I am so glad you've shared the journaling idea with everyone through the years. It's fun for my elementary school-aged kids to read their kindergarden entries.

When my 5 yo was three, I had her dictate a few sentences to me, which I wrote down for her. She would then spend 15 minutes drawing and coloring her picture, which gave me time to teach her older sister phonics and math. The best benefit is having a written record of all the cute things she said!