Journaling with our kids
For Christmas, we bought each of our oldest three boys one of Monk Manual’s new journal for kids. There is a spread for every day (undated) with one side being the same set of questions every time and the other being a creativity page with a different question. There are also occasional pages to look at specific growth areas like generosity or intentionality. It’d be nice to say that we’ve diligently used them every single day and my children are masters at examining their lives, but that’s not true, of course. More importantly, I don’t even expect that to be true anymore. We have ebbed in and out of using them. Some weeks we are great at getting to it at bedtime; other weeks are more chaotic and they sit on our shelves. But we will keep going for a couple of reasons.
I want our kids to learn the value of reflection and paying attention to their own lives. This seems like a great way to help them practice this regularly. (We also do highs/lows at dinner time.) This practice of journaling teaches them how to sit quietly and look back on their day, both the good and the bad. It helps them identify when they felt peace and when they felt unrest. It lets them think about tomorrow before it comes.
I also get to do it with them. Or Justin does. Either way, we are sitting with our kids working on these journals. We get to hear stories about school we wouldn’t have heard otherwise. We find out the things they think are priorities and what they are looking forward to. We have small opportunities to reshape the conversations around those things. Sometimes we talk about our own answers to the questions.
Imperfectly journaling for years is going to impact them as people in a positive light. Over the past decade, I’ve really grown in realizing that growth happens in small steps done consistently. Perfection is not the aim because it's not possible. We can form a habit over years and looking at it over years reminds me that missing two nights a week (or one whole week now and then) is not going to be a big deal. That goes for a lot of habits I’m trying to form and relearn as well.
It’s true for you too. We don’t need perfect. We don’t need stellar, impressive reports. We need consistent, imperfect steps in a clear direction that we sustain for a long time, perhaps our whole life or perhaps just for a needed season. Don’t give up because your work and your growth isn’t perfect. Aim for consistency over time instead where you can.
Always,
Lisa
Links I Love:
Favorite story on Instagram, sent by a friend who knows me well.
Andrew Peterson is on tour. Unfortunately I found out too late to attend the one closest to me.
We’ve been talking about Wendell Berry in class materials: here’s a snippet of his work.