The Little Stoic Journal
The Little Stoic Journal is the only app that brings 2,000 years of Stoic philosophy into a child’s hands — not as a lesson, but as a weekly practice.
52 prompts. One per week. Each drawn from Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, or Seneca and written in two age versions: one for children 6–9, one for ages 10 and up. Every prompt pairs a Stoic value with a concrete weekly challenge — something to try, not just think about.
What makes it singular: this is not a digital journal. The app instructs every user to close the screen and write by hand in a physical notebook. In a category dominated by streaks, notifications, and screen time, The Little Stoic Journal does the opposite. It sends children away from the device and toward a pen.
The result is a family practice with genuine philosophical grounding — dinner table conversations, shared reflection, and the quiet habit of thinking before reacting. Built by a father for his daughters. Offered to every family that wants something real. Below is contact information and privacy policies. For any more information please check the FAQs at the bottom of this page and/or email or contact via instagram .
Thank you, Dean
Settings & Legal
The Little Stoic · StatDose LLC
Privacy Policy
The Little Stoic does not collect, store, transmit, or share any personal data. StatDose LLC does not collect or have access to any user information from this app.This app:
Does not require account creation
Does not track user behavior
Does not use analytics services
Does not store personal or device data
Does not use cookies or tracking technologies
All activity within The Little Stoic remains entirely on your device.Data Usage
The Little Stoic operates fully offline.No user data is collected, stored, or transmitted at any time.Affiliate Disclosure
The Little Stoic may include optional links to third-party products or services.Some of these links may be affiliate links, which means StatDose LLC may earn a small commission if you choose to make a purchase.This comes at no additional cost to you.Intellectual Property
All content within The Little Stoic — including text, prompts, design, structure, and branding — is the intellectual property of StatDose LLC.This content is provided for personal use only. You may not reproduce, distribute, or monetize any part of this app without prior written permission from StatDose LLC.Disclaimer
The Little Stoic is intended for educational and informational purposes only.It is not a substitute for professional advice, including medical, psychological, or educational guidance.Use of this app is at your own discretion.Contact
For questions or support, please contact:StatDose LLC / The Little Stoic Journal[email protected]
[email protected]
FAQsWho is The Little Stoic Journal for?
The Little Stoic Journal is built for children ages 6 and up — and for every adult in their lives. In practice that means three groups: children who are ready to think carefully about how they feel and how they act; parents and families looking for something meaningful to do alongside their kids; and teachers or school counselors who want a structured, values-based tool for their classroom. The prompts are written in two voices — one for ages 6–9, one for ages 10 and up — but the questions themselves are genuinely human questions. Adults find them just as useful as children do.Why not just write in the app?
The app is for finding and printing prompts. It is not a journal, it is a gateway. That distinction is intentional. The Little Stoic Journal is built on one simple belief: a screen is the wrong place to do your deepest thinking. The whole point is to close the device, pick up a pen, and write. Research consistently shows that handwriting activates more of the brain than typing, produces stronger retention, and leads to deeper reflection — because writing by hand is slower, and slowing down is part of the work. Find your prompt. Print it. Close the screen. Write.
(Mueller & Oppenheimer, Psychological Science, 2014.)Is Stoic philosophy too hard for children?As an academic discipline, parts of it are. The Little Stoic Journal doesn’t approach it that way. What Stoicism offers at its core is three practical ideas: be clear about what is and isn’t in your control; meet difficulty with steadiness rather than panic; treat others and yourself with honesty and care. Those ideas are not complicated — but, they can be hard to live, which is a different thing entirely. The journal doesn’t ask a child to read Epictetus. It asks them questions like: When something goes wrong, do you try to find whose fault it is — or figure out what to do next? That question is Stoic in its roots, but a child doesn’t need to know that to benefit from sitting with it for ten minutes. The philosophy lives in the questions, not in the explanation of the philosophy.Why is access free for teachers and educators?
There is a personal reason and a principled one, and they are difficult to separate. My wife is a teacher and she is amazing. Every day she heads into the classroom with her glitter (metaphorical and also a true vial of glitter) and works tirelessly to bring love and care to each of her students. I also know (first hand) that teachers routinely spend their own money and time to give children something worth having. Asking them to pay for the Little Stoic Journal was never even an option. The principled reason is simpler: good tools for reflection should be available in every classroom, regardless of budget. Teachers, school counselors, and classroom educators are welcome to request complimentary access by writing to [email protected].Who made The Little Stoic Journal?
My name is Dean Hoffman. I am a husband, a father of two daughters, a working paramedic, and a lifelong reader. I am not a philosopher, a child psychologist, or a parenting expert. I came to this project one ordinary morning while my daughters slept and I was folding laundry. I found myself wishing there was a guide that would give children something to cause reflection and facilitate self awareness— the kind of grounded, practical thinking that Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus, and Seneca spent their lives writing about. I looked for something like that, couldn’t find it, and sat down to build it myself. I am not a tech person in any traditional sense. What I am is someone who had an idea he believed in and found a way to bring it to life — one question at a time.Lastly, is there a physical version coming?
Long and short of it is… maybe… I am currently exploring options and versions of such a product. One of the reasons I made this as an app was to keep it financially approachable for everyone. One time purchase with a self print option seems to be the most cost effective for users. That said I am currently exploring the idea of a custom journal cover that users can refill with the readily available low cost journal refills. The other option is basically that same cover with a printed Little Stoic Journal complete with all prompts that the user can refill as needed…. Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear it!