The Writing Adventures Journal is a quick and easy way to get kids writing regularly. The more often kids write the better they will become.

Most kids write 4 or 5 days a week in their journal. They have daily activities and one weekly activity. As well, we use some of their journaling ideas to practice paragraph outlining and writing.

Materials:
- lined paper notebook
- pen/pencil

Daily Activity 1: Write a list of 5-10 things you want to do or need to do today.
Example: Clean room
Go to tutoring
Swimming at the YMCA
Play new play station game
Sleep over at Tim’s

Daily Activity 2: Pick from the “List Ideas” and write 5-10 items.
Example: List Idea “Favorite video/computer games”
Spiderman
Spyro: Year of the Dragon
Crock
Spyro: Repto’s Rage
Rat Attack

Daily Activity 3: Personal Thought
Write a personal thought for the day. This could be something you thought was interesting or different about your day. It can be any thought you have.
Example: For the last three days I’ve been swimming at the Saugus YMCA in their outdoor pool. It’s wicked big and fun to play in.

Weekly Activity: Chose from the list of Weekly Activities.
Example: Go into your backyard and write a list of 10 things you see. Then write about a special memory that took place in your backyard.
Grass
Tree
Fence
Chairs
Tables
BBQ
Pool
Flowers
Bird bath
Rocks

Last year, on the fourth of July, we had a BBQ with a bunch of neighbors on our street. The kids played in the pool while adults talked and supervised us. My dad cooked chicken, steak, hamburgers, and hot dogs on the grill. Each neighbor brought something to eat like potato salad, beans, salad, bread, and cookies. The best was strawberry soup. My neighbor Marianne made it with strawberries she grew in her yard and it was sooo good. After we had dinner we walked down to the lake with all of our neighbors and watched the fire works. It was the best Fourth of July ever.

Another suggestion is to take Daily Activity 2 and turn it into a paragraph. You can use the graphic organizers from Writing Adventures: Book 2.

Example:
I have a lot of Play Station games, but these are my favorites. First, I like Spiderman, because it is difficult and has a lot of levels. Second, I like Spyro: Year of the Dragon, because you can do different things like breath fire, jump, and glide. Third, I like Crock, because you are a crocodile and you can jump, swim, and dive. You can also creep against a wall to cross a plank and get over the lava. Last, I like Spyro: Repto’s Rage, because when he jumps and you press the triangle button he does a flip in the air. The reason I like these games is that there are so many tricks you can do.

We always need new ideas for lists and weekly activities so e-mail any great ideas you have and we will share them on our web site.

Weekly Activities

Week One: Go into your backyard and write a list of 10 things you see. Then write a paragraph about a special memory that took place in your backyard.

Week Two: Go on a nature walk and collect 5 things from nature. Write down each item you collected and generate 3-5 adjectives to describe each item. Write how you felt about the nature walk.

Week Three: Go into your bedroom and select 5 things that are special to you. Write what each item is and why it is special.

Week Four: Read an article from a magazine or newspaper. Write what the article is about and write a personal response to what you read.

Week Five: Think about what occupation you would like to have when you are older. Write down 5 things you would do in that occupation. Write a list of things you need to do in order to have that occupation (ie; finish high school, go to college, etc.). Turn your ideas into a paragraph or two.

Week Six: Interview, or ask, an adult member of your family about their childhood. Write down the 3 memories you found the most interesting and why.

Week Seven: Think about your summer so far and write down 5 activities or places you have participated in or visited (theme park, beach, friend’s house, etc.). Pick 1 activity or place and write a paragraph describing that time.

Week Eight: Pick 5 famous people who you would like to meet and state why you would like to meet them. Generate a list of 10 questions you could ask these people.

Week Nine: Look around your house and list 10 inventions that make your life easier. Write a paragraph stating how 3 of these inventions make your life easier.

Week Ten: You are stranded on a deserted jungle island. List 10 things found on the island that you could use to survive. Write a paragraph describing “a day” on the island.

The List of Lists

*The idea of writing lists came from a seminar I took with William Van Cleave from the Kildonan School in Amenia, New York. Many of the ideas on the list were generated at the Kildonan School.

Historical people you would like to meet
Olympic sporting events you would like to attend
Sports you would like to see added to the Olympics
Sports you would like to see removed from the Olympics
Uses for an old newspaper
Things that fly
Things that swim
Things to take to the beach
Things to take on a camping trip
Things to do in New York City
Foreign countries you would like to visit
Things you can do in less than a minute
Inventions that changed history
Places to go on a school field trip
Thing to put on a pizza
Things you would do if you won the lottery
Ideal places to go on vacation
Uses for a pencil
Places to have a birthday party
Things at the mall
Things you can lose
Things to do during the summer (winter, fall or spring)
Favorite songs
Favorite musical groups
Worst things about summer (winter fall or spring)
Favorite movies
Favorite books