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Grace&Chaos
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 6:10pm | IP Logged
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Just brainstorming along. Two years ago I had my dd (then 6) draw after we read from our bible stories, art book, science...anything really. This was essentially the beginning of her narrations. Slowly we started adding a sentence or two and by January I was typing some oral narrations after reading a picture book. I'd print the narration and paste it on her notebook and she would draw next to it.
The process was good for her, she loves drawing. She didn't feel pressured, she'd pick something she enjoyed or remembered. I would say that having the notebook to see the progression was very helpful and natural. Does he enjoy drawing, doodling, cartooning, acting, maybe even speaking into a recorder?
I very much agree with everyone's thoughts on casual conversing. In the middle of just about anything I bring something up and they naturally tell about things we've read or they read independently. Or if they bring anything up that I think is related I jump on the opportunity to let them "tell me more". It doesn't feel like "school" its just mom talking and being nosy  .
sending you some 
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Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:08pm | IP Logged
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stellamaris wrote:
| I want to add here something I hope will help and not offend you. With my oldest child, I really had very high expectations for his school work. I didn't realize how high until I had schooled my other children!! I think the early years of homeschooling might have been easier for me and him if I had been able to be a little less demanding and a lot less worried about his ability to learn. Turns out he is very smart, after all! I hope you can set aside any anxiety you may have and just enjoy your ds. He will learn at his own pace. |
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Caroline,
You definitely didn't offend. You hit on what is, by far, the hardest part of homeschooling for me- and has been since this child was a baby. When am I pushing him too hard? I am notorious for pushing this child too hard. I did it for years when he was younger and I regret those times. I am constantly trying to figure out if I am pushing him too hard or not.
He is bright and capable, but stubborn as the day is long and also has these sensory issues we are working with (that haven't really been defined yet).
I get it into my head that because Charlotte Mason's students were expected to do X, Y, and Z and it says on this curriculum site that he should be able to do this by grade 1, that he *should* be able to do it.
Sometimes I just need someone to nicely tell me that I am riding him too hard, that it's okay if he doesn't 'get' narration at age six... or seven... or whatever.
So if any of you lovely ladies want to volunteer to be the proverbial 2x4 that keeps me in relaxed mode and not overbearing-mother mode, we can start a sign up sheet or something. 
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:10pm | IP Logged
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AmandaV wrote:
Would it help you to see other sample 6.5 year olds? My son is giving several paragraph narrations but it took until Jan. or so for us to both get comfortable with it. He would say nothing, or I don't know. History is still hard but his Bible and saint and Aesop's narrations have really improved. (not all in one day, of course)
If it would help, I'll post a recent sample from my son. I know for me, I had to read a bunch and really wasn't sure if what I was getting was what I should get, at first. The posts at Higher up and .. that Jen has previously posted on the language arts forum really helped me to get a hang of it. |
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I think it might be helpful to see some examples. Jen's example from her son really helped me, too. I am so new to all this that I just have no idea what to expect and, as I have said, I tend to set the bar too high when I don't know what is a reasonable expectation.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:17pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
Myths and Burgess books are MEATY! I have VERY VERBOSE girls and at 6.5, I would be just beginning to get narrations with them with those books.
Try reading from something he really enjoys. Does he have a favorite subject?
How about picture books? Can you read a picture book and start talking about what you're reading after a few pages?
It sounds like you've really got to "ease into it" with it....make it VERY casual. Just get him used to "chatting" about what he's hearing/reading/exposed to. |
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Suzanne,
I never even considered that I might be choosing something too difficult for him to narrate! He has a very high reading level- probably close to 5th or 6th grade maybe higher? I just assumed he would be able to narrate something- not at his reading level- but something a little meaty.
Hmmmm.... maybe I will try some picture books or other ridiculously easy book to read. Thanks!
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Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:18pm | IP Logged
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ekbell wrote:
I sympathize with trying to get something from a reluctant child.
One of my children just didn't see the *point* of telling me about what we just read together. We'd just read it and I could remember the story better then she did so why ask her? It wasn't until she was reading material independently that she saw any point in narrating.
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Hmm.. I have explained to him several times that the point of it is to see what he remembers, but maybe that doesn't mean much if he feels it is pointless.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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AmandaV
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:21pm | IP Logged
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Here goes:
I'm not sure if this is too detailed or good or not.. like you I don't have a comparison yet. Oh, and like you my son is a high reader. He just read 4 Little House books in a week. But he's not as interested in telling me about them. A little bit, but I also don't stop him after each chapter, since he's reading during free time or at night and I don't want to over do narrations.
This is from Aesop's fables...
March 30, 2011
“The Ants and the Grasshopper”
Some ants were drying out some wheat they had carried away from farms in the summer, when a grasshopper came to them and hungrily begged for a bite to eat. “Why didn’t you store up food for the winter,” cried the ants, “for what were you doing?”
