Home/School Journals
~ Mary Bencini

I have been doing Home/School Journals for four years in second grade. The parents and children love these journals. I buy those hard cover black and white Mead Composition books with 100 sheets of paper. Each week on Friday the kids write a one to two page letter to their parents. They write about things that have happened in school or home. The kids take these journals home over the weekend and then the parents write back to them. On Monday morning I have a list of names near the basket where these journals are kept so the kids can cross off their names when they return their journal. This list helps me to keep track of which journals are missing so I can send a friendly reminder to parents to return their child's journal. The letters that the parents and kids write back to each other are very touching.