No matter your age, keeping a journal is a great way to think deeply about your feelings and reflect on your day. It can help you work through difficult emotions, develop gratitude, set goals, and check in on your emotional well-being. The benefits for kids go even further, since journaling improves literacy and strengthens reading comprehension, creativity, and spelling skills.
Yanique Chambers, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker in New York State and has over 10 years of experience working with children in school and foster care systems. On her blog, Kiddie Matters, she says that journal writing “gives kids a judgment-free space to self-explore and find their creative voice. They can use their journal as a place to dream and set goals. They can also use journal writing to find solutions to internal conflicts and solve problems.”
What's more, journals can be used for specific school subjects to deepen your child's understanding and comprehension in mathematical, historical, or scientific concepts.
Keep reading to learn about the best time to start journaling, and get inspired with creative, educational, and entertaining journal prompts for kids. (And remember, if your child is using their journal as a diary, it's important to give them an expectation of privacy!)
The Best Time to Start Journaling
As soon as your child is able to write freely without having to stop and sound out each word, they are ready to journal. Even young kids can work on simple journaling skills with a parent, which might help them identify emotions and think creatively. Here are a few tips to get started:
- Encourage kids to write fluently by reminding them that correct spellings are not important when journaling.
- Provide daily prompts to encourage children to focus on one area to expand upon in their writing.
- Let your child choose their own journal at the store; this is a special workbook and they should feel ownership over it.
- Many journals made especially for kids have their own questions, prompts, and diagrams printed inside to develop their creative juices.
- Make journaling time an exercise in self-care rather than anther homework task by letting your child draw boundaries around when and how much they want to write.
Although journaling has many educational and emotional benefits, some children find it hard to get started. They may stare at the blank page and feel overwhelmed and unsure. That's where journaling prompts come in handy. Prompts give your child an inspiring place to start, a question to answer, an idea to extend, or a mental picture to complete. Read on for a few of our favorites.
Creative Journal Prompts for Kids
- Journal topics can become their own prompts. Ask your child, “What would you like your new journal to be about?”
- Start with your child’s interests and ask them to expand upon them. You could say, “Describe a day in the life of your favorite book or movie character.”
Science Journal Prompts for Kids
Create a science journal by getting your child to think about some of the big questions in the natural world. Present them with the following prompts, and see what quirky answers they come up with!
- Why is the sky blue?
- Why did the dinosaurs die?
- Think about a time when a machine helped you with a problem.
- If you could invent something, what would it be?
- Thinking about the invention of the internet, describe how it has changed the world.
- What can you do to combat climate change?
- What is the most destructive natural force, and why?
Gratitude Journal Prompts for Kids
Help kids begin a gratitude journal by asking what brings them joy with the following prompts:
- Write about the happiest day of your life.
- If you could do anything all day tomorrow, what would you do?
- Describe the perfect vacation.
- Describe what you love about your family.
- Which room in your house is your favorite, and why?
- What's your favorite school subject? Why?
Question Journal Prompts for Kids
Asking thought-provoking questions can get kids thinking and writing more. Try these journaling question prompts:
- If you could have any special talent, what would it be, and why?
- What makes people happy?
- What job would you like when you're an adult?
- What's your favorite celebration, and what are the things you like most about it?
- What's your favorite outfit? How does it make you feel?
- What makes a good friend?
- Is there ever a time or situation where it could be OK to tell a lie?
- What makes you smile?
- What is one thing you would like to get better at?
- How would you like to spend the perfect day?
- Describe yourself in 10 words.
- What age are you most excited to turn, and why?
- What do you imagine your life will be like as an adult?
- Who is your hero? Why?
