March 9-15

Opening Song

Opening Prayer

Scripture Reading: Jacob 4:2-3. Assign someone to read it or help a younger child read it. 

Discussion: Start by reading the following quote by Wilford Woodruff.

“I wish to say to my young friends that it will be a great blessing to them, and their children after them, if they will keep a daily journal of what takes place with them and around them. Let all the boys and girls get them a little book, and write a little in it almost every day.” 

Feel free to ask any of the following questions and any questions that may come to your own mind.

Why do you think we’re counseled to keep a journal? Why can it be hard to keep a journal? What can make it easier? Do you think Jacob always enjoyed engraving a “journal” on plates? Why do you think he chose to do it? Do you think he understood how much it would help people someday? What should we write about in our journals?

Activity: Start a journal. There are a couple of ways to do this. 

• Grab a couple sheets of computer printer paper. Follow along in this video in order to make a small “book” for your kids. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21qi9ZcQVto After distributing the books, prompt them with ideas about things they can write or draw. What’s their favorite color? Who do they love? Who is their best friend? What is their favorite animal? What is their favorite thing to do every day?
• Buy small journals for each child. Any dollar store or Walmart has small journals that work well. Help them to start a gratitude journal. This is beneficial in so many ways. Gratitude is a fantastic lens with which to look at your day. Simply have them write the date at the top and then 3-5 things they’re grateful for. 
• Help older children set up an gmail address, and show them how to create folders and documents on Google drive. After lugging around 15 journals whenever I moved, I decided to start journaling online. You can create a general “journal” folder. Within this large folder, create another folder for the year. Within the year folder, you can open up a document for each month. Typing is much faster than writing and so it can often be easier for people to keep up the habit. Even beyond that benefit, kids can write in their journals right on their phones with the Google Docs app.

Bear testimony

Closing Song

Closing Prayer