It is to our advantage that C adores being read to.
Last week I did a few test readings to see where he was with the ability to narrate. I experimented with different texts, first reading and then asking, "tell me what happened in our reading." I don't ask for a "narration" like I would with my oldest because there is something about the ambiguous, undefined word in a little one's mind that induces stage fright, and all thought flees the scene. But when I simply ask him to tell me what happened, he's all over it!
Friday I read the first story in James Harriot's Treasury for Children. If you have children that love animals you need to track this one down. The collection of stories is written by a country vet that worked and lived in England. These are stories from his experiences (he wrote several collections for the older set too). The stories are engaging and the language thoughtful and well done. The illustrations keep a little one engaged.
I read "Moses" about a kitten found in the rushes by a frozen pond. When it was over C was angry I wouldn't read the next story. So angry I feared for my safety. Not really, but he can put on a good show.
Now you might be asking why I didn't just read more. Well, I will tell you. I like to stop at a point where the child is begging for more--perferably after a short reading, at the end of an episode, not necessarily at the end of a chapter break. This does a few things.
First, it keeps their mind going back to it, so they are turning over the story and pondering it as they move on to the next thing. (With an active boy the next thing would preferably be something physical like handwriting, art, math blocks, legos, etc.)
Second, when it's time for another reading, they can hardly contain themselves with excitement.
Third, stretching short readings over longer periods of time extends the amount of time the child is in contact with the book and extends the amount of time his brain has to think it over. Small bites to be savored over time rather than gulped and forgotten.
Fourth, it saves my voice. I know that's shallow and not very sacrificial of me. But it's true.
I find that if I ask about the reading again later in the day I sometimes get more infomation. His brain has been thinking it over and more details rise to the surface. This is what little C did for me. He told about the end of the story just after the reading (and then ran off to play). Howevet, that night at dinner I asked everyone to tell about the favorite thing they read that day. C went first giving the same narration as before (the end). But as the girls took their turn he thought of more. He sat at the dinner table with his hand raised waiting to go again. This time he started at the beginning, excited to tell about how the kitten was put in the warming drawer of the old oven to warm up. Success!
Now, i've learned to take some care over what I ask them to narrate. For example, Aesop's Fables may be great to read to littles because they are so short. But I find they are too perplexing for mine to narrate from. Now my 12-year-old would have no trouble. But the littles just give a perplexed look. I read the "Bear and the Bees" to C at bed time. After I read the "moral" he put down his toy, gave me the one-eyebrow-raised look of confusion and said, "what does that even mean?" Ha!
Usually I don't give the readings a lot of talk. I like to let his brain work the puzzle for himself, even if he doesn't come to the same conclusion as I might as an adult, or any noticeable conclusion at all. But, this time he asked, so I explained.
"Huh" was the reply. And I shut the book and tucked him in for the night.
Again, success.
Two different readings, two different results. But success still the same.
Now, narration comes with a lot of work and mostly yeilds nothing tangible you can point to. That makes us uncomfortable. After all, we love to cling to the "stuff" children produce in our material based culture. It makes us feel that we have accomplished something. Little C has nothing to show for his effort, but I know the upper level thinking skills we are cultivating with narrations are worth more than a stack of worksheets and I am satisfied with the lesson's work.
Use a patient and diligent approach. A slow and steady pace. Keep the pressure low. Trust that their brain is doing a lot of processing. It is! And the tangibile fruit will come.
Sometimes it comes after a short period of practice and they master it quickly (like my oldest who practically re-wrote the Incredible Journey with her written narrations last year). Or it can take years, like one of my middles, to develop the skill with any consistency or length, (and for her results are still mixed, depending on the particular text). God made each child different. Take peace in that. God is doing His work in their life, shaping them into the person He wants them to be in His own timing. Rejoice in it.
A note on age and readiness: my little C just turned six this summer and i've only started asking him to "tell back" what we have read. Up to this point I have asked him to "tell me everything about..." an animal we saw at the zoo, a tree in the stream, etc. Kids love to tell you stuff. Enjoy their stories and their talk when they are young and keep them talking to you as they grow and narration will be an extension of the natural relationship of sharing ideas that you have already cultivated.
For more on the Charlotte Mason method of education or narrating go here http://simplycharlottemason.com/ or here http://amblesideonline.org/FAQ.shtml
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