Importance of writing a journal for young children

I have been having major problems with my 7 year old's writing practice. The problem is that she will not write. I have always been an avid reader from the time I remember and my mother still talks about how I used to read with the book in front of my face while walking down the road when returning from school. My sister not only read English, she was also a voracious reader of Bengali classics, something I never got my mind wrapped around. So it comes as a shock to me to see my daughter, my own daughter, not only does not write, she has to be coaxed into reading too. Reading however is a topic for another day. Writing is my present problem, something I know y third grader has to revamp very quickly because she is losing out in her grades because of this.
Now I know grades dont matter, but they really do, dont they? What if you know your child is doing well in grammar and still falling behind in her English class because her answers are not up to the mark. They never will be unless they practice writing at home.
I have tried so many tricks so  that during her holidays she write a little everyday. She will find some kind of excuse to avoid it. At the beginning of her summer leave, I bought her a lovely raw paper note book with exactly 60 pages, one for each day of hr holidays. Labelled it Summer Journal.
It was so lovely I wanted to write my journal in it. Suffice it to say that after 3 weeks, one page of that is filled with something about birds and another page of a sketch which looks remotely like one.
I wondered then if journal writing is really necessary and whether I should push on with it. I asked around and did some research too. Turns out that not only is it necessary, it is actually good for the child.

• When a child writes a journal, they are not pressured to keep to rules of grammar or spelling. But teachers do say that the practice of journal writing automatically makes them better in both aspects.
• The daily practice of writing a journal makes children calmer in the same way that diary writing works for adults. Starting the day with writing a page in their journal also prepares them for a day of practice of other subjects and helps them get ready to work.
• All teachers who encourage journal writing say that it definitely improves writing skills of students who cannot write at the beginning. Their previous journals can even be used to encourage them and motivate them by showing how much they have achieved over the months.
• For parents it is a very good way to share. Writing usually helps children improve their expression of feelings over time and parents can know things through this practice which a child would not normally speak out to them.

Now, the problem I face with my child is she does not know what to write. The only entry in her journal has been about a bird because I prompted her to write about her visit to the park the previous day. She wrote about the kingfisher she saw there.

So now, after some reading about this on the internet I have decided to try using writing prompts with her. Last week I gave her the topic- "3 things you love and 3 things you hate". I learnt that she hates butter, which is why she always throws a tantrum when given bread and butter sandwiches. She also hates me shouting at her, which I did not realise was that huge a problem. Working on it...

Here are some prompts I have prepared for writing journals over the next few weeks. Lets see if they work:

• If you were given 3 wishes, what would you ask for and why
• Which superhero would you like to be
• What super power would you love to have and what would you do with it
• Describe a perfect friend
• If you could be invisible what would you do
• If you were to become queen what would you do
• What would you buy if you had a lot of money and why
• Are you a brave girl? Why or why not?
• What is the best gift you ever received and why.
• What are your favourite festivals. Why?
• Name three people you like most and why.
• 3 things you like and 3 things you hate (already done)

This Week's Topic: MAPS

The only way I can try and incorporate a variation of interesting subjects into the Summer reading is getting it in as a "week's topic". I was planning to keep topics such as Maps, Dinosaurs, Solar system and like, for the 8 weeks of holidays. 2 weeks and she is still doing maps.
In maps I have got a relatively cheap Collins atlas for children which is colourful and interesting. I also had stored an India map puzzle for months which got some quality time one of these days. That is a great way to teach children what text books are going to teach them in a few more months. There is a lovely board game called Worldopedia, which is a very fun way for kids to know about countries, their special structures and even flags.
Here are some of the resources I used for my 7 year old: All links from direct websites from where they were sourced.
World map printable

World Map puzzle

India Map printable

Collins world atlas available on Amazon.in 

Summer Routine

I am a great believer in routines. My student life was spent preparing routines, never mind sticking to them. However, for children, even very small children, routines are not just a way to make them work, it is a necessity. Routines give children direction and is good for them to know exactly what is expected of them. I believe in its own way it inculcates a sense of discipline. My daughter would not brush her teeth during the whole of the summer if it was not included in her routine.
I know the routine I have made seems too much. After all it has 4 hours of study time included in it. However, it is easy to be fooled. Routine is not a rule. Routine is a general guideline, and my daughter follows the break times very diligently, but the study times are very loosely followed. So more days than not, I would be lucky if she puts in about an hour of serious work, and whiles away the rest of the time doodling or staring out the window or "searching" for her stuff.

