I like Mary's idea of having a course for each kiddo. My recommendation would be to use the course format of Weekly Topics. Then their activities for each week show up for them and either disappear or grey out when the week is over (your choice). A lot of people have talked about Journal and Diary...you could just use Wiki (not a plugin). I wouldn't suggest super high level stuff, just a place for them to write and it allows them to edit/update/add. You could, with a little time, create a wiki with a page for each day of the week. Copy the activity to each week you want it...or a wiki for each book they're journaling on (one wiki 'page' for each chapter). You, the teacher can see the wiki, and they have control over what is in it.
I'd suggest setting up one course and then copying (sharing cart or the old school way, restoring) it. Then you modify as needed. The neat thing about Weekly Topics is that you can add stuff as you go, three or four weeks out. And when you've add something to a course that you want to use in all of them, you can always do an import to the courses that don't have it.
But as Mary says, if you don't have much experience, go for one of the free courses. They're terrific. They didn't exist when I started using Moodle and, I'll say, I sure wish they did.
I'd suggest setting up one course and then copying (sharing cart or the old school way, restoring) it. Then you modify as needed. The neat thing about Weekly Topics is that you can add stuff as you go, three or four weeks out. And when you've add something to a course that you want to use in all of them, you can always do an import to the courses that don't have it.
But as Mary says, if you don't have much experience, go for one of the free courses. They're terrific. They didn't exist when I started using Moodle and, I'll say, I sure wish they did.