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You are here: Home / All / Big Life Journal

Big Life Journal

Updated February 15, 2019 By //  by Kris. This post contains affiliate links. This means we may make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

This year our family went through some major changes.  We moved out of the only home my children remember living in; we either sold or packed away all our toys and belongings, furniture and photo albums and took the rest to the dump.  We stripped away unnecessary clutter down to the bare bones and moved to my Mum’s house for the rest of the year.

Big Life Journal

This was all so we could rent out our house and save some serious money for a big world trip this year. 

To find out how you can save for your own family gap year, read this article: How to Plan your Family Gap Year

As a big part of this big move we decided to start home schooling the children.  In part this decision was due to our geographical location making it too difficult to continue going to the same school, and not worth changing schools for only 7 weeks left of term.  But also it was a financial decision, and has enabled us to save a whole lot more cash.  We then not only had to handle our kids being at home 24/7 and missing their friends and playtime, but had to have a crash course in how to home school them.

It is the end of the 7 weeks now, and boy, have I learnt a lot about not only the children, but myself as well.  I am ready to welcome the holidays with very open arms.  I think we have all had some fun over this time, but one of my favourite things to do has been our regular Big Life Journal entries.

Alex and Scott are the inspirational creators behind Big Life Journal. You may have heard of it?  I had often seen the ads as I scrolled through my Facebook but never really understood what it meant before we got our own delivery of the beautifully presented hard-cover books around the same time as all our Big Changes were going on around us. 

Big Life Journal

I have always believed that we were raising resilient kids, but throwing these Big Challenges at them without giving them some coping skills was a little scary.  The kids must be resilient, and adaptable, but why should they be?  How?  This is where we fell upon this idea of the Growth Mindset and set about implementing this in our children’s repertoire of emotion and strategy. 

The creators of Big Life Journal realised that having a ‘Fixed Mindset’ was not the way to go through life, always believing that failure is not an option and if you do fail, you mustn’t be smart enough!  With a Growth Mindset, every failure is an opportunity to learn and make improvements instead.  This sort of direction gives your kids the confidence and ambition coupled with a high self esteem and positive outlook which makes them able to try new things without being afraid of failure. 

We have always believed in the power of positive thinking.  I am a nurse so feel strongly about your mindset affecting every part of your life including your health and we have tried to instil these qualities in the kids too.

Big 4 Airlie Beach

Table of Contents

  • How does a Big Life Journal Work?
  • Topics Covered
  • Age Groups
  • Final Word on Big Life Journal
  • Where to Get Your Big Life Journal

How does a Big Life Journal Work?

From the first page turned, I knew this journal was a winner.  It engaged me from the beginning with its dedication which spoke to the fire within my children:

“This journal is dedicated to YOU, a young dreamer and creator, who is going to improve the world.  We believe in you.”

Our kids are still little: we have a 1 and a half year old, and our school aged kids are 5, 7, and 9 so for them we have the Big Life Journal for 7-10 year olds.  There is another version for tweens/teens over 11. 

One of the highlights for me has been the privilege of being a part of their experience through my role as the ‘Journal Buddy’.  This has enabled me to recall stories and examples from my own life that help their understanding of each week’s topic.  We have had some interesting conversations as a result of these stories! 

Big Life Journal

The one-on-one time spent with each child has been an education for us all as we discuss which qualities and attitudes will help us to live a more fulfilled and exciting life.

Topics Covered

The Big Life Journal breaks down into 26 weeks with 2 weeks covering each interesting and though-provoking topic.  The topics are:

  • Make a Difference in the World
  • Dream Big
  • Follow Your Heart
  • You Are Not What You Have
  • Believe in Yourself
  • Take Action
  • Be Persistent
  • Effort is Key
  • Love Learning
  • Be Mindful
  • Be Grateful
  • Failure in Learning
  • Be Positive

You have to agree that the titles of these topics alone make you feel positive!  The book is interspersed with colourful pages with inspiring quotes which I get the kids to read aloud and then tell me how they feel about it. 

Consider this from Eleanor Roosevelt:

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beautify of their dreams”

or this one from Sheila Tobias:

“There is a difference between not knowing and not knowing YET”. 

Over 200 pages of positivity simply bursting at the seams!Big Life Journal

Each topic above starts out with a beautiful quote or piece of poetry and then includes a true story about a person who has followed their dreams and achieved their goals. 

