Today we have another fabulous birthday celebration giveaway! We especially love the "This is Me" journal because it gets kids to begin expressing themselves by recording their feelings and memories through writing.
Journaling can provide a snapshot of your child's thinking, language, and writing developement. Journaling habits begun at an early age can last well into adulthood. It can provide an outlet for them to cope with their fears and frustrations as well as promote self-awareness and increase self esteem. Both you and your child can look back at entries and see how they've grown.The "This Is Me Journal" is the perfect way for your child to begin recording their memories and provides a simple, easy, and fun way to do so. It provides lots of space for drawings, photos, and writing. It's also a great way for parents to connect with their child. Pre-writers can dictate their answers to their parent and young writers can start off with the simple prompts.
The first part of the"This is Me" journal, pages 1-31, is comprised of pages with subjects ranging from “My Favorites” to “My Family” to “I Feel Proud“. The writing and drawing prompts are not only designed to capture your child’s life but also promote creativity and self-esteem.
Pages 32-49 covers eight major holidays (including the child’s birthday) and also has a generic “Celebrate!” page to fill with another family specific holiday celebration. Pages include questions about each holiday celebration as well as holiday specific drawing prompts and spaces for a few choice holiday photos.
The second half of the "This is Me" journal, pages 50-93 is set up as “free space” for weekly journal entries and drawings (or whenever there is something to write or draw about). Writing spaces can be used to record events, activities, and emotions that were not already covered in the journal. Drawing spaces can be used to accompany journal entries, doodling or even for small photos or mementos.
The online descriptions says that "The journal ends with a couple pages for parents to record all those awesome things your child says that you never want to forget. Now they are all recorded in one place!" This may refer to an updated version, our reviewers copy did not have these pages, but we think they'd be a great addition. Our copy ended with a one page parent's guide with tips on how to use the journal and on the back cover was a pocket titled "My Most Important Things", a place to store cute notes, special drawings, or other keepsakes.Over all, we thought the "This is Me" journal was very eye appealing and liked how it starts with prompts that help reluctant writers know where to start. It includes many high interest subjects such as favorite sports, pets, and food. The format is fun with some areas to check off, fill in the blanks, complete the sentence, and cute doodled frames for drawing in. While portions are guided there is still ample space for your child to write on topics important to him or her. It's a great tool to help your child capture their childhood in their own words and pictures and will definitely become a treasured keepsake.
The author Carrie Lundell is also the talented blogger behind This MAMA Makes Stuff, it's where first got to know Carrie. She has great tutorials there for fun things like hydrangea headbands, Kid's Art Christmas Ornaments, and the one that's been bookmarked on Katie's Nesting Spot almost from the beginning, her art case.Giveaway!
One of our readers will win a copy of This is Me: A Kid's First Keepsake Journal!!! Thank you, Carrie!
To Enter:
Tell us which feature you like about the This is Me journal the best.
Extra Entries: {leave an extra comment for each additional entry}
- Tell us which TIP from the This is Me Journal website, is your favorite.
- Publically follow our blog, using Google Friends Connect.
- Subscribe via email to our blog.
- Follow either Katie on Twitter (links in right column), tweet this giveaway, and leave us a link to your tweet.
- Fan our blog on Facebook.
- Post our link button on your blog.
- Share this giveaway on your blog and leave us a link to your post.
- Publically follow Carrie's blog, This Mama Makes Stuff, using Google Friends Connect.
- Follow Carrie on Twitter, @thisiscarrie or @thisismejournal
Disclaimer: Thank you to Carrie for providing both the reviewers and giveaway copies of the "This is Me" journal. This review relates our own personal opinions and experiences with it, and yours may differ.
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I love the fact that it's the child actually filling out the journal with their drawings, etc. Great idea!
ReplyDeletesonjahnelson@hotmail.com
My favorite feature is that it promotes creativity and self-esteem-- both very important for children.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm an avid follower of your blog- I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love the all about me sections. I especially like where they get to draw pictures of the members of their family.
