Se7en’s Journaling A Day… An Astonishing Progress Report…

So we are halfway through August and I thought by now my kids would have been tired of doing a “Project a Day” but they aren’t, it is the first thing they settle down and work on after breakfast. Nothing happens until we have created together for a while on our journal project, and as soon as everyone has settled down to work, the book we are listening to goes on and all is peaceful – for that moment of the day!!!

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Se7en + 1 Wonderful Surprises About Doing an Ongoing Project With Your Kids…

1. I am astonished at how hard we are all prepared to work on something that doesn’t “count” for anything – working because we are enjoying it and working to create a moment – creating a snapshot of our lives right here and now.

2. I am really surprised at how inventive and creative, not to mention funny our kids are – as there mom and teacher, a lot of the work I see them do is “for school” and so I am a lot more appraising of it, while I don’t correct our kids work very much – okay at all (!!!), I do judge their work. I very often look at something they have done and think: “Hmmm, they could have worked harder!!!” I know isn’t that awful. But as I sit alongside them and work with them I realise just how much effort they are putting into their projects and more important, just how much they enjoy it!!!

3. I am surprised how independent they are… even the littlest hears the suggestion for the day and a plan leaps into his head and he can figure out how to execute it. They don’t need my help to create pop-ups or to write little poems… they think nothing of shooting out a haiku, or a word poem. It is totally brilliant to create with them and not be the driving force behind it all… they are completely into this and the dynamic has shifted, I am following them, along for the ride, instead of leading the way.

4. I am astonished at how ingenious they can be… when I say “Write a secret message in code…” they vanish into their world and create the most amazing looking pages full of secretly coded messages. For the children that would prefer to write one word, it is carefully hidden amongst layers of secret “lift-the-flaps” and then there are those quite happy to write an entire page in morse code, for instance!!!

5. They know so much!!! Really, when your five year old “packs her luggage” with extra outfits and shoes and lipstick… how does she know all the things to pack – I certainly never think to pack more than a toothbrush!!! And find interesting things in the garden and they do a mini-research project on their discoveries – out of their heads – who knew they knew all this stuff!!!

6. I love how they are not afraid to write down anything that comes to mind… beautiful heartfelt paragraphs… and postcards from “faraway lands” that reveal that they need to bake!!! I know my children mostly enjoy writing and are fairly able to express themselves… but I have discovered one young person that REALLY loves to write, rather than drawing, rather than anything… pages and pages of eloquent writing.
“I like to sit on the deck stairs because I have legs that are just long enough to miss one step. And so I sit on the second step and have my feet swing through the bark (chips). I just love bark because you can get smooth red bark or dark brown bark that has its own pattern on it, which is amazing.”

7. I have learnt lots of amazing things about our children by just sitting with them… and they have learnt a few things about me too!!! For instance one child’s favourite outing is the post office, who on earth would have thought that!!! One child’s everyday things were gadgets and another simply wrote… breakfast, lunch and supper!!!

And the se7en + 1th thing…
8. I think I have found our family’s favourite thing to do – apart from going to the beach… We like to sit around the table and do a little drawing and a little painting, play along with markers and stickers, snip things out of old magazines and create words… and basically spend time creating together.

Our prompt for Friday is grandchildren and we were chatting about it at dinner. If they could write a letter to their great-grandchildren what would they say?

They all wanted to say a little about themselves and describe the world they live in, and then they had a few pearls of wisdom:

1. Hood #1: If everything is blurry, then chances are you need spectacles. And if you are in the grumps then read a good book.
2. Hood #2: Follow your passions.
3. Hood #3: Trust your nose. Travel the world and make memories.
4. Hood #4: Keep your secrets.
5. Hood #5: A recipe for chocolate fudge cake.
6. Hood #6: I would like to meet you in heaven.
7. Hood #7: I love you…

And the se7en + 1th thing…

8. Hood 8: I will love my children and their children and their children… lots of love!!!

That’s us… We would love you to leave a comment and tell us what you would write in a letter to your great-grandchildren…