Mom Kristy Pryma talks about her six-year-old’s journaling habit
Kristy Pryma’s six-year-old daughter Scarlett has been keeping a journal since she was four. Since Scarlett’s a few years away from penning her secret thoughts and observations, her journal entries tend to be one sentence and a picture to go with it. The entry above, for instance, says “I got a manicure” and you can see in Scarlett’s self-portrait how she’s highlighted her nails. Writing everyday is just a great habit to get into, and for Scarlett, she has an easy way to look back on what she’s done and where she’s gone in the last week/month/year.
We came across Scarlett’s journals when Kristy started a Tumblr sharing some of her favourite Scarlett gems. We asked Kristy about how Scarlett got into journaling and how other parents might encourage their kids to take up the habit of writing everyday.
Scarlett started journaling when she was 4? How did you you introduce her to keeping a journal?
Her dad’s a journalist and I also do a lot of writing for my job in PR, so she’s grown up in a household with lots of books, lots of paper and lots of writing. Starting when she was about two, she’d bring notebooks and pens with her when we’d go shopping and take “notes” on what she saw, so it was very natural for her to start writing a journal.
Her journaling originally began as something a little different. When we first started reading chapter books when she was around four, she’d listen for phrases or sentences that really caught her attention and asked me to underline them. After we’d finish our chapter, she’d take out her notebook, copy down the sentence and then draw a picture to illustrate what she’d written. These original entries are hilarious. It’s amazing to see what ideas capture the imagination of a four-year-old.
This organically evolved into her writing about her day, and she’s kept at it ever since.
What does she see as the purpose of keeping a journal?
It’s a combination of a few things, I think. On a basic level, she writes in her journal every night before she goes to sleep, so she enjoys having it as a part of her bedtime routine. On a bigger level, she likes thinking about everything that happened to her that day and then choosing something to write about. She knows that we really treasure her notebooks and that we’ve told her that she’ll love to look at them when she’s older, but we don’t think she’s necessarily doing this for posterity.
Does she talk to you about what she writes/draws?
My husband’s usually the last parent to leave the room at night, so she’ll often consult with him on what she should write about, but she rarely comes to us for feedback or discussion after the fact.
When did you decide to make an electronic copy of all her work?
I’d been thinking about doing this for a while, but made it happen on January 1st as a part of a New Year’s resolution. I wanted to do it for a few reasons. First, she’s growing up so fast and learning so much that I know the clock is ticking for this kind of honest and openly creative thinking. Second, I love to blog, but have a history of being an unreliable blogger. I’ll get really busy and abandon my blog for a long period of time, and it’s an awful feeling. Using the Tumblr format, and sticking with a photo and a “translation” is incredibly easy. There’s no excuse to not do it every day.
What do you friends and colleagues say about the Scarlett Journals?
The feedback has been amazing. Our friends and colleagues all love Scarlett stories, but seeing the world through her own interpretation kicks it up a notch.
How does Scarlett feel about her work reaching more people via Tumblr?
I did talk to her about it before starting The Scarlett Journals and asked her permission. She loved the idea (often if she makes a really cool craft or something out of Lego she’ll tell me to take a picture and post it on Facebook), and loves hearing about people’s comments and retweets. She thinks it makes her a little bit famous.
Any advice for parents who’d like to encourage their kids to keep a journal?
Make it a part of a routine, and stay out of their way. We don’t hound her about her spelling or her grammar when it comes to her journal. She works on those things at other times, but her journal is her own place to be expressive. I think that if you just let your kid go, you may wind up with something wonderful.
Do you have any favourite entries?
There are some amazing entries yet to be posted. We’ve got a few hundred to choose from, so stay tuned!
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