Guest Blogger- Sara with Friday Journals and a FREEBIE!

Thanks Sara for being here today while I'm on my vacation!  I love this idea and know you all will too... what a great way to support learning at home and foster communication between home and school!  I'll stop rambling so you can read this awesome post and then snag your freebie at the end!

Hi everyone!  I'm Sara from Smiling In Second Grade and I am honored to be filling in at Bunting, Books and Bainbridge today!  I have been a fan of Christina's since long before I started blogging.  Thank you Christina for inviting me to hang out!


I stopped by to share one of my favorite classroom activities.  On Fridays, during Writer's Workshop, my students write in their Friday Journals. We start by brainstorming what we learned during the week. The students then write a letter to their parents (or other family member) explaining what we did in class that week. The students practice writing letters and also recall what we learned.


The students then take them home over the weekend and I ask that the parents write a letter in response to their child. It's a great remedy for the question, "what did you learn in school today?" I also love seeing the interaction between the child and parent.

At the beginning of the year, the students start off by writing 3 sentences and asking one question. By the end of the year, they are writing full pages, front and back! Go second graders! :)

The students paste a letter from me on the first page, which explains the project to parents and then gives them examples of what to write. 

If the students bring their Friday Journal back on Monday with a parent response, they receive a sticker on the cover of their journal. By the end of the year, the cover looks really cool and the parents have a special keepsake!

I spruced up the parent letter a bit for you and you can download it for free here.

Thanks for letting me spend some time with you and enjoy!