Children Blogging

• By Donna Boucher

When I was first asked to write an article on children blogging, I thought, "Oh my, what do I know about children blogging?" Are there benefits and blessings in store for children? So I took a quick look around cyberspace, looked in magazines, put on my thinking cap, and I think I have come up with some beneficial and creative ideas for child bloggers.

Blogging is a new activity for most of us. A blog is a web log. It is a place to log information on the World Wide Web. So how can we share our children’s daily journaling, schoolwork, artwork, and hobbies on an Internet blog?

Easy—just get started. First of all, homeschoolblogger.com is very user-friendly. Setting up the basic blog space does not take much more effort than picking out a name and starting to write in the "compose" space. Follow the instructions on the main page and, before you know it, you will be a blogger!

Some basic information and warnings first

Parents, set up the blog for your child. Help them choose a password. Help your child fill out the profile page. It’s good to fill out as much as you can so visitors can see what your interests are. Be sure to list hobbies, family members, your age, general geographical location, sports you play, books you love, board games you’re great at, and anything else you can think of.

No addresses or phone numbers please. Decide as a family if you will put your last name and town on your profile. Also, decide as a family if you will post pictures of your children. I, personally, do not have a problem with this, but I know that some people do. This is a very personal decision that mom and dad need to discuss.

I would also recommend that mom or dad check the comments and sites your child is visiting on the Internet. I have a teen blogger in my home and I always read her blog and check her comments just to be sure things are on the up and up.


Now for the fun stuff

Your children will be pioneers of a sort: The first generation of child bloggers. What will this generation of child bloggers write about? Here are some ideas!

• How about a five-year diary? In the early 1900’s, it was not uncommon for people to keep a five-year diary. Imagine keeping a Five-Year Diary on the Internet. How fun it would be to look back on your childhood years!
   
• Prayer journal—Have you ever kept a prayer journal before? It is amazing to see how God has answered prayers as the weeks, months and years go by. This would be very easy to do on a blog.
   
• Nature journal—What a nice tidy place to keep your artwork. You will need a scanner or a digital camera to make this idea work, but it would sure be a nice way to share one’s artwork with other artists and friends. Imagine sharing your artwork with more people than just your parents and siblings.
  
  And speaking of artwork—Last year The Old Schoolhouse had a self-portrait contest. This could easily be done on your blog. There could even be a blogger's art show. Set a date and announce it on the Portal Page. Then whoever was interested could post their best photograph, painting or drawing on their blogs! Wouldn’t that be fun to see! Now, speaking of photographs …
   
• How about a photo blog? Start taking pictures now! Read about what makes a great photograph and start snapping away. Digital cameras have made photography for kids very accessible. This is also a great way to encourage learning a new talent or hobby and it is so much more fun being able to share your accomplishments with others. There are currently many photoblogs on the Internet, but photography blogs hosted by children are quite rare.
   
• Are you working on memory work? Wouldn’t it be great to keep all of your memory work in one place? It would be very convenient and tidy to keep it on your blog. I love looking back on my blog archives and re-reading the poems and quotes that I wrote down over a year ago!
   
• Do you love movies or books? Now is your chance to be a critic! Share your favorites with your friends and relatives. Lists are great fun on blogs. Keep "Top Ten" lists for your favorite movies and books; write a "Top Ten" funniest movies or scariest movies or most viewed movies list. How about the top five worst movies you have ever seen? There are so many possibilities!
   
• Are you are real jokester? Be the first person with a Joke Blog! Many children love telling jokes, but do you like to write you own jokes? Share them with everyone!
   
• Any builders out there? I know a young boy who has a blog just to showcase his Legos! He does a wonderful job and he has the pictures to prove it. I wish I had kept pictures of all of my boy’s Lego creations! They are gone forever, scattered in four huge buckets filled with zillions of tiny pieces. Any builders will do— Fischertechnik, tree forts, Lincoln Logs. What are you building?
   
• Do you have a doll collection? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to dress up your dolls and show them off to their best? Arrange them in creative settings and write stories about what they might say to one another. Do you have a special dollhouse? I know there would be many young girls would just love to see it!
   
• Pen Pals are now Blog-Buddies! Make friends with the other kids you meet on homeschoolblogger.com. How do you do this? Go visiting. Leave comments. Ask questions. Before you know it, folks will start coming around to YOUR blog and you just might make a new friend.
   
• How about a scrapblog? Scrapbook on your blog. Post your pictures, add poems and quotes, dates and places. This could be a very fun and lifelong family project.
   
• Book club—Wouldn’t it be great to have a group of blog friends reading the same book at the same time? Then you could quiz each other for fun…or just talk about the good parts!

Here are a few do’s and don’ts for children with a blog.

• Do write regularly. Writing regularly is the best way to keep people coming back to your blog.
   
• Do write well. Try not to get into the habit of lazy, poor grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
   
• Do tell the truth. It’s the right thing to do.
   
• Don’t tell family secrets and complaints. Personally, I don’t believe the Internet is the proper place to air your grievances.
   
• Do respect your parents. Have your parents help you set up times and limits to your blogging. Blogging can be a time waster just like any other activity.
   
• Do post modest photos. If you decide to post pictures, make sure they are modest. Parents, you may allow your little girl to swim in just a diaper, but please be wise about any photo you put on the Internet. What we may see as innocent, others may not. While homeschoolblogger.com is a relatively safe place to blog, strangers will stop by.
   
• Do comment! Most people love to get comments. It makes us feel like we are not alone. Commenting is another way to make friends and encourage one another. When you leave a comment, many times that person will come over to your blog to see what you have posted! Be patient though. My friend Kim says, "I think a lack of comments has closed down many a first-time blogger."
  
  Here is another thing to remember about comments. Many readers are very timid. They may come by your blog every day and read, but they never leave a comment. They may be shy or they may feel like they have nothing to add. Just remember that there are many "lurkers" out there. I often have 300 visitors to my blog and average between 6 and 25 comments. That is a very small percentage, isn’t it?
   
• Do post kind and helpful comments. There is really no place for rudeness in our comment boxes. And if, by chance, someone says something you don’t like. Delete it!
   
• Don’t fight or argue in the comments box. Remember God’s words to us, "Do everything without complaining or arguing." You many decide not to enable your comments and that’s okay, too. That’s the great thing: you get to decide just what you want your blog to be.
   
• Do have an overall philosophy or reason for blogging. This will help you keep focus. I chose a few scriptures that help guide my words and attitude.

Blogging is a fabulous opportunity for sharing one’s work, fellowshipping with other homeschoolers, making new friends, and keeping in touch with one’s family.

It is a new way to teach and a new way to learn. It’s easy, fun, free and educational!

Be a part of the first generation of children who blog! Join the Great Blog Conversation.
 

• About the author:

Donna Boucher's blog can be found here: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/Donnabooshay/.