After School Reflection Journal

 I've been journaling since my teen years.  This summer I decided to kick it up a notch.  I began keeping a personal art/prayer/everything journal.  Then, I thought about perhaps starting a journal about my experiences in the classroom.  Hence, the "After School Reflection Journal" was born.  Each afternoon, after the kids have been dismissed and the final bell of the day has rung, I hope to write some final thoughts for the day.  I plan to celebrate what worked and be honest about what didn't. Today I added my first post.  Unfortunately, I ended up making a list of countless things I must do, but that's ok...  Eventually it will become a reflection journal and not a "To Do List".  

This is a 5 by 8 inch binder.

The journal has 4 divisions, one for each nine weeks.

A closer look..

I like the pocket dividers so that I can keep little notes of encouragement that I usually receive from colleagues, students and parents.

I may not need 2 half pages for one entry.  I plan to write only a few sentences.  However, I gave myself more space for days I may need to write more.  The most difficult part of preparing this notebook was getting the right dimensions on the 3-whole punch.  

Another idea would be to purchase 5 by 8 index cards instead of copying so many pages.  I decided with the copies because I wanted each page to have the same heading.   I also wanted the notebook to open vertically.

The pages are copied front and back to save paper.

 An alternative to this format is to purchase a calendar with large boxes.  I debated which one to use this year, this format won.  

I'm hoping that I will be able to read the journal during the summer to reflect on both amazing and challenging moments of the past year.  I think it may also remind me of things I should definitely repeat and others I shouldn't.