Buster’s Daily Diaries, Season 1 includes 28, 1–2 minute tracks about Buster’s daily writing experience and was made with kids in mind. 

In Season One of Buster’s Daily Diaries, kids learn to observe, reflect and record their thoughts. Kids follow along with Buster to engage their senses through journaling, just like Buster, as he meets several of his Moshling friends. The short, engaging audio tracks offer great inspiration for reluctant emerging writers or any kid who is ready to try something new with writing instruction. 

Dinah Zinke’s Foldables are widely known and used in elementary and secondary classrooms. Foldables help learners create their own interactive learning guide to the lesson. The kinesthetic process of creating the folded paper object as well as the visual reminder of seeing the information can appeal to a range of learners with different learning styles. Moshi’s literacy resources can be easily adapted to the foundational patterns of Dinah Zinke’s Foldables. These Foldables patterns along with numerous kid-created examples can be found online.

This activity provides an example of what you and your kids can do with Foldables. Print this activity, or simply provide a piece of paper and let kids fold it up on their own. Invite them to choose their favorites from these journal starters. Find even more options in the Buster’s Daily Diaries Season 1 Activity and Conversation Guide. 

How to get started with daily writing for kids:

You may already be a Foldables pro, so get creative with Moshi’s library of academic audio tracks, in addition to the Moshi Mindfulness curriculum, your kids may already know. You can plug in any of these paper-based activities to the Buster’s Daily Diaries Season 1 Playlist and create a personalized writing lesson. With a little prep and Moshi’s web player, you can just press play and relax while kids listen, learn and write with Buster. 

If you have a screen or projector, you can incorporate a Moshling visual aid to writing instruction: an illustration of the adorable and inclusive Moshlings. When you’re done with Season 1, or have students who are ready for more journaling practice, bookmark Buster’s Daily Diaries Season 2 for independent work.

If your kids are just learning to write, Moshi’s activities are designed to meet kids where they are. Foldables can provide a great space to draw a response. Moshi’s academic and SEL activities include plenty of room for drawing and coloring in response to reflective prompts. 

Along with Buster’s Daily Diary activities, you’ll find the SEL Foldables Guide by Moshi. This illustrated infographic is a visual aid for creating Foldables, or a quick visual review to identify Foldables. It highlights tips for mindfulness skill review activities you can do in addition to Moshi’s structured lessons. 

Check out these ideas to begin using Foldables with Moshi today:

• Make a four-door mini-poster to display key vocabulary words or concepts.

• Develop sortable cards and label pockets with story elements such as characters, problem, solution, and setting.

• Make a layered book for daily journaling, reading logs, or keeping track of Buster’s Diary entries, then write their own.

• Have kids make a foldable table or chart to keep up with the stories they’ve listened to or recently read.

• Invite students to help create a bulletin board using the matchbook method. Have them present a question on the foldable’s cover and the answer inside. 

• Follow the pattern to cut out and make a standing cube with plot review questions on the outside as a visual reminder. The standing cube also works great as a small storage bin for Foldables or flashcards.

• Use the pyramid pattern to practice your paper-crafting skills. Write key reminders of word-decoding skills or illustrate different parts of a character’s personality.

• Try the accordion foldable activity included in Buster’s Daily Diaries Season 1. It’s a fun, writing-based introduction to Foldables with Moshi.

Allison Henry