Homeschooling Tips from A to Z for 2023: The Letter J

Hi Friend, 
Welcome back. This week our homeschooling tips all begin with the letter J. 

Homeschooling Tip #1: Journaling

When you were a kid, did you keep a diary or a journal?  I did and I really enjoyed writing down my thoughts or what I had done that day.

For homeschoolers, there a lot of different types of journaling that you can get your child in the habit of doing. We’ll touch on a few of them now.

1. Nature Journaling. This is a fun one that I enjoyed doing with my kids.  There’s nothing better than going outside and drawing, labeling, and gathering keepsakes and information from the outdoors.
2. Personal Reflections.  Are you opinionated and need a safe place to vent? If so, this type of journaling is perfect for you.
3. Creative Writing. I like to keep all of my kids’ creative writing assignments. It is so fun to go back and read them. It makes the kids smile, because sometimes they don’t remember that they wrote it.
4. What happened today/yesterday journal.  This type of journal is nice to go back to and reread also. If you put the weather information in for the day, and maybe a picture if you have one, it’s really nice to go back and reminisce.
5. Gratitude Journal. We take a lot of things for granted in our little worlds, and intentionally being thankful for even the little things can really change our perspective on the day.
6. Reading Journal. Do you keep a reading journal? I never have, but this journal consists of the date, book title, author, and summary of the book. You could even put where you purchased the book from and how much you paid for it.
7. Bible/Devotional Journal. This type of journal is great for keeping track of your Bible reading for the day, a life application lesson, and a favorite verse or phrase that you came across. 
8. Bullet Journaling. This type of journaling is used by list lovers. You could make to-do lists, gratitude lists, Bible reading lists, book reading lists, etc. 
9. Prayer Journal. Don’t forget to not only include the unanswered prayer requests, but it’s a good idea to keep track of the requests that God has already answered. 
10. Food Journal. Trying to eat healthy? Are you studying nutrition? This journal would be good to do with that study. Write down everything that you eat for a week and see what you eat the most of. 
11. Fitness Journal. This is perfect for gym class. Keep track of how many reps you do of certain exercises, the amount of time on cardio exercises, and you could even add in distances if you like to walk or go for a run.
12. Field Trip Journal. Have your child write in the field trip journal before and after every field trip. You may want to have him brainstorm some questions or collect some introduction information. 
    Afterwards, have him write all about the field trip; the things he liked/disliked, what he learned, who he went with and a list of  souvenirs that he bought. If you have any pictures, they would be great to put in the journal too.

Homeschooling Tip #2: Jobs

Teaching your kids these skills starts when they are very young. It’s as simple as having a job around the house. (AKA.. Chores!) 

Can your young one carry a small bathroom trash can to a larger one in the kitchen? Can they pick up dirt off of the carpet? How about dusting? 

Realize that things aren’t going to be perfect, but pointing out to the child what they do correctly and how well they do it, will pay dividends in their future when they get a job out in the real-world.

I had a really heard time thinking of tips that started with the letter J. Can you think of any? I would love to hear what you come up with!

Lego ABC’s: I is for Iron Man from Desiree at Our Homeschool Notebook
Instagramers to Follow who are Home Educating from Chareen at Every Bed of Roses
Insects at the Beach from Annette at A Net in Time
Discovering the “I” Rabbits of the World from Annette at At Home Pets
Igloos and Inukshuks Work from Annette at A Net in Time
I is for Inflation and Financing the Civil War from Kristen at A Mom’s Quest to Teach
I is for It from Desiree at Our Homeschool Notebook
Ives- Composer ABC’s from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
Ice Caves and More: New Mexico Bucket List from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
Independence: Texas Bucket List from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
A Few of Our Favorite Books – The Letter I: from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
Middle School Books – The Letter I: from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
Ice Cream – from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
I is for In the Rain – from Lori at At Home: Where Life Happens
Individual Interests from Megan at My Full Heart
It is Well with My Soul from Kristi at Bailey’s Homeschool Adventure
Identification Cards: Create Your Own with Microsoft Word from Homeschooling Highway

If you would like to read more Homeschooling Tips from A to Z, just click on the alphabet letter below.