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Journal Starter Ideas Sara M. Gant
These are some ideas to help you to get past the “blank page” that can be so intimidating and yet so full of promise!
*Paint the entire background with several colors of paint.
While the paint is still wet, lay some bubble wrap over the paint to create an interesting texture. Lift the bubble wrap up, and then print it down on top of a different area of color. Dry with hairdryer or let dry naturally while you look for some images or words to cut out of magazines.
*Think of a theme/issue/hope/problem/social issue that is on your mind a lot these days.
Is it something that you’d like to write about or doodle about? You might want to select one word that represents that theme (for example: “growth”) and then write or draw that word really large across two facing pages, called a spread. You can write about your problems, your feelings, what you are happy about, what is going on in your life. Save your journal- it will be such a treasure to look back on when you are older!
*Do a “LIFE CHECK IN.”
This one is so easy to get started. Just write/decorate at the top of your paper:
“Today I am……”. Then begin writing about your day and your feelings.
*Make a collage! Cut words and pictures from magazines and re-arrange them in your book. Doodle/draw over them, give them speech bubbles, write a story.
Stamp words.
Create texture with bubble wrap.
Glue down patterns of paper on your pages.
Make pockets at the back of your book to store words or papers.
Cut up or glue down magazine photos, save gum wrappers, use candy wrappers, fruit stickers, business cards, paint sample cards, old wrapping paper, a special letter from a friend, anything you want to save or record.
Use the stencils to create shapes or words.
Just have fun, and relax. Dedicate your book to yourself, this is your time to get inside your head and celebrate being YOU!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvXXPs2xjlI
Redefine Therapy: Visual Journaling with Michelle Tompkins
Redefine Therapy: Visual Journaling with Michelle Tompkins
Visual Journal Assignments
Visual Journaling Links- Click here for lots of inspiration!
Craftsmanship
Dan Eldon- The Journey is the Destination
Make Your Mark
Artists Research
Exploration- DaVinci
Renaissance Superstars
Andy Goldsworthy
Living Thing/ Non-Living Thing
Ideas for Journal Explorations
Unlikely Juxtapositions
Students change normal expectations. Hard things are soft. Large is small. Smooth is rough. Down is up. Inside is outside. Brittle is flexible. Light is dark. Natural becomes geometric. Manufactured goods grow on the farm. Numbers become animals. Dream world ideas are developed. Make sketches, think of things that aren't what you'd normally expect. Select one of your sketches to develop into a full drawing with value. (Marvin Bartel)
Transformation
What would a theme park look like if it is designed for house flies and maggots, or for butterflies, pupa, egg, and caterpillars? What would this classroom look like if it was made into apartments for homeless families? How our classroom look if was changed into a prison? What if the part of the school would be changed into a petting zoo, a garden, a water garden? What if our school building would be made into a shopping mall or a computer factory? I there is an old abandoned building nearby, what could it be used for? What would happen if the your city or town planted 1,000 trees, where should they be planted? What could be built on the roof of the school building?
