Welcome to Write Saturday. This is the Saturday we post some journaling prompts, share some layouts, and hope you'll play along. Please join in and post your inspired layouts to our Flickr gallery! Thank you for joining in!
From our journaling jar this week, we have three prompts:
- How things are changing. You could take this with a wide perspective---how are things different from a year ago, or a decade ago? Or on a smaller scale: what's changed in the past week?
- School so far. Now that kids are in school and schedules are back to normal, how are things going?
- Signs of the seasons. Sometime soon, take a little five-minute walk outside, looking for signs of the seasons. Then come back and write down what you experienced. This is even more fun to do with one of your children, your spouse, or a friend!
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Here are some examples from the Write. Click. Scrapbook. team to show you how the challenges translate into layouts.
How Things are Changing
Since I’ve had four kids, I know exactly what happens when one loses a top tooth: everything changes! So when my youngest, Kaleb, had a wiggly top tooth I knew to snap a picture before it fell out. In the journaling I wrote about what has changed since he lost that tooth.
Karen also wrote about a little one losing a top tooth. I love that we both chose the same focus—but our journaling each reflects our individual approaches. Yet, we both have that same bittersweet feeling. Maybe it’s universal to motherhood!
Celeste journaled about how she’s between her wedding day and her fifteenth anniversary. It’s a great reminder that you deserve some layouts about yourself. What’s changed since you were married?
Erin also journaled about herself and a change she’s recently experienced—becoming a runner. How have your exercise routines changed? What have those changes taught you about yourself?
Christa broke her changes into time periods—what’s changed in 1, 5, and 10 years. This approach lends a startling perspective by helping you see all in one glance the contrast.
Karen also shares a layout about the changes that happen during that baby year. Her journaling about her son’s crawling style evokes that quickness with which babies grow and change in those first 12 months.
Aly also writes about the speedy changes of the baby year. From the end of pregnancy to the start of the second six months, so much can change in just a year.
School So Far
For this layout, I wrote some of the little details that might get lost in a larger view. There can be such a gap between the expectations of starting a new school year and the reality of it. Journaling about what is happening right now is a great way to capture the texture of everyday life in a way you might otherwise not. Plus, it’s a fun way to use up a class photo or two!
Marnie's layout looks at the addition of homework to their schedule. We all know how homework affects parents, too!! And it was a good excuse to record a snippet of their everyday routine.
Signs of the Seasons
My son Nathan’s English teacher inspired this journaling prompt! He had to sit outside for five minutes and pay attention to the signs of the seasons, and then write an essay about it. I liked this assignment so much I decided to also do it. I included his essay and my own in the journaling. Don’t overlook your kids’ writing assignments as a rich source of scrapbook journaling!
Marnie's walk, while noticing the season, also had another purpose. Her journaling captures the reasoning behind the walk as well as the season around them.
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That's it! We hope you feel inspired to record a memory or two! Please don't forget to leave a comment and a link to your layout if you make one!! Thank you for stopping and have a wonderful weekend!
Amy
