things you need

​

How many of you used to pour your heart into a journal when you are younger? Perhaps you still do? Writing down your ideas, questions, fears and anxieties is a great way to process thoughts and feelings.

 

It also helps us to remember key moments in our lives, and relive them through descriptions and emotions.

Journaling is a fantastic activity to do with your children over the Summer Holidays, especially older children, when they are away from their friends and school and have more time for their thoughts.

 

It is also a time when we try to do more together as a family – holidays, day trips, local adventures…quality time and memories which should be cherished forever.

​

Tools needed

• Scrapbook or notepad

• Pens, pencils, highlighters, paint

• A bag to collect natural treasures and memories

• A camera to capture special moments

look out for

​

Create a journal using a notepad or make one yourself using scraps of paper and a stapler or string as a binder. Decorate the cover and personalise with pressed flowers, leaves, feathers or anything else found on your adventures. And don’t forget to take it with you, wherever you go.

​

Journaling isn’t just about writing - add photos and other mementoes collected on your way to bring your stories to life. Why not add your bark rubbings to the journal and perhaps draw a map of your walk with the location of the trees on it?

​

HINT

At the end of each day, find a peaceful place, maybe under a tree or in a sheltered corner of the garden to reflect on the day and write, stick and draw in the journal. Younger children could simply stick treasures, photos and drawings and create a memory scrapbook.

​

confidence

​

Processing feelings can be confusing and difficult for many children.

 

Understanding what the feeling is and why it is occurring takes time and often, even as adults, we struggle with this. Writing down thoughts, ideas and emotions helps children to work through their emotions at their own pace, independently – an important skill.

Creating a family journal instead of just an individual one, is another way to confidently share how we are feeling, providing a middle ground for everyone to feel at ease when expressing themselves rather than having to say things out loud. It is a great way to improve communication and strengthen relationships.

​

Competition Time – We would love to see your Wild journals created over the summer so we are offering 1 lucky winner the chance to win a WILD ART HAMPER. Just send some photos of your journal to the wild for life team, with your age and contact details and we will announce the lucky winner at the end of August.

​