity about tweens. I was already reading everything I could get my hands on and talking to other parents about this new stage I knew nothing about. (Another great resource that I love for tweens-specifically girls- is Dannah Gresh's Secret Keeper Girls.)
     Our church was also lacking in a class that was specifically designed for the tween. They felt too old to be with the first graders, and were too young to be lumped with the youth group. They have specific issues they're dealing with and are usually ready to have a deeper personal relationship with God than they've had in the past.
     So our journey began developing a tween specific program. We use just about everything J12 makes, because why reinvent the wheel when it's already chrome plated and super cool?! If you want some great tween resources, curriculum for groups, devotionals for your tween or a great journal, check out  j12.com. {Learn more about the J12 Strategy if you want.} I want you to know I in no way, shape, or form, was asked to recommend this stuff- I'm just super in love with it!!! Journaling is a key part of the J12 theory/curriculum so we made it key in our program at church. We've developed some incentives for journaling for our J12ers at church: after three weeks of journaling they get a t-shirt, three more weeks of journaling gets them a lanyard and a pin, and every three weeks after that, they select another pin to collect and/or trade. {Sound like a familiar concept[Disney World/land]? Again- why reinvent the wheel when kids are dedicated pin collectors/traders?!} Ok, enough back story....

When your kids say, "I don't know what to journal? How to journal? What am I suppose to write?... here's some ideas/methods to guide them.

The S.O.A.P. Method of journaling: it's a practical method that can be applied with any reading plan. Many bibles even have reading plans in the back or you could easily find one online. Here is a Bible Reading Plan with printables and broken down for different ages. Here is great reading plan- 90 days through the gospel of John with a printable as well. S.O.A.P. is an easy to remember acronym for Scripture, Observation, Application, & Prayer. You may want to walk your kiddos through the first one by helping them find a scripture to rewrite and focus on, write down something they observe or see in the verse, write down how they can apply that verse- how they'll be different because of what they've read, and finally write out a prayer.

There are other types of journaling besides focusing on a scripture or a different way to focus on scripture. You could present these options to them:

Journal about what God is doing in your life. Even when you don't understand what God's doing, how it will all turn out, or taking time to record the positives that you see God doing for you.

Write out your prayer. Sometimes in writing out our words to God, He gives us answers and insight while we're writing out our conversation to Him.

Write the verse out in your own words. When we have to think about something to put in our own words we really think about what it means.

Meditate on the verse. "Meditating" on scripture means to think on it, rethink on it, and think some more. Talk it out, add hand motions, use as many senses as you can while you contemplate His Word. The Hebrew meaning of meditate is to muse, commune, or speak. To ponder, analyze.

Journal with your art supplies! Sometimes it's easier for us to draw out or sketch what God wants us to see (especially littles whose fine motor skills are not quite as developed), sometimes Holy Spirit can give us a picture in our mind that may not make sense right away, but draw it anyway. When you write your verse out in your own words, add color! Doodles are fun! God's word for us is fun!

And remember these....
Incentives are great! I am amazed at how excited some of our J12 kids are to journal for the t-shirt and they can't wait to get their pins. Why not encourage them with something that would mean a lot to them? Maybe they want a new bible, a bible cover, a new book, computer time, a date with you....I'm sure they'd love to give you their own ideas!
Mom- you journal! I realized that if I wanted my kids to journal, I couldn't be a hypocrite. And I want all these benefits too! I have LOVED journaling with my kids. I have LOVED seeing what God has for me specifically. I like to draw and sketch while I journal. Sometimes I do the SOAP method, sometimes I write out a prayer...I like to vary it so why wouldn't my kids?

I hope this helps someone out there...I wanted to share some tips because I've been trying to get my kids to journal after our family bible time and on their own, encourage a group of tweens and their parents to journal, and journal on a more regular basis myself.
Oh, another idea I wanted to share is from a great friend of mine who is super into journaling (I think I've even heard her referred to as 'The Journal Nazi'...) and they have a family journal that they all write in- love that idea! She's been a huge encourager for me to journal again. :)

 Go forth and write!

Please share any tips for journaling in the comments below! I'd love to hear more ideas! Especially if I need to draw from them for my own kids! ;)