Bullet Journal - a blank notebook used to organize everything you need to write down
Real Life
About a year ago, I figured out that I don't need a planner, an intense checklist, or an app to organize all of my tasks/lists/etc. All I need is a blank notebook.
Here is what my bullet journal looks like:
Here is what's currently inside:
- ideas for the blog
- things to think about
- long term to-do list
- calendar for the week
- homeschool plans
- meal plan for the week
- list of what we have donated in 2016 (for taxes)
- today's to-do list
One of the main goals I have as a homeschooling mom is to prepare my kids for real life. I love one of the points that author Jamie Martin makes on her blog: "Guess what prepares kids for real life? Real life." It was in that mindset yesterday that I gave my kids their own bullet journals.
- Received a blank notebook (each kid, even the baby/almost toddler)
- Looked at my bullet journal as an example
- Picked out pictures for decorating
- Decorated with markers, stickers, and pictures
- Will use to make lists, draw pictures...whatever they want to do with it
Things They'll Learn
- Responsibility - each child is responsible for his or her own journal (obviously this doesn't really apply to the baby as of now). They need to take care of it, and they also need to take care of any writing utensils that they use (lids go back on markers, etc.).
- Ownership - There are very few things in this house that belong to just one child. (Mostly) All toys are shared among all three kids. This bullet journal is fully theirs.
- Family Consistency - The pictures that they used to decorate their journals were from when they were babies. Some of the same people with them in those pictures are very active in their lives today.
- Literacy - Micah now has a consistent place to write his lists. Asher also has already practiced writing in his journal.
- Creativity - I put zero requirements on this project, including the way the journals are put together. Micah taped pictures all the way around the edge of the cover of his journal, which will make it very difficult to transport, or even open. I'm going to let him figure out what (if anything) he wants to change in order to make it more user-friendly.
- Fine Motor Skills - So far, the boys have taped, drawn with markers, used (safe) scissors, and used stickers. Any practice that they have with these skills will help them with holding a writing utensil correctly in the future (Micah already does this, but practice isn't bad). Josie loves to hold writing utensils, and she has already colored on the front of her journal.
- Art - They have used lots of color and have drawn pictures (or scribbles) on some of the pages.
- Spelling of First, Middle, and Last Name - Micah used his birth announcement as one of the pictures on the front of his journal. He then used his name on the announcement (where just the first letter of each name is capitalized) to write his name in stickers on the front of the journal in all caps.
- Counting - today we counted the letters in Micah's full name. We could also count various other things in the journal - number of pages that have been colored on, number of stickers on a page, etc.
This idea came from a few places.
- My cousin Jessica was studying for her college class, and Micah took a small notebook, sat down with her, and began to color/draw.
- Micah has started making lists of things.
- My own experience with a bullet journal.
- When I taught middle school, I was privileged to attend a writing workshop through the Appleseed Writing Project, our local chapter of the National Writing Project. In this month-long workshop, teachers of all disciplines could learn how to better incorporate writing in to their subject areas. After this experience, I gave each of my middle school students a blank notebook to use as their Writer's Notebook, where we did guided writing activities to generate writing ideas.
Do you use a bullet journal? Have you had your kids use one? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!
