Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Color Journal


I have seen this idea a few places now and I think it is pretty stellar, so I'm passing it along to you. The concept is keeping a color journal of days with your toddler. My two-year-old certainly can not write and, although a studied scribbler, he can not "draw," but that does not matter with a color journal. You simply take a blank notebook and an array of colored pencils or crayons and keep them in a place where each night you both can sit down and ask "What color was today?".
Then, as your little one fills one side with art or scribbles or artistic scribbles in that color or colors , you write down what they tell you about why the color represents that day to them.

Now I have seen this idea without any writing -just the art of the children to tell the story. I do like that idea, but capturing the reasoning behind the color choices of my almost 3-year-old seems like something we will both be grateful for when he is older. I like that we can make this part of our nightly routine and that we can have a journal of this time that he actually constructs.

It seems as though a project like this could foster a love of writing and that is definitely appealing, but how fantastic to introduce creative expression in general. I may be getting ahead of myself, after all, tonight is our first night of trying this out. Am I ready for weeks of purple just because it is the "best color" right now?- sure - and I don't imagine that every night will be riddled with poignant and insightful moments, but I am excited to give this a try. Wish us luck!

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