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Back to School–Make A Mini Journal

Journal template and decorated journal

 

Have you ever wanted to document history? It can be as simple as keeping a journal. Journals and diaries give us a unique window into the past. Historians can learn about the lives of everyday people and begin to understand how the world around them impacted their experiences and perspectives.

As kids go back to school, we thought it would be fun for them to record the first few days of the school year. Use our journal template below to make a miniature journal. We’ve provided some helpful prompts to guide them as they document their lives at this moment.



What You’ll Need:


Print out our journal template and fold on the dotted lines. After you’ve folded on all the lines, your paper will be folded into eighths.

 

A piece of paper folded into eights

 

Take scissors and cut on the solid line in the middle. First, fold your paper in half to make it easier to cut across the line. When you open your paper, you should have a slit in the middle.

 

Scissors cutting paper

 

Fold your paper into a journal. Fold your paper lengthwise (along the crease that has the slit). Hold the paper at each end and push the ends in towards each other. The sections will fold into an eight page journal. 

 

Hands folding template into journal


Decorate and write in your journal. 
Use the prompts to design your miniature journal. Create drawings, use stamps, or cut out images and glue them into your journal to make it your own. 

 

Decorated journal

If you're looking for more activities during back-to-school, don't forget to check out our kids magazine. It's filled with crafts and history-related fun for kids to explore.