Good News Journal

by Steve Bennett

Ages: Kids 8 and up
Indoor activity
Required: Spiral or loose leaf binders

If you follow our suggestion, one of the things you'll always be able to look forward to is writing down the good news of the day in a journal created just for that purpose.

First ask your kids to create their own Good News Journals (and perhaps they can make one for other family members as well) using spiral notebooks, or three-fold paper and loose-leaf binders. Remind your journal-makers to create covers and title pages as well.

Then make it a daily ritual for family members to write in their Good News Journals. They can write down the five nicest things that happened to them or someone they know, or a good news story they heard about. Older kids can act as scribes for younger siblings, and all participants can illustrate their journals.

This is a great opportunity to teach kids that it's possible to find something positive in every day and that, if they're attitudes are upbeat, they can find good news in almost every event. For example, a child who doesn't score an A on a test can still record the fact that he or she learned a lot -- and, even if your kids' team didn't win the game, they still had a wonderful time playing.

Once your kids get into the habit of looking on the bright side, they'll discover the world is filled with good news. And they will preserve it in their journals, but also expand on it at home.

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