For adults and older children a journal is a private way to express personal thoughts, sort through feelings or simply record daily events. However, a love of journal writing and the skill of communicating thoughts and feelings do not just magically begin after a child is able to write, it must be fostered from an early age.
In a Montessori environment a child is encouraged to share stories, tell about a favorite book or speak on a topic that interests him daily in order to develop his spoken language skills. The concept that this spoken word is directly related to the written word can easily be achieved with the use of a Sharing Journal. A young child loves to hear stories read to him, and now with a Sharing Journal he discovers that his words are important and can be recorded and read again later.
Just like all activities in a Montessori environment, a sharing journal is an activity a child will independently choose, but as for any young child, how an activity is structured, presented and organized is what makes it appealing and desirable. The Sharing journal is located in the Language area of the environment and is accessible to all children at all times.
How to Create a Sharing Journal
The journal itself should be a beautiful book that the child has helped to choose. A small cup with a choice of interesting pencils and a small calendar is also kept with the journal. When a child has something he wants written down in the Sharing Journal, he retrieves the journal and calendar, chooses a pencil and asks an adult to record his thoughts. The child sits next to the adult or in her lap as she writes so that he can watch how she is forming letters and numbers as she writes.
A Montessori Language Activity
The adult begins by asking the child to open the calendar and helps the child to identify the day and date and records it in the Sharing Journal. The child is then welcome to speak his thoughts as the adult writes the child’s exact words.
When the child is finished, the adult asks the child if he would like to write his name after the journal entry since these are his words. If the child is not interested or able to write his name he could draw a picture or the adult could offer to write his name for him.
Oral Language Development
An adult can encourage a child to share his thoughts in the journal when he is happy, or disappointed, or excited, or sad, or silly, or mad. Children who are given the opportunity and freedom to express themselves and communicate verbally from a young age have the confidence and self-awareness to base a love of journaling and become life long writers.
The Sharing Journal becomes a record of a child’s life that is cherished by the adult and the child. As the child grows, he will eventually begin to choose to write in the journal independently, however, it takes time for writing skills to match verbal skills and often a child who can write still enjoys the time together and prefers having an adult record in the Sharing Journal.
In an early childhood Montessori environment, a Sharing Journal is an ideal Language activity that encourages oral communication, models handwriting, values storytelling and offers a visible way to record and recognize feelings and emotions. Young children, who do not yet have the verbal skills to communicate or the fine motor dexterity to write can have written communication experiences with the Montessori Sharing Journal.
Jocelyn Scotty - A freelance educational writer, certified Montessori teacher, former teacher educator and school administrator, Jocelyn is also the ...
