For Your Journal: Writing Prompt

Do you keep a journal – or wish you could get one started? Literary Mama wants to help.

And who knows? Maybe you’ll discover a character for your next short story or a theme for a narrative essay. Or maybe you’ll use the idea to create a special holiday card or photo album for someone in your family. However you decide to use your journal entry, I know you’ll enjoy re-reading it months–and years–down the road.
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My husband and I learned something very important at the parent-teacher conference with our son’s first grade teacher: he was different at school then he was at home.

“I have no concerns about his academics,” she told us. “He’s excited to learn, and he’s so friendly. He just needs to work a little on recognizing when it’s appropriate to socialize and when it’s time to stop talking.”

“Geoffrey talks too much? You’ve got to be kidding.” We were dumbfounded. At home, he hardly said a word, and we usually had to ask three questions to solicit the comments he did make.

“Oh yes,” she continued. “He’s quite the chatterbox. With everyone! He has one or two buddies that he’s always talking to, but he’ll talk to anyone who’s near him. And I’ve noticed that if a child has a problem, they seek him out and he listens to them.” And then: “He’s not talkative at home? Well, that’s not unusual, especially for a child who has an older sibling – and don’t you have a younger child too?”

We walked home from the conference, mulling over Mrs. Seiler’s comments about middle children. In addition to talking about the dynamics in our family of five, she’d related a bit of her own experiences raising three children and the unique aspects of the middle child.

Catherine Salmon and Katrin Schumann address this issue in their new book,

Tagged: Writing Prompt