How to Keep a Summer Journal
Purchase a suitable journal that you can carry about with you., Start carrying the journal about with you., Keep a record of the day's weather., Take photos., Attach small paper or cloth mementos., Do Wordles of the things you enjoyed the most...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Purchase a suitable journal that you can carry about with you.
It should be light, sturdy and have sufficient pages for your writing style.
There are plenty of journals available in stores or you could even salvage something from your home among the notebooks you already have.
If you want to decorate the journal, do so either at the start or as an ongoing project.
Ensure that the journal is ready for summertime.
This means getting started in spring, sourcing and preparing it for use. -
Step 2: Start carrying the journal about with you.
Be sure to have it whenever you go away for a weekend or for extended vacations, as it is easier to write up the day's events on the same day or weekend than ages after it has happened.
You don't have to write enormous amounts, just as much or as little as you'd like., You can even record the temperature if you like but at least mention whether it's sunny, cool, warm, hot, raining, windy, etc., as the weather can impact how you're feeling and be behind the activities you do and events that you experience.
Some people like to draw an image as well, such as of the sun, sun with cloud, sun with rain, just rain, just clouds, etc.
This can add to the fun of putting the summer journal together each day, as you can see at a glance what the weather was like for each entry. , Keep the memories alive by taking photos of the things you're doing to include the best ones in your journal.
They only need to be printed off, you don't need photo quality paper unless you'd like this.
Use your phone or a camera for the photos and if you're doing water-related activities so common to summertime, ensure that the item used for photos is waterproof., You can include stamps from theme/national/water park, etc. visits, ticket stubs, pieces of wrapping paper from food/gifts/purchases, etc. and any other small, fine memento items that can fit into the journal without making it too bulky.
These can be nice ways to recall fun things you did, ate, bought or saw.
Postcards can be fun to include, especially since they are often taken by professional photographers and put together by designers with added features such as location, phrases and explanations.
Add some maps if you traveled anywhere.
These can help you to see where you went and as time goes on, they become vintage and fun to look at. , Add in words for the things you've experienced, along with such words as Sun, sunny, month names, emotional descriptions, people's names, etc., They can write a page or two of their own experience of a visit or trip you've done together, or even just of days spent together lazing around the house, garden, park or pool.
In years to come, their impressions will be enjoyable to read too., You can spend all of summer aiming to achieve everything on that bucket list.
Check it off as you do each thing and set a reward if you manage the whole list by the end of summer.
Another nice idea for a list is a summer gratitude list.
What things are you grateful for each day of summer? Try to write out three things a day! , Summer is a great time to improve your writing skills and to practice grammar, creative writing and other writing related skills you need to improve upon.
You can add writing prompts, ideas and exercises to the summer journal as a form of inspiration to help you to keep improving.
Perhaps you'll become inspired enough to write a poem, short story or even a novel about your summer experiences., If you're going on a trip during summer, keep a note of each day's date and what you did that day.
Even if you're too tired to write out your feelings of each experience, at least document what you did so that you remember and can come back to it later to write about the experiences more fully.
After many days of summer begin to melt into each other, this can be a really helpful exercise to get used to., If you enjoy drawing, draw the things you see during summer that represent summer the best for you.
This might include the ocean, the sunshine, the trees in full leaves, the animals, the happy faces of people, etc.
Or, it could be abstract or anything else you prefer.
If you don't like drawing much, consider doing some coloring-in sheets that reflect the theme of summer, cutting them down to size and gluing them into your summer journal. , Consider using the last entry to outline the "Highlights of Summer " and list out what you consider were the standout happenings, experiences and feelings of your summer.
Ensure that the date year is added to the front of the journal, along with "My Summer" or something similar, so that you know what it is when searching for it later.
Place it on your bookshelf or some other safe place, where it can be easily retrieved for reliving the memories at will. -
Step 3: Keep a record of the day's weather.
-
Step 4: Take photos.
-
Step 5: Attach small paper or cloth mementos.
