Journalling, part 2: Make journalling fun!

First things first: If you haven't read my previous post about how to get your kid into journalling and the benefits of journalling for kids, click here. I'll wait while you go to read that post.

(Staci makes a snack, brews coffee #34 for the day, and sits back while her readers go check out the other post...)

Oh, you're back? Great. Now I hope you'll read this post, too. There's some fun stuff ahead!

Now that I've said my piece about why I think journalling can be beneficial for kids (and parents and kids together!) I can hear what you're thinking: How am I going to convince my kid that writing in a journal is FUN? Well, as I said in that other post, there are all kinds of journals, including those that are more about drawing as an exploration of emotion than about writing lengthy passages, but even if you do want to encourage your child to start writing in a traditional journal, I have some advice for you. Make it fun!

How do you do that? By providing your kids with some super-fun supplies to get their creative juices flowing!

Of course, there's nothing wrong with a good, old-fashioned journal or notebook for getting your kids into the habit of journalling, When you're dealing with kids, though, making the supplies as fun as possible and your child will be more enticed to get engaged in something that may otherwise feel a bit like a chore at first. When you add fun supplies into the mix, however, the whole game is changed. The key is to know what is going to appeal to your child, so you can get them excited about jumping into the idea of journalling!

OOLY has some of the most awesome, fun, colourful and appealing journalling supplies EVER! Let's explore a few, shall we? Full disclosure: There's an exceedingly good chance that some of the products I am about to mention will end up in my own personal collection of stationery items, but I promise I will share them with my daughter, who gets nearly as excited about pretty paper and pens as I do! OK, enough rambling. ....let's look at the fun stuff I have to share!

First up: Bright Writers Colored Ink Ballpoint Pens. Look at these!

These capless, "click-style" pens, which I prefer because you don't have to worry about misplacing the caps. They writer extremely smoothly with a fine line, perfect for journals, planners, bullet journals, and list making. And look at those DELICIOUS colours! Who wouldn't want to write with those? The ink colour is the same as the barrel colour. The biggest problem they'll have is deciding which colour to use first!

Next up: Pocket Pal Journals -- Quotations. In this set, you'll get eight 3.5 x 5" soft-cover journals, each with an inspirational quote on the front and line pages within. These are perfect for stashing in your purse, in a child's backpack, in a day bag for car trips, etc. Any time inspiration strikes, you can pull one of these out and jot down a few thoughts.

The Glamtastic Glitter Notebooks are a sparklicious way to inspire your child to want to start journalling. These notebooks with super-glittery covers measure 4" x 5.75" in size and feature 64 lined sheets each. Each set includes three notebooks (this particular version include gold, copper and brown). Before you balk at the idea of introduce yet another glittery thing into your child's life for fear of never being able to get rid of the fallout, don't worry. The glitter on these high-quality notebooks doesn't fall off at all. Pinky swear.

The Owls on a Roll Decorate Sticker Tape is perfect for decorating journal pages (or even the cover of a journal), planner pages, etc. This set comes with three "rolls" of decorate tape, one with owls and two refills, one with stripes and one with dots. This easy-to-use product rolls on to the page easily and cleanly leaving a strip of the design behind. Kids can even use these for decorating envelopes or note cards, too!

The On-The-Go Zipper Pouch (shown here in blue) is one of the best inventions ever! OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but seriously, this is awesome for keeping kids' writing/journalling accessories corralled and conveniently at hand. This zipper pouch has two zippers (one on each side) and an elastic that secures the pouch right to the journal! Brilliant, right? It's also perfect for us planner girls who need to keep all of our bits and pieces close to the planner and easy to grab and go. Perfect!

These Note Pals Sticky Tabs are one of my favourite products from OOLY. Fun fact: I have a serious addiction to sticky notes. I use them all the time, to write notes, to leave messages for my daughter in her lunch, to mark pages in books, etc. These are perfect for marking pages in your child's school agenda or as bookmarks, but they are perfect for making journalling, fun, too! Kids can mark off the current day in their notebook so it's easier to find, mark favourite passages, or simply use these fun sticky notes to decorate the pages of their journals! OOLY carries these in tons of different designs. I want to collect them all!

I have always loved the idea of writing with a fountain pen. Being a huge lover of words, books, writing, script, etc. there is something so enticing to me about the idea of gliding a fountain pen across a sheet of creamy, thick paper. Is that a word-nerd's romantic dream? Probably. But still....

Fortunately, OOLY has come to my rescue! They sent me their Splended Pen fountain pens in both black and purple. My little heart was so excited to see these! They write beautifully, are comfortable to hold, and will definitely give you that old-fashioned fountain pen vibe, in a decidedly modern way. I am going to share these with my daughter, allowing her to use one for her journal. MIne is going to be used for everything from my planner and journal to my grocery list! I seriously love these, and I know you will, too.

If you're like me and grew up in the 80s, you probably remember those crayons that allowed you to "change" the lead colour by pulling out the tip and placing it in the top, revealing another colour at the tip? If you remember those, OOLY's Presto Chango Erasable Crayons will give you some serious nostalgia. But even if you don't remember these from back in the day, you're going to love them -- and so will your kiddos.

I love these Bamboo Brights Mini Scented Highlighters! Not only are they fun to stack (they fit into each other to create a tall "stalk" of bamboo!) but the fun colours and delicious juicy scents are perfect for highlighting notes, favourite passages, or simply for adding some fun colour to journal entries!

Few things in life make me happier than finding a pen that writes beautifully. And when that pen also comes in amazing colours, well, I'm a happy girl. My 10-year-old has also inherited this love of writing implements. I know we aren't alone. If you provide your kids with fun pens like these Petite Point Fine Tip Gel Pens, I can (almost) guarantee they'll want to put their thoughts to paper.

I will say there's a teeny bit of a learning curve with these pens in terms of figuring out how to hold them properly. The metal tip portion can be a bit uncomfortable on the fingers, so it's better to hold them up a little higher on the shaft of the pen (just a millimeter or two). Once you sort that out, however, these pens write like a dream and the ink colours are vibrant and saturated. I love these! I use them not only for journalling in the traditional sense, but also for journalling on my scrapbook pages.

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fantastic journalling supplies OOLY offers. Check them out here for all your journalling needs and so much more!