Knowing What Motivates Your Child - My Thoughts About Narration
Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 6:00AM Charlotte Mason
Long before I began homeschooling, my daughter was narrating. It was nothing we consciously did, rather an extension of her love of literature. At almost the age of ten she narrates beautifully and willingly - and her narrations are turning into well crafted written pieces as well. I don't take any of the credit - that goes to fine literature and a little girl who loves to read.
If you don't know much about narration, these Narration Ideas from Simply Charlotte Mason will help you a great deal. I've had to refer to them OFTEN with my six year old. He is a bright boy and will sit for long stories. I know he remembers details because he talks about them days - even weeks - later. If I ask him, however, to tell me back a story in his own words, he will not oblige - so I have to sneak narration in the back door. He is motivated in much different ways than my daughter - go figure.
We also use First Language Lessons for The Well Trained Mind, which utilizes narration in many of the lessons. Our homeschool is a 50/50 mix of Charlotte Mason and Classical Education, so whenever I have a big education question I also consult Susan Wise Bauer. She gives the following advice about narration.
(from the Well-Trained Mind)
I believe the key to all of this is reading aloud to your children, at least two hours a day. I like to think I'm a good read-aloud mom - I use funny voices, ask a lot of questions, pick topics that interest each of my children,etc... There are days, however (and I'm sure you NEVER have these, do you?), when I am just tired and want a break from so much reading aloud. I have started to rely on audio books more and more and we LOVE them! Sometimes listening to someone OTHER than mom or big sister has its advantages. In this case, listening to a book on CD is not only a great use of time in the car, but it is also a way to inspire even the youngest listeners. I am also enjoying listening - there is something very different about the act of listening, as opposed to reading. It is a skill I need to work on just as much as the children.
We have been listening to one audio book recently that my son ALWAYS wants to talk about, and when I pause the CD and ask him, "What do you think will happen next?", or "What is it that makes this part so spectacular?", or "Tell me about what just happened." he ALWAYS has an answer. It's like a light bulb has been turned on and I am so very thankful.
One of the books on our future read-alouds shelf is Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator. My oldest has read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but we wanted to let my youngest in on the fun. Our library has a wonderful selection of audio books, and this performance of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is so entertaining! I am enjoying it every bit as much as the children. At one point today my little guy was laughing so hard he could barely breathe - what a wonderful moment it was.
We listened on the way to tennis lessons, and after lessons, walking back to the car, my son said "I can't wait to see who gets the fifth golden ticket!". We were buckled and about 10 seconds later the children started chanting, "CHARLIE! CHARLIE! CHARLIE!".
It is my hope that once we finish listening to this book, I can then read the sequel and get some great narrations from my little guy. I'll keep you posted...
Do your children narrate? What have you found that works - share some strategies!
*Linking up today: Hip Homeschool Moms, Teach Me Tuesday
Reader Comments (10)
We have just began "creative" narration, as well. Boy, is it amazing what their little minds can think of. :) It really has let me know what is on her heart. For example, a couple weeks ago she was having an issue with a little girl in Sunday School. Well, the story that I started with, "There once were two frogs.." turned into a story about friendship. It's a great form of communicating their feelings.
I think we are very similar in our efforts to teach our children. I ask questions like Charlotte Mason suggests all the time to trigger a response for my children to put things in their own words. See my website at http://www.nucleusoflife.com/summaryanalysiscomposition.htm.
I too have one child who can narrate naturally and one who struggles. But the more we do it, the easier it becomes. Just yesterday we were in the car and there was a fine layer of pollen on the windshield. We had the opportunity to demonstrate our learning to their father by narrating the chapter of botany we just read, about tree pollination! I will ask prompting questions but I have learned to then shut my mouth and let them do all the talking! It amazes me how much they learn and how they are able to apply their understanding to the world around them. Love Charlotte Mason!
Once again a very informative post! I am planning to follow the links - this is my first exposure to narration!
This is a great post, Mary. We love books on CD too!
I love this post!!!! I love Charlotte Mason and I LOVE Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It is probably one of my favorite children's books of all time.
Sheridan has been narrating since he was 4. He is still a work in progress, but he does a pretty good job. As we use First Language Lessons, Writing with Ease and SOTW, it is necessary that he narrate. The funny thing is, when he watches a show on PBS, he will often come to me and say, "I watched ***** and I need to give you a narration about it." LOL
I like this post a lot. We just started using Writing with Ease and First Language Lessons. I'm thrilled already and it's only our first week.
I don't know about reading aloud a book 2 hours a day. I would have a tough time doing that. I do an hour at least + science read aloud and some history, but not one living book for 2 hours.
I do agree that reading aloud is key and not just picture books.
Besides the great educational benefits, the time we have spent reading aloud together has been some of the most precious of our homeschooling years.
http://gratefulforgrace.com/2010/04/works-for-me-super-duper-family-time/
Thanks for stopping by my blog!
I'm learning so much from you. Thank you for sharing!
The key to narration at our house is discussion, discussion, discussion. We're a bunch of talker anyways so that's not too hard.