There is an opportunity for the Journal Buddy (that’s me) to add her story of an experience related to the topic at hand, and then for your child to reflect and write down his thoughts as well, drawing pictures to add to the experience.  Then they have a page called ‘Just for Fun’ where your child is asked a thought provoking but lighthearted question and invited to expand.  For example: Have you met someone who is different from you?  What did you like about this person?  Draw a picture of him here.  I love how the whole thing is flowing with these beautiful affirmative vibes!

The Big Life Journal is the original product which was conceived from a parent’s love of their son Mickey, and thanks to them, parents everywhere now have access to the Growth Mindset in a 200 page hard cover keepsake with a satin ribbon marker.

They also have the tween/teen version of the Big Life Journal, and PDF downloadable e-books as well.  There are Growth Mindset Printables, and we did a wonderful PDF sample of a New Year Goal Setting Kit called ‘2019 – My Growth Mindset Year’.  This contains printable sheets with guides for goal setting for the kids, as well family goals, travel goals, ways to save the environment, a list of key words, and affirmation cards. 

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A post shared by Gadsventure (@gadsventure) on Nov 6, 2018 at 5:29pm PST

There are even cute colouring pages too.  These formed part of our homeschool curriculum for this term and were a fun way of learning.

Age Groups

Being able to work on the Big Life Journals with your child is a very important aspect of making it into a successful venture.  Master 9 is adept at reading and writing but seemed to have trouble defining his goals and identifying heroes when he was put on the spot.  It was he who was most affected by leaving school and his friends behind so we spend a lot more time with him trying to give him inspiration.  He wants to be a game developer so is beginning to work out just how to go about achieving this.  My goal was to travel the world and have children, I have achieved both and am about to combine both and travel with children so I hope I am providing a good example to them on reaching for the stars. 

Master 7 is tricky at times, his favourite part of the Big Life Journal is when he gets to draw pictures.  He wants to be a Police Officer when he grows up and has the right idea when it comes to looking after the planet.  They both want to be famous YouTubers too. 

Big Life Journal

With Miss 5, we are going through the journal at a snail’s pace.  She is just learning to read and write so we are reading her the stories and gauging her reaction, and inviting her to share her feelings too.  She wants to be a ballerina and enjoys colouring in mostly.  One of her favourite things was in the Growth Mindset printable worksheets where they were asked on a bright yellow sun what you were grateful for.  Each of the sun’s rays had an answer for I am, I can and I have.  The answers the kids gave for these were astonishing and gave me great joy in the fact that they are truly grateful!  

Most of the time we were taking the time to be one-on-one with the kids while working through their journals, and every now and then had the opportunity for a group activity.  The ‘Mindful Smiling’ exercise was one of everybody’s absolute favourite things to do and they ask me to do this guided mindfulness activity with them on a regular basis now!

Final Word on Big Life Journal

Our house and our homeschool classroom has had a great big positive boost from including the Growth Mindset in our curriculum this year.  Our children are becoming more interested in themselves with inward thinking and soul searching and are gaining the ability to use their imaginations in a constructive way.  They are being more creative, and are more mindful of their goals and the steps they need to to take in order to achieve them.  The benefits are very clear to us, and I cherish the time I get to spend working on the Big Life Journal with each of my beautiful children.

Where to Get Your Big Life Journal

Big Life Journal hardcovers, downloadable PDFs and printables are all available on their website here.

The Big Life Journal that we have reviewed here costs $25.95USD.

Order your Big Life Journal Today.  You definitely won’t regret it.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gina

    January 22, 2019 at 12:47 am

    Wow! Big changes! I would love to get this journal for each of my kids, if I had the money. Will definitely be getting them at a later date.

    Reply
  2. Salim

    January 22, 2019 at 12:34 pm

    This a nice Concept and creativity. Home schooling can not be easy for everyone too, especially to parents with 24/7 jobs. Nonetheless, I’ll try and purchase the Big Life Journal before the month runs out. This is quite a good way to save money and interact well with the children, only the parents can understand their ward inside out!

    good day

    Reply
    • Kris

      January 22, 2019 at 9:18 pm

      Yes Salim!  

      It is a great way to spend time with your kids, and you might just learn a thing or two from them.  Sometimes their answers really impress me!

