I
was sorting through old school things, when I came across a
Winne-the-Pooh day planner from our 1999-2000 school year. Beth was in
fifth grade that year and I bought it for her to use as a journal, for
the purpose of practicing her cursive penmanship.
I
opened the journal and started reading. I was transported back to those
days. She wrote of going to camp, spending the night at Jessie's house
and Jessie spending the night at our house (there was a lot of that!),
there was an entry when she was mad at me because I wouldn't let her
finish reading a book she had started, waiting for Aunt Beckie to come,
spending the day with Grandma, a gift from a cousin, going to the
dentist, fights with her sister, things she wanted to tell me, and so
much more, a lot that seemed insignificant at the time.
Needless to say, none of it is insignificant. It is a piece of our past that has been preserved in a fifth grader's penmanship.
This
year, Kim is journaling each day, just a few sentences in cursive, to
improve her penmanship, but more important than that, to preserve this
year, her thoughts, our lives. So in 2030 we can sit on the couch
reading her journal and saying, "Remember when...."
So,
if you don't have your children journaling, I would encourage you to
have them start. In ten or fifteen years, they will be priceless
travelogues, transporting you to precious memories.
Oh, and yes, just writing a three or four sentences each day, Beth's penmanship did improve over the year.
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