How to start a mindful journal for kids

Journaling is writing about your feelings and emotions, developing gratitude, setting goals, checking in on your emotional wellbeing.

This is the place where kids can put on paper whatever goes through their mind at the end of the day. It helps children to release tensions and acknowledge their emotions. This technique is SO powerful on building resilience and mindfulness.

Sometimes it is easier to write than to say something out loud. Writing everyday in a journal is one of the most powerful tool to help kids (and grown ups) to process their emotions (fear, failure, anxiety, anger, sadness but also excitement, achievement, happiness ...) and move forward.

The journal must be a free-judgement space and it needs to be fun and creative.

Our tips about the journal:

Let kids use stickers, colorful pencils, drawings, pictures, gel pen, whatever makes it fun to write and let them express freely their creative side. Let them choose the notebook they want, this should be special to them.

Tips about the content:

Giving a blank page to a kid and let them write something about their day, in the majority of cases, the magic won't happen there and it won't last. They will need some guidance, some ideas, some prompts. Maybe the first few weeks or at least for 21 consecutive days (that's the average time to create a new habit), you can guide them by using 4 or 5 questions you can pick from the list below.

Here are some prompts you could use to help them start:

About their day:

What did you learn?
How did you feel today?
What was the best part of your day?
What are you grateful for?
Have you tried something different today?
What was your biggest challenge?
If there is one thing you could do better tomorrow, what could it be?
What did you like the most about your day?
What is your favorite part of the morning?
What is your favorite part of the evening?
Who made you smile today? What did they do?

Goals:

Is there something you would like to learn, become or do?
How can you work towards your goal?
What will you try to do better tomorrow?

Gratitude:

What are you grateful for ? (list 3 things)
Can you list one thing you are grateful for that you do / you have / you are.
Can you list three things that make you laugh?
Who makes you laugh?

General happy thoughts:

What is your favourite game or sport? why?
Describe the happiest day of your life.
If you could do anything all day tomorrow what would you do?
Describe the perfect vacation.
Write about what you love about your family.
Which room in your house is your favorite, and why?
What's your favorite school subject? Why?
If you could have any special talent what would it be, and why?
What makes people happy?
What job would you like when you're an adult?
What's your favorite celebration, and what are the things you like most about it?
What makes a good friend?
Is there ever a time or situation where it could be OK to tell a lie?
What makes you smile?
What is one thing you would like to get better at?
How would you like to spend the perfect day?
Describe yourself in 10 words.
What age are you most excited to turn, and why?
What do you imagine your life will be like as an adult?
Who is your hero? Why?

Mindfulness:

Name two persons who helped you lately?
What did you learn today?
How were you a good friend today?
What did you see today that was beautiful?
Who helped you today?
Who did you help today?
What three words that best describe you today?
How do you think your friends would describe you in three words?
Do you know someone who's going through hard times? How can you help them?
Write down one kind thing you did for someone else in the past 24 hours.
What act of kindness did you witness today?
What can you do to be a good friend?

Resilience:

What did you do today that made you think hard?
What will you do to challenge yourself tomorrow?
What will you do to improve your work?
What's the biggest mistake you've made? What did you learn from it?
What's the hardest part of being a kid?
If you could change anything about today, what would that be?
When is the last time someone hurt your feelings? How did you react?
What was your biggest challenge today?
Did you get upset today? if so, was it because of something you could control or not?
What can you try to do better tomorrow?
What difficult thoughts and emotions do you recall experiencing this week?
When it's hard, how do you talk to yourself to keep going?
Did you try something new?

Any other suggestions? please we would love to hear about it. send us an email at hello@rgym.com.au