Art Journals for Children

A child's journal could be kept in a simple folder - a polypocket or file. Pages can be added and mementos such as tickets, postcards, notes, images can be stored loose or glued onto paper. The outside can also be decorated.

Or maybe a lever arch file. Pages can be punched and kept secure. Plastic wallets can be used for loose items and, of course, a lever arch file can hold a lot of memories. Their disadvantage is that they can become unwieldy and are not the sort of thing you can slip into a pocket or purse.

Lapbooks are very popular nowadays and instead of using it for a project, one could be used as a journal. This could be a very good way of encouraging a child to maintain a journal. More volumes can be made as necessary. They can be made in different sizes so can be made very easy to carry around.

A simple notebook or exercise book can work fine (some of the examples here were all done in a little 5"x4" notepad.

One really good way is a spiral bound drawing pad or watercolor pad. Many sizes and types are available and the spiral binding allows some expansion of the contents.

It depends on the child. It should be stressed that their journal is their private property to be shared or not, according to preference. In the beginning, it is probably good if you sit down with the child and encourage him or her to play around with cutting out images from magazines. Glueing and sticking is always great fun. You can add in pictures of favorite toys or describe their favorite games. What it mustn't be is WORK. It's supposed to be joyful. In this way you can encourage your child to journal by making it something enjoyable. It works even better if you journal right alongside them.

Make suggestions if the child is amenable but if they want to get on with it by themselves then let them. Later journaling becomes a solitary habit.

If the child is having problems of any kind, such as bullying or feeling left out or divorcing parents, then encourage them to express their feelings in their journal. As mentioned earlier, it doesn't have to be in words. Let them use images of angry faces or monsters if that works. Keep reinforcing the idea that this is their personal place for self-expression. It's not your job to tell them what to put into the journal - only make suggestions if it is appropriate to do so.

My 11 year old son, Alex, has always enjoyed cutting out pictures and creating collages and the like. He has never really kept any kind of journal. A few weeks ago I suggested that we do some cutting out. Mainly because I wanted to add to my stock of images for my own journals and also because it's something the children like to do. My daughter wasn't particularly interested at the time - she wanted to go off and do something else, so it was just Alex and me at the table with a pile of National Geographics. As we were going though the magazines and talking about the great pictures and cutting them out, he decided that he would start a journal there and then. Out came the glue-stick and a small notebook and off he went. He sat there for four hours happily creating.

Then he 'discovered' a little character - an extension of himself, I suppose - AlexFish. He added AlexFish to all his pages and now AlexFish is his avatar within his journal. So AlexFish has little adventures, all the time being representative of Alex himself. He likes what Alex likes and does the things that Alex does.

Would this be a good idea for your child? Give them an 'identity' to journal with?

Your child can preserve their thoughts, activities, dreams, fears, hopes and wishes. They can attach brochures of places they have visited as well as tickets and photographs. They can use markers to color or write. They can write big or small. They can cut out words from publications and use them instead of writing. They can play with calligraphy and paint; experiment with sketching and collage.

They could copy or cut out poetry. They could write their own poems. They could write secret letters about the class bully or a scary teacher. They could make lists of their favorite people, songs or gifts they want for Christmas. Or how about keeping a record of jokes which made them giggle?

They can be silly or serious, happy or miserable, confident or nervous. It's a safe place.

One thing which I think is important is to light a little flame of appreciation in a child... and their journal is a good place to start. Suggest that s/he adds lists or makes notes or pastes in pictures of what s/he appreciates in life. I have found the best way to do this is to do it myself and then show them. Encourage them to focus on what makes them happy and the things that warm their heart. Explain that doing this can bring more of those good things to them. By doing this regularly, it will become almost second nature.