-
Step 6: Do Wordles of the things you enjoyed the most during summer months.
-
Step 7: Have friends contribute to your summer journal.
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Step 8: Add a summer bucket list at the front of the journal.
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Step 9: Use the journal as a writing prompt.
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Step 10: Keep a note of your travels.
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Step 11: Draw in your summer journal.
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Step 12: Finish the summer journal at the end of summer.
Detailed Guide
It should be light, sturdy and have sufficient pages for your writing style.
There are plenty of journals available in stores or you could even salvage something from your home among the notebooks you already have.
If you want to decorate the journal, do so either at the start or as an ongoing project.
Ensure that the journal is ready for summertime.
This means getting started in spring, sourcing and preparing it for use.
Be sure to have it whenever you go away for a weekend or for extended vacations, as it is easier to write up the day's events on the same day or weekend than ages after it has happened.
You don't have to write enormous amounts, just as much or as little as you'd like., You can even record the temperature if you like but at least mention whether it's sunny, cool, warm, hot, raining, windy, etc., as the weather can impact how you're feeling and be behind the activities you do and events that you experience.
Some people like to draw an image as well, such as of the sun, sun with cloud, sun with rain, just rain, just clouds, etc.
This can add to the fun of putting the summer journal together each day, as you can see at a glance what the weather was like for each entry. , Keep the memories alive by taking photos of the things you're doing to include the best ones in your journal.
They only need to be printed off, you don't need photo quality paper unless you'd like this.
Use your phone or a camera for the photos and if you're doing water-related activities so common to summertime, ensure that the item used for photos is waterproof., You can include stamps from theme/national/water park, etc. visits, ticket stubs, pieces of wrapping paper from food/gifts/purchases, etc. and any other small, fine memento items that can fit into the journal without making it too bulky.
These can be nice ways to recall fun things you did, ate, bought or saw.
Postcards can be fun to include, especially since they are often taken by professional photographers and put together by designers with added features such as location, phrases and explanations.
Add some maps if you traveled anywhere.
These can help you to see where you went and as time goes on, they become vintage and fun to look at. , Add in words for the things you've experienced, along with such words as Sun, sunny, month names, emotional descriptions, people's names, etc., They can write a page or two of their own experience of a visit or trip you've done together, or even just of days spent together lazing around the house, garden, park or pool.
In years to come, their impressions will be enjoyable to read too., You can spend all of summer aiming to achieve everything on that bucket list.
Check it off as you do each thing and set a reward if you manage the whole list by the end of summer.
Another nice idea for a list is a summer gratitude list.
What things are you grateful for each day of summer? Try to write out three things a day! , Summer is a great time to improve your writing skills and to practice grammar, creative writing and other writing related skills you need to improve upon.
You can add writing prompts, ideas and exercises to the summer journal as a form of inspiration to help you to keep improving.
Perhaps you'll become inspired enough to write a poem, short story or even a novel about your summer experiences., If you're going on a trip during summer, keep a note of each day's date and what you did that day.
Even if you're too tired to write out your feelings of each experience, at least document what you did so that you remember and can come back to it later to write about the experiences more fully.
After many days of summer begin to melt into each other, this can be a really helpful exercise to get used to., If you enjoy drawing, draw the things you see during summer that represent summer the best for you.
This might include the ocean, the sunshine, the trees in full leaves, the animals, the happy faces of people, etc.
Or, it could be abstract or anything else you prefer.
If you don't like drawing much, consider doing some coloring-in sheets that reflect the theme of summer, cutting them down to size and gluing them into your summer journal. , Consider using the last entry to outline the "Highlights of Summer " and list out what you consider were the standout happenings, experiences and feelings of your summer.
Ensure that the date year is added to the front of the journal, along with "My Summer" or something similar, so that you know what it is when searching for it later.
Place it on your bookshelf or some other safe place, where it can be easily retrieved for reliving the memories at will.
About the Author
Gregory Peterson
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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