Summer journal keeping is the bomb with these summer journal ideas! Yep, there’s no doubt about it — summer is most students’ favorite time of year. This special season is filled with laughter, sunshine, and a limitless sense of freedom that is exciting and inspiring to kids (and really, to people of all ages!).
Whether your kids are spending their summer vacation at a faraway beach or amusement park, or simply relaxing and exploring here at home, they’re sure to be having lots of fun and enjoying their new routines.
In these 30 super summer journal ideas and journal prompts, students will reflect on everything that makes summer such a unique time of year.
You see…
As writers consider topics like summer camp, sandcastles, and time away from school, they’ll have the opportunity to reflect on how wonderful it is to spend their day doing whatever they like.
And…
When they consider more topics like their favorite summer holidays, songs, and treats, they’ll get to consider the unique preferences and characteristics that define their personalities and make them who they are.
Summer is a great time to encourage kids to keep writing and reflecting—and with these fun and festive summer journal prompts, your kids won’t even feel like they’re doing any work.
Let’s get to that list of prompts, as promised. Enjoy!
30 Summer Journal Ideas & Prompts for Kids
- Does summer feel different than other seasons to you? Why or why not?
- Do you ever miss going to school during the summer? Why or why not?
- Does your family have any summer traditions? What makes them special?
- July is National Ice Cream Month. How will you be celebrating this important holiday?
- Do you prefer having a single three-month-long summer vacation, or would you rather have the time away from school broken up more frequently throughout the year? Why?
- Imagine that you and your friends are going to build the world’s largest sandcastle. What kinds of rooms would you put inside? What cool features would the castle have?
- Pretend that you are a tour guide for someone who is visiting your city for the first time. What would you do to show them around?
- Would you rather spend time indoors or outdoors during the summer? Why?
- What part of summer do you look forward to the most every year? Why?
- Have you ever gone to summer camp? What did you like about it? If not, what type of summer camp would you want to attend?
- Go outside and spend 15 minutes thinking about what you can see, smell, hear, feel, and taste during the summer. Then, write about your favorite ways to experience these senses.
- What is your favorite summer holiday? What do you like most about it?
- Write a story about three kids who get to experience a never-ending summer.
- Do your parents let you stay up later during the summer? Why or why not? If so, what do you like to do with the extra time?
- If you could travel anywhere in the world this summer, where would you go? What would you do there?
- Write about your favorite 4th of July memory. What made that holiday so special?
- Do you ever spend time studying during the summer? What do you try to learn?
- Would you rather be way too hot or way too cold? Why?
- Go outside to your backyard and pretend that you are an explorer. Try to examine everything up close and from a different perspective. Then, come back inside and write about what you learned.
- During the summer, how often do you get to see your friends from school?
- What is your favorite thing to do with your friends during the summer?
- Write about three of your favorite things to do around town during the summer. Then, see if your parents will take you to one of them and write about your experience when you return home.
- What is your favorite thing about the warmer weather?
- Write about your favorite summer activity (such as going to the beach, setting off fireworks, or getting treats from the ice cream truck). What do you love most about it?
- What is the coolest place you’ve ever visited? What do you love about it?
- Write a poem about your thoughts on the sun. What do you appreciate about the sun? When is it simply too hot?
- How do you think people stayed cool during the summer before air conditioning and fans were invented? Would you have ever wanted to live during this time? Why or why not?
- Have you ever gone on a camping trip? If so, what was the best part? If not, do you think you would enjoy being out in the wilderness? Why or why not?
- Write about a time when your family went to a festival or carnival during the summer. What do you remember the most?
- If you could only choose one activity to do every single day during summer, what would you pick? Why?
I hope you enjoyed these super summer journal ideas!
287 More Free and Fun Summer Journal Prompts
These prompt lists all have a summer theme and are packed with creative writing prompts and inspiration.
