It can be a struggle to get elementary aged kids to practice their handwriting.

The trick is to find ways they can practice their handwriting in a fun and unique way.

One of my favorite ways to do this is journaling!

Journaling is great because you can make it all about your kids!

It’s easier to get them excited about journaling than it is to get them excited about copying sentences or spelling words over and over and over again.

Not to mention that journals are a great way to keep memories for the future and get out your feelings, even if you are a little kid!

Here are some ways you can get your child excited about journaling at home:

How to Get Your Kids Excited About Journaling

Help them make a personalized journal or binder

Buy a cheap folder with lined paper or journal printables, get a blank notebook for your kids to decorate with stickers and markers, or get a journal for kids.

Your child’s journal can be as simple or fun as you make them. Making them personalized and fun is sure to get younger kids more excited about writing inside their journals.
Give them fun journal prompts every day or once a week

Come up with some fun journal prompts to give your kids. Ask them questions before they write in their journals or give them silly ideas to write about that make journaling more fun!

Grab my printable below for some fun journal prompts for kids to get started.
Let them know they can write about anything they want in their journals

If your child really has some things to vent about, let them know their journal is a private place where they can really write about anything they want. Talk about how it can sometimes help to write about a hard day at school, something they are worried about, or even a dinner they didn’t like that day at home.
Print out a fun journaling page to get them started

Sometimes it helps to have sentence starters or questions to get the journaling going. I’ve created a fun after school journaling printable that you can get for free below.

Click here to download your free kids journaling printables!
Make Journal Time Colorful!

Making journaling fun can include getting fun accessories for your child’s journal. We love to use colorful markers and stickers.

It also helps to have a colorful snack like Goldfish nearby while they are writing. Did you know that Goldfish Colors come from natural sources like fruits and vegetables!? I love this!

Can you guess where each color comes from?

Red Goldfish are made with red beet juice concentrate and paprika extracted from sweet red peppers. I couldn’t believe the color of the green fish come from watermelon & Huito juice concentrates mixed with extracted Turmeric, my kids love watermelon! Yellow comes from extracted Turmeric to make it look like the color of the sun. Finally, blue also comes from Huito and Watermelon juice concentrates.

Right now you can have some fun with your kids by voting for your favorite Goldfish color!

You could tie this in to journaling by having your kids write about which fruits and veggies they think each color Goldfish is made out of. Afterwards have them vote for their favorite color of Goldfish!
Have a journal share day where each family member shares the funnest thing they wrote about in their journals

Are you getting into journaling with your kids? Not only is that a great way to model to your kids the enjoyment of journaling, you can also turn it into a family night activity. Plan a time where you can all share a fun story that you wrote about in your journal with each member of the family.
Turn on fun music during journal time

Writing is always more fun with upbeat music playing in the background. My kids love listening to Disney music while they play, craft, do homework, or write. It helps them to focus, get creative, and have a bit more fun!
Make journaling a bedtime routine

Turn journaling into a fun bedtime routine that the whole family participates in. Give your kids 10-15 minutes before bed to write out whatever is on their minds in their journals!