Its OK though. The idea is not to overwork the child. The idea is to show them what is expected so that they try to follow it from now.
Believe it or not, this has actually reduced her TV watching time since it is not included in the routine at all. She now watches during the afternoon break for some time and maybe if dad is late, then post dinner.

Summer Holidays: This year- no TV!

 The lazy days of summer holidays are upon us. Mums all around me were so relieved that I wondered if they would really think me mad if I said what was in my mind. I hate summer holidays. There, I've said it.
I remember being a child in a small town near Kolkata, where summer holidays meant climbing trees, picking raw mangoes, eating them with cousins, hiding from respective mothers. Scalding hot summer afternoons would be spent messing ourselves up in the garden, visiting cousins or best friends houses, and unending pages of Math practice and handwriting practice, both Bangla and English.
We did not have TV. Sometimes, on Sunday afternoons the Radio would throw up some English songs which would be our only source of western music.
Only now, it is 8 weeks of TV and iPads, constant fights with the 7 year old over screen time, struggling to get them to do anything close to writing. Forget trees, where are the gardens any more. The square bit of sky from the window suffices, that too because our apartment happens to face clear horizons instead of another set of houses.
Now I hate summer holidays and there is good reason for it. Some research goes into the effect of screen time on children in the west, but in India such studies are rarely done. Even in the west, most studies are never known by the wider public, the media being what it is.
Recently one article scared me out of my wits. While I am not one to go blindly by "research" and "studies show...", still my gut says it cant be wrong. Let me quote some salient points from the article in www.telegraph.co.uk.
"Melatonin is the hormone we all need to sleep well. Researchers recently found that when a group of six to 12 year-olds had their screen time reduced their melatonin production increased by 30 per cent. In animals low levels of melatonin results in early-onset puberty (Salti et al, 2006). Consequently doctors think that combined with greater body mass, this may explain why so many girls are reaching puberty earlier than in the 1950s.

Adolescent boys with screen time of two or more hours per day have twice the risk of abnormal levels of insulin associated with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than boys exposed to less screen time (Hardy et al, 2010).

The average 10 year-old’s arm strength has dropped by 26 per cent in the last 10 years and the ability to do sit-ups has fallen by 27 per cent.

The Department of Health at Cornell University has found that reducing a child’s screen time makes them more physically active without the parent needing to do anything else to replace it.

“Just nine minutes of viewing a fast-paced television cartoon had immediate negative effects on a four-year-olds executive function,” experts writing for the Paediatrics journal found, which includes memory, problem-solving and empathy.

A 26-year-old study tracking children from birth has concluded: “Television viewing in childhood and adolescence is associated with poor educational achievement by 26 years of age. Early exposure to television may have long lasting adverse consequences for educational achievement and later socio-economic status and well-being.” (Hancox et al, 2005)"

How much TV is too much? Studies show that below the age of 3 no screen time is good. That includes even iPads. Parents nowadays think that if small children dont use new technology they will fall behind. That is not true, as repeated studies have showed. Screen time only leads to increased instances of reduced attention and even ADHD.
Other ages have it easier.

3-7 years: 0.5-1 hour

7-12 years: 1 hour

12-15 years: 1.5

16+: 2 hours

I must say my 7 year old has watched more TV than 1 hour many a day and I am guilty of not getting her off either TV or iPad. Isnt it rather easy to just ask the child to go play with the iPad rather than do something with them? Which is why I hate summer.

