Journal writing via cyberspace

I have worked with students and writing for more than twenty years and before that with my own children.  Journaling, for me, is a way of life.  I write on scraps of paper, in notebooks, and now online.  I encourage my students to keep journals while they are in my classes and to continue the practice when they leave me.


My granddaughter, Maggie, has had a journal for most of her six years and has written sporadically in the journal during visits to G's house.  A storyteller, Maggie tells fantastic tales about princesses and dragons that sometimes mimic fairy tales and some of the Disneyfied versions.  And, because she is a talker and a storyteller, Maggie is still much more in the telling phase than in the writing phase of her stories.  This summer we have let the journal drop until swim team is over and my work schedule lightens.  


A couple of days ago, my grandson, Henry, who lives quite a distance away, opened up a Skype video call to ask me to help him with his journal writing. A rising second grader, Henry's school assigned journal writing as a summer project.  He has been fairly diligent about writing in the journal over the summer, but was in need of new ideas.  So we talked.


First thing we dispelled the idea that a parent person should draw lines on his paper for him to follow.  Then we had to talk about what to write about.  The weather seemed like a good place to start and we started there:  "It is hot today."  But Henry's ideas went to a visit to the park, an opportunity to observe and perhaps collect some caterpillars, and a short record of how the present caterpillars in captivity are faring.  All in all, a fruitful journal writing time.  Later, Henry asked if we could set up a weekly appointment for his journal writing.  

And we will do that.  I was fascinated with the whole idea of Skyping a journal session and with watching Henry's thoughts develop on the page.  My help was limited to asking questions that might lead to writing, somewhat like questioning students in conferences to help them expand their pieces.  I wonder if the questions will lead to Henry thinking about what could go next without prompting.  And I'm wondering about this long distance cooperative journal writing.  I can see this working on so many levels.