My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal - Review

My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal: Daily Blessings and Bible Verses for Kids

By: Pia Imperial

Publication: January 9, 2024 by Grosset & Dunlap

80 pages

Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction, Religious, Christian, Devotional & Prayer

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon )

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Goodreads description--The perfect first journal for young ones beginning their journey of faith.

Complete with devotional prayers and daily bible verses, this thoughtfully designed journal encourages kids to be grateful for all the blessings in their life.

I started homeschooling my two oldest children this year. And one of the things I want to work with them both on is being grateful. In our home, we are blessed far above what we deserve. We don't deserve all that much. And yet, because we don't lack much of what we need or want, we often take for granted the blessings of life that God has given us. I want my children to be mindful and aware of all they have. So when I saw My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal, I knew I wanted to grab it for my kids to try out. My daughter is 8, and my son is 6. He's only in kindergarten right now, so doing this gratitude journal is a lot of writing for him. I ultimately decided that he doesn't have to fill it in yet, but it will be something I want him to do in the future. My daughter has been doing it every day.

There's a place for the date, a range of smiley-frowny faces the child can choose from for their mood of the day, and a section that says "I'm thankful for _____ because ________________." The gratitude journal also has a section for three blessings the day has brought and a Bible verse for the day or a moment of reflection with a question to be answered.

My daughter doesn't always enjoy filling this in, but as with children, they don't always know what's best for them. And even adults don't always want to do the things that are good for us either. I require her to continue to fill it in even if she doesn't want to. But for the most part, she's learned that this is just a part of her day, and she doesn't fight it. I've been interested in seeing what she's thankful for. It's also allowed us to discuss doing a task to the best of our abilities versus just trying to complete it so we can mark it off the list of things to do. But again, even adults don't always do their tasks at level 100 every time. Some days she impresses me with what she writes that she's thankful for that particular day.

I do hesitate to call this a prayer journal. We certainly should make sure not only that we're noting the things we're grateful for, but that we're also thanking God for those things in prayer. Yet, I don't see much in the way of prompting the child to do so. There are prompts in the moments of reflection that ask the child questions to make them think, and sometimes it tells them to write about an experience or how we can show our love to God. I wish there was a little more prompting to pray and offer thanksgiving to God in the daily layout. But I also understand they have limited space to utilize.

My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal is a good starting place for creating a daily habit in your child's life of looking for things to be grateful for. I like Scripture included in every other day's format. Every day would be even better. I do wish there was a more directed approach to guiding the child in prayer prompts. But as I said, this is a good first step. I would love to see this company offer a step up in the process as a second book option which would be a little more detailed. I see big benefits from doing this, and I love starting the kids young. I would recommend My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal for others starting their kids in this habit. I give My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal 4 Stars. I would give it 5 if there was more prompting to pray or guidance for the children in that area. Have you read or used My First Prayer and Gratitude Journal? If so, what did you think? Let me know!