But here is the lowdown. You dont always need to DO anything. Remember our childhood? Our parents didnt spend summer afternoons with us! We spent it on our own and enjoyed every moment of it. Leaving a child alone, and banning the TV and hiding the other screens work. They will find something to do. And yes, there will be many more moans of "Im really BORED, mamma" but here's one more thing to make you a happy parent. Being bored is actually GOOD for children.

Here's one more bombshell... not studying during the long holidays are actually harmful for the child. The most effect is seen in language and math skills. A long hiatus from language and mathematics can cause children to devolve in their learning. Parents will notice that after a long break children struggle with their lessons and have to spend a lot of time getting back on track where they left off. 

I myself am a firm believer of routines and summer learning but many parents will not agree with me. For them summer is all about fun, and making kids work even through these two short months is tantamount to torture. But hear me out. There can be a happy medium.

Here is a list I have made for the little monkey to not while away her whole 8 weeks. I have done much more but that is for another post. Here let me list down what I thought would be necessary to let her have her share of fun and not fall back in acads at the same time.

Create a reading list: A local library is the best bet. But in a locality like mine, there are none. So I have become a member of British Council Library which has a nice booklist. I have plenty of books inhouse, so reading lists are not a problem. I have also thrown open the house to all local book loving kids to come and enjoy some reading down time in the afternoons. Check with other mums for a read-date. Chances are many mums are waiting for such a thing to happen. Summer reading lists can be downloaded dime a dozen from the internet, for all ages. 

Read together: Example is the best way to teach. From newspapers to appropriate magazine articles to story books, everything goes. Read in front of the child. If they see you watch TV they will learn to watch TV. If they see you read, it is bound to rub off on them somehow,

Make time for art: A card for grandfather? Let them have a go at it.  That is how artists are born! 

Hobby classes: Lets rephrase that... Meaningful hobby classes. There are so many out there that you would think they are waiting to catch us unawares with our money. Summer classes can be educative AND fun. If they like craft, there are plenty of craft summer classes. Maybe the little scientist could do with a robotics class. Or dance workshops can be fun and may become a regular hobby after summers over.

Sneak in writing: The best way to have them write without the complaints, is a journal. A colourful scrapbook can become a summer journal. I asked my daughter to do what she pleased with it, stick leaves, bird feathers, pictures, write about what came to her mind. 

Sneak in learning: Going shopping? While a five year old can learn about notes and coins and weights much more interestingly than in a classroom, a seven year old (or above) can actually count up change and tally the bill. Helping in the kitchen can be a wonderful way to teach measurements and (hold your breath) chemistry. A museum visit can be fun and educational. Parks can be a great place to learn about geology or botany.

The great outdoors: Great minds all agree that travel teaches more to a child that a classroom ever will. Summer holidays is a great time to go travelling. Even if it is grandma's house. An older child may even be left with grandparents for a period of time. We  have not forgotten how important it is to have grandparents in a child's life. What better time than uninterrupted lazy summer to have the two generations have fun together.

Summer is also a great time to teach kids a new non-classroom based skill. Swimming, cycling, playing a new game in the weekends, can all be great fun and good way to exercise for both parent and child. Bonding is an added bonus.

Board games that help: I recently bought my 7 year old a world map and India map puzzle. She has been having great fun with it and now she knows about countries and their attractions, even their flags. Age appropriate board games can eat up hours on summer afternoons. Time for a little snooze, mums?

Good TV instead of bad TV: If they have one hour of TV time, they can watch mindless cartoons or they can sit with you and watch Discovery Channel. Its a choice, and children, believe it or not, gets used to not watching cartoons. Mister Maker is just as good for them. My daughter has so gotten over Chhota Bheem since I have blocked the channel on my TV!

So this year, plan some trips, go to grandma's, do the usual museum-park-movies circuit, but also, let the children play on their own. Let them devise ways to entertain themselves, let them scribble and paint on walls, let them stare out into the open feeling deathly bored, let them read. But never be afraid of banning TV beyond their stipulated time and do, do lock away the iPads.