“I was too busy playing my fiddle,” said the grasshopper. “Please give me a bite to eat.”
“No,” said the ants, “we will not give you anything to eat.” And they turned their backs on the grasshopper and went back with their work.
And the moral is: There is a time for work and a time for play.
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Amanda
wife since 6/03, Mom to son 7/04, daughter 2/06, twin sons 6/08 and son 7/11, son 1/2014
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:22pm | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
Are you modeling what you want to happen in casual speech?
I'm just thinking if you get him used to a topic of conversation is retelling a story line.. then it won't be putting him on the spot so much as he'll be learning that this is a way to converse with you.
And it doesn't have to be a book.. if you watch a movie together.. retell him your favorite part..
But I'm talking about without expecting him to reciprocate yet. Just getting into a habit of conversing.. then when you do ask him, it'll feel like a natural part of the conversation instead of putting him on the spot with more school work. |
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He does re-tell me things in casual conversation- things about books he is reading or things that happened during the day or whatever. He has done that for awhile, and so I assumed that meant we could move to me requesting narrations from him for lessons, easing into it slowly. I guess I was mistaken there.
He definitely hates being put on the spot in general, though. When he initiates it, it's fine.
I have modeled for him what I am expecting in terms of narration.... maybe mine were too complex? I did try to keep it very simple- two or three sentences that summarized what we had read.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:26pm | IP Logged
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Grace&Chaos wrote:
Just brainstorming along. Two years ago I had my dd (then 6) draw after we read from our bible stories, art book, science...anything really. This was essentially the beginning of her narrations. Slowly we started adding a sentence or two and by January I was typing some oral narrations after reading a picture book. I'd print the narration and paste it on her notebook and she would draw next to it.
The process was good for her, she loves drawing. She didn't feel pressured, she'd pick something she enjoyed or remembered. I would say that having the notebook to see the progression was very helpful and natural. Does he enjoy drawing, doodling, cartooning, acting, maybe even speaking into a recorder?
I very much agree with everyone's thoughts on casual conversing. In the middle of just about anything I bring something up and they naturally tell about things we've read or they read independently. Or if they bring anything up that I think is related I jump on the opportunity to let them "tell me more". It doesn't feel like "school" its just mom talking and being nosy .
sending you some |
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Aw... thanks for all the  
He is not a doodler or a draw-er, unfortunately. He likes to type. He is a very slow typist, but I wonder if he would be more interested in giving me typed narrations. He loves to send my mother emails and has asked me to teach him how to type properly several times. I know I finally gave in to using Teaching Textbooks for math, despite my reservations about using a completely computer based program, and it's working very well for us. He is really into it and actually begging me to do math for the first time ever. He is very much into computers.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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AmandaV wrote:
Here goes:
I'm not sure if this is too detailed or good or not.. like you I don't have a comparison yet. Oh, and like you my son is a high reader. He just read 4 Little House books in a week. But he's not as interested in telling me about them. A little bit, but I also don't stop him after each chapter, since he's reading during free time or at night and I don't want to over do narrations.
This is from Aesop's fables...
March 30, 2011
“The Ants and the Grasshopper”
Some ants were drying out some wheat they had carried away from farms in the summer, when a grasshopper came to them and hungrily begged for a bite to eat. “Why didn’t you store up food for the winter,” cried the ants, “for what were you doing?”
“I was too busy playing my fiddle,” said the grasshopper. “Please give me a bite to eat.”
“No,” said the ants, “we will not give you anything to eat.” And they turned their backs on the grasshopper and went back with their work.
And the moral is: There is a time for work and a time for play.
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That is a great narration, in my opinion. That is even more that what I was expecting from my son. Great job! 
__________________
God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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stellamaris
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:30pm | IP Logged
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Quote:
| He loves to send my mother emails and has asked me to teach him how to type properly several times. |
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Do you think he might be open to a suggestion to tell your mother about a story he has just read? Maybe, "Hey, Grandmother would love to hear about...", or even clue your mom in and have her ask him about what he is reading?
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: April 06 2011 at 7:33pm | IP Logged
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stellamaris wrote:
Quote:
| He loves to send my mother emails and has asked me to teach him how to type properly several times. |
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Do you think he might be open to a suggestion to tell your mother about a story he has just read? Maybe, "Hey, Grandmother would love to hear about...", or even clue your mom in and have her ask him about what he is reading? |
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That's a great idea! I'll ask him tomorrow if he'd like to email Oma about the story he just read. It might take him all afternoon to type it up, but that's okay. :)
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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stellamaris
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| Posted: Jan 21 2015 at 3:10pm | IP Logged
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Bump!
Lots of very helpful and encouraging ideas in this thread!
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Resistant Narrator *UPDATED with question