- 53 Summer Fun Writing Ideas
- 10 Summer Topics w/Free Printable PDF of summer writing prompts
- 53 Writing Prompts Celebrating Summer
- 51 Super Summer Camp Writing Prompts
- 31 Great End of Summer Writing Prompts
- 39 Beach Writing Prompts
- 50 Ice Cream Writing Prompts
Take a look at…
The Favorites List
A super-simple way to get started writing or as a writing warm up, is the favorites list.
Have students write about their:
- Favorite foods
- Favorite place
- Favorite book
- Favorite toy
- Favorite season
- Favorite movie
- Favorite animal
- Favorite pet
- Favorite holiday
- Favorite time of day
These favorites ideas are especially useful for those reluctant writers or non-writers. They are easy to use and nearly every writer can answer them without much effort. Plus, they are an excellent way to get those creative writing juices flowing for writers of all skill levels.
Ok, grab that pen and your journal pages and get to writing now.
Savor your summer, and until next time, write on…
If you enjoyed these Summer Journal Writing Prompt Ideas,
please share them on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.
I appreciate it!
Sincerely,
Jill
journalbuddies.com
creator and curator
PS – Who doesn’t like fun summer activities? Take a look at this Printable Journal for Summer!
Kids Summer Journaling
Journaling: A Great Summertime Activity for Kids—
Parents are always looking for great summertime activities that will keep their kids occupied and out of trouble. As summer gets well underway parents will sometimes scramble to sign up their kids for camps or various other summer programs.
Many parents prefer that their children stay active with at least a few educational activities over the summer months. A fantastic activity for kids to sharpen their minds and help prevent summer learning loss is journaling. Kids can keep a family journal during the summer, a shared journal, an art journal, or a journal themed with a topic that engages their interest.
Keeping a Summer Journal
Journaling is a fantastic summer activity for children of all ages because it is a low-cost and effective way to give kids a platform for healthy dialogue and expression. Some children can easily express their emotions while other more introverted children may hold back. Wonderfully, journaling gives children of all temperaments the chance to express themselves in writing and jot down those thoughts and feelings they may not necessarily wish to express verbally. Letting children vent in a constructive way through journaling can help them handle negative emotions and reduce their frustrations.
When kids are engaged in journaling, be certain to ensure that their journal is a safe zone for them to make mistakes. Also, consider setting a schedule for the summertime and asking your kids to start the day off with a journal entry. Parents can be as creative as they would like when it comes to journaling time frames.
Often times parents will allow the kids to make their own writing schedule. The only thing parents need to be sure of is that they keep tabs on their children’s writing progression. In some instances, it may be okay for them to skip a day. Very importantly, reinforce the fact that this fun activity is something that they can do anytime they feel the need to get their thoughts on paper.
Parents may want to ask their child’s permission to read over their entries and give feedback accordingly. Indeed, shared journal writing is an excellent way for parents and children to bond.
IMPORTANT:
If your child asks that a journal entry
remains private, respect their request.
Parents might even decide to monitor a child’s journaling activities. For example, you may choose to keep an eye on the spelling, sentence structure, and grammatical skills that appear in each journal entry. If you do so do not criticize your child’s writing skill. Also, when offering assistance be sure it is done in a kind and helpful manner.
Of course, shared journal keeping by parents and children is a wonderful opportunity for them to come together and experience a fun, learning-based activity that just might turn out to be a great memento of the summer. As you might imagine, here at JournalBuddies.com we are HUGE fans of shared journaling!
Some of the Benefits of Summertime Journaling for Kids
There are many fabulous benefits to journal keeping. By having children write every day about something they enjoyed during the day or activities that they were involved in, you can take an active approach to assist your children in developing their writing ability.
Journaling can also help improve kid’s confidence and help them develop their writing voice. After a few months of journaling, they can look back at their prior entries and see their progress.
There are many more benefits should your kids choose to partake in journaling and hopefully you and your kids will enjoy this great summer activity. Happy summertime journal keeping!
Until next time, journal on…
