How to Make and Write a Family Journal Involving the Whole Family

Sometimes it is hard to find time to spend together as a family, or to begin a family tradition that will carry over as your children get older. A family journal is one way to spend time together and to find out about each other's days, jobs, hobbies and other pursuits. Everyone can participate and contribute individual touches. It is up to you and your family to decide how often you want to make your journal entries and what you want to include. Here are some tips on how to design, develop and put together a family journal, with every family member, including children, being included in the process.

Things You'll Need

• Medium sized cloth covered artist's sketch pad or a three-ring binder
• Stick on photo corners to attach photographs
• Glue stick
• Collection of family photos
• Different colored ink pen for every family member
• Permanent marker

Instructions

1. Purchase a medium to large artist's sketchbook, preferably one with a cloth cover. If you cannot find a cloth covered sketchbook, one with a cardboard or other material will also work. You could even purchase a three-ring binder and paper to put into it.

2. As a family, decide how often you will make your journal entries. Depending on school, work and event schedules, your family may choose to make a journal entry weekly, on the weekend only, daily, or even every second or third day. There is no set timeline for you to make an entry.

3. Gather several family or individual photos to create a collage for the cover of the journal. You can also use pictures from magazines that show the different interests and hobbies each family member has, including what appeals to any very young children in the clan. Let everyone pick out, put glue on, and attach their own favorite photo or a magazine picture, as part of the collage.

4. Give your journal a name that the whole family agrees on. The name does not have to simply be your family name alone. Be creative. Take a permanent marker in any color you choose and print the name in large letters at the top of the journal. You can make the letters as decorative as you wish. You could also use a stencil.

5. Let every family member write their own name on the first page of the journal, even any very young children you might have. You may have to help guide the hand of a toddler or preschooler. You will be introducing them to the world of letters and communication. Write down the year, since you may choose to make a different journal each year. Add birth dates.

6. Choose a family member to record the information provided by each family member for journal entries, beginning with the date. Ask each family member a question about their day, week or important event, using language that will make them give more than a "Yes" or "No" answer. Give your children an opportunity to ask questions of you, as well. You can take turns being the recorder if you want.

7. You might choose to supplement the written entries in your family journal with award ribbons, artwork, certificates and other items from your child's school or sporting events. If you don't have children, you can supplement the entries with items that evoke a certain memory or event in you and your significant other's life. Always let each family member glue their mementos onto the page. There may even be the occasional family picture in a newspaper, that you may want to add.

8. Include holidays, birthdays and other annual events in your family journal, as well. Author Mary Miller suggests taking the journal along if you go to a relative or friends house for Thanksgiving, and having everyone write down what they are thankful for in that day's journal entry.

9. Understand that your journal should be a reflection of the lives of you and your children, if you have any. If you are single and have no children, you could make a family journal to include any siblings, parents or grandparents. You can always schedule a day or time that you could all meet for the journal entry.

Tips & Warnings

• If you don't have time to put together a family journal or only have time once a month or so, you may want to leave it to only written entries provided by each family member.

• You can also put together a family holiday journal or a family vacation journal.

• The last day of the year can be a good time for you and your family to sit down together and review the past year by going back through the journal.