      Best Wishes, Kris

      Reply
  3. zuchii

    January 22, 2019 at 12:35 pm

    You and your family made great sacrifices to achieve your aim, I am super proud of you guys. You are changing the norm and doing things other parent’s would not dare to try for fear of failure and being different. The most important education a parent can give his or her children in this time and age is that which provides an independent mindset and independent thinking,  this is belive can be gotten when kids are home schooled. Every other skill can be learnt with this foundation

    Reply
    • Kris

      January 22, 2019 at 9:31 pm

      Thank you for your kind words Zuchii!

      What you say here is totally true.  Spending time with the kids is the best investment in them and their future selves.

      Warm regards, Kris

      Reply
  4. Stratos K

    January 22, 2019 at 12:53 pm

    This looks like a very interesting book to have. Having 2 small children myself I think they will benefit a lot from the kind of activity this will bring. I will definitely consider this as I am always looking for new experiences for them. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.

    Reply
    • Kris

      February 7, 2019 at 4:24 am

      Yes Stratos, it is definitely worth taking a look at.  What ages are your kids?  

      Reply
  5. Jay

    January 22, 2019 at 12:54 pm

    This was definitely a fun read. An inspirational book for the kids is one that I am really interested in. Your kids were are really able to cope with the move you guys made. I think my kids would have taken a lot more time to adjust due to the fact that they would not be seeing a lot of their friends.

    I have come across the big life journal but I have not really looked into it. Your words on how this book is might just prompt me to take an action and get the book because the kids would really need books as motivating as this.

    Reply
    • Kris

      February 7, 2019 at 4:23 am

      Thanks Jay!  The kids do still miss their friends though we try to keep them busy!  

      Once our big trip starts next month, they will have to adapt quickly.  and they will.

      Regards, Kris

      Reply
  6. Martine

    January 22, 2019 at 1:00 pm

    Hi, I loved the article regarding the Big life journal. I though the subject was fresh and interesting and well explained. Loved the pictures of the kids whether they are your own or not. I would have preferred if you had assigned names to the children, if you don’t want to give your children’s name maybe fake names, it would make reading easier.The only problem with your article for me is the four (4) paragraphs it takes to introduce the big life journal. A few  phases mentioning or referring to the fact that you are taking a gap year and that your kids needed something to help them cope would have been enough. Reading your introduction, I thought you were writing about how to go about planing a gap year.Good Job!

    Reply
    • Kris

      February 7, 2019 at 4:22 am

      Ok Martine, thanks for the feedback!  I appreciate it.

      Best, Kris

      Reply
  7. Sharon

    January 22, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    Wow! I can see and feel how excited you were about this Big Life Journal. Indeed, we can learn a lot from our children. And I absolutely agree with you, we learn about ourselves too. Thanks for sharing your ideas. I am sure you and your family will have an amazing journey that lasts a lifetime. 

    Reply
    • Kris

      February 7, 2019 at 4:21 am

      Thank you Sharon, so nice of you to say!

      Reply
  8. cjciganotto

    January 22, 2019 at 1:05 pm

    Hello Kris, 

    The creators of Big Life Journal encourage our children to have a growth mindset. Where in each mistake or failure opens a door to learn, to improve something. Not being afraid of failure will make them have better self-esteem, be ambitious, have more confidence. I also love that they are able to adapt to possible changes that could happen to all at a certain moment. A great book created to improve the mentality of our children and adolescents. Thank you very much for sharing.

    Claudio

    Reply
    • Kris

      February 7, 2019 at 4:21 am

      Absolutely Claudio, all the best!

      Reply
  9. Chris

    January 22, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    It certainly sounds as if this journal has opened new doors for yourself and your children, especially in the way it allowed you to converse about similar experiences from your own life. 

    I may have missed this, but I was wondering how long this journal is supposed to last for? Does it cover a 12 month period or can it be used over several years?

    Reply
    • Kris

      January 22, 2019 at 9:34 pm

      H Chris, 

      The Journal will last you for 26 weeks if you do a section per week.  We do ours a bit more often than that though and like to do it twice a week.  So I guess it will last as long as you like!  

      One of the tips in the opening pages says consistency is key, and having a few weeks off over the Christmas period it has been hard to get the kids back into learning of any type!  Official homeschool starts back next week though, and we can’t wait!

      Best wishes, Kris

      Reply

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