Journal Day (again)

Two years ago I started a project here on Sometimes Sweet called Journal Day and it was probably my most favorite reoccurring feature, ever. Then the other week when I shared part one of "Post Ideas for the Stumped Blogger" I realized how much I miss that whole exchanging of ideas, sharing inspiration, and finding ways to freshen up content. I got to thinking, and I realized that right now was the perfect time to bring back Journal Day.

Here's the gist of it with a couple of updates, from my original post in June of 2011:

I love being a stay-at-home Mom, but there are some days when I really miss being a high school English teacher. And most of all, I miss the creative writing. For six years of my life, every Tuesday and Thursday, we had Journal Day. At the start of the year, each child would get a journal of their choice (typically a black composition notebook), and we'd add at least two pages per week. Upon the students' arrival in class on they would see a prompt on the board. They could always choose to free-write, but typically the kids would choose to at least start with the prompt and then let their writing go wherever they wished.  I had no rules for their journals- they could write about whatever they wanted, and although they did get a grade for completing each day's writing, I never gave them a grade on content. At the end of each journaling session, we'd go around the room and everyone could share anything they wanted- at the least just one word, and at the most, their entire entry. Some kids started by just offering up a word or a phrase- "good day" "sad" "really weird mood" - but as the year went on everyone got more and more comfortable. There were so many days I heard something that then prompted me to talk a child after class. Perhaps the one word they shared sounded a bit off, or maybe they shared a lot, and I knew they needed to talk to someone. I found that it was pretty therapeutic for a lot of the kids. I mean, I know some couldn't care less, but I do know there were more than a few that loved it. And I miss those days, I miss the writing, and the mix CDs the kids would bring it to play during those ten or fifteen minutes. The sound of the pencils on paper, the look of concentration. The feeling when one of my "non-writers" would say, "this isn't so hard after all."

So I got to thinking. And I decided that I'm going to bring back those journal days right here.

And if you'd like to join in, I'd absolutely love it.

Here's how it will work- I'll post a prompt on Sunday evenings (or other days if specified). Then some time in the next week, write about the prompt in your blog, then come back here on Thursday to my prompt response (I will post mine each Thursday morning) and leave a comment with a sentence or two from your entry, along with the link so we can all blog hop and check each others' writing out.  I know I'd be so honored to be able to read what you write, and I know a lot of others would love to, too. I think this will be a fun way to get a writing community going, and I'm so looking forward to getting to know more of you through your words. I'm so excited to continue focusing on what I believe is the most important aspect of blogging- writing.  I think this will be a neat way to infuse some creativity into our daily lives too, and inspire each other to write a lot more! So, here we go.

Stay tuned for next week's prompt, then come back on Thursday to my prompt response post to share your link blurb and link in the comments. And in the meantime, check out previous Journal Days here.