ReplyDeleteI also checked out the tips. I think the idea of making a list of the books that you have read with the child throughout the year. I also appreciated the tip of leaving their writing how it is to really be able to get a feel for who they are without editing it in any way.
ReplyDeleteI like all of the space for kids to draw and journal and love the section for quotes. I love recording the funny or insightful things my children say.
ReplyDeleteI love the All About Me section with prompts such as My Favorites.
ReplyDeleteI love the tip about not editing your child's words. It is so nice to look back and remember exactly how they spoke.
ReplyDeleteI'm a follower
ReplyDeleteI love that it allows the child to record their thoughts and feelings in their own special book. I like the tip about asking the child to tell what was the BEST things about their day in their own words.
ReplyDeleteThat page with the hair pictures looks so fun. What a great idea! Also, it's so fun for them to have later.
ReplyDeleteI follow your blog
ReplyDeleteI also have your button.
ReplyDeletei love the self portrait page - i imagine that is a fun one and the gallery of self portraits on the site is too cute!
ReplyDeleteh.kathleen at gmail dot com
I had a similar journal when I was a child & I LOVED it!!
ReplyDeletei like the hair page its cute :)
ReplyDeletei like the cutting and saving their small doodles they do and saving them into a book
ReplyDeleteI am a follower of the ABC and 123 blog.
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ReplyDeleteI am now an email subscriber. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am now a facebook follower. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYour link button is on my blog. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am now a follower of This Mama Makes Stuff blog. I'm thrilled to see her blog, she has so many cool ideas!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of recording my child's chores, what foods she eats and what books we've read(we love to read). I also like the idea of not editing her writing or spelling preserving her thought process.
ReplyDeleteMy son is four and just beginning to write so I love that he can draw pictures to capture his thoughts and feelings.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of writing down a list of books that we read throughout the year. It would be a long one.
ReplyDeleteI follow on google friends.
ReplyDeleteI now follow Carrie's blog.
ReplyDeleteI like how it encourages the child to write about things he knows and is doing. He's learning while doing something fun! I think my son would enjoy doing this... I'm looking forward to starting preschool with him sometime hopefully within the next year.
ReplyDelete~ Carrie ~
I email subscribe
ReplyDeleteI retweeted KTnestingspot: Twitter name: gidgetnfroggi
ReplyDeleteI like the holiday feature!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea to ask your child to define a word. I would get some really cute answers from my 3 yr old!
ReplyDeleteI follow this blog.
ReplyDeleteI follow Carrie on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Rebecca435
ReplyDeleteI love the holiday feature. We have lots of family traditions around holidays and it would be fun to have some place to record all of them!
ReplyDeleteI loved the tip about recording the child's foods that they ate in a day. What a neat idea to go back and see what they liked to eat when they were 5 or 6! So cute!
ReplyDeleteI am a follower through Google Friends.
ReplyDeleteI am a follower of you Fb site!
ReplyDeleteI am now a facebook fan...
ReplyDeleteMy favorite feature is the place for parents to put quotes. My duaghter always says the funniest things, and I think to myself, "I'll write that down soon" but then I never do!
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tip is to record the events of a typical day. I did this once when my daughter was around one and I loved looking back and remembering what life was like then!
ReplyDeleteWe started journaling when my daughter turned 2 - sometimes I write what she says, other times she colors or draws or puts stickers on a page. It's not perfect - and there are random scribbles on odd pages - but I love it!
ReplyDeleteThis journal looks great because of the prompts.
janemaritz at yahoo dot com
We posted about this giveaway at Winning Readings: http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/2010/04/this-is-me.html
I like that it lays flat and will easier for my child to write.
ReplyDeleteWendy
ebeandebe at gmail dot com
I like how it talks about their favorite food. It is funny to see them go back, when they are older, and read about themselves.
ReplyDeletedebp
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
I love the "my hair" page. Very cute!
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ReplyDeletei love the drawing spots for the child silenttributary(at)yahoo(dot)com
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