Listening Skills of my 5 year old

[tnahid]

How long does it take for a 5 year old to become a better listener? I am doing LHFHG with my 5 year old ds (she just turned 5). She isn't really listening very well to the Reddy Fox story, although she does know answers sometimes when I ask her. Could she just not be an auditory learner or will it just come at some point? She really enjoys the songs and the hands=on stuff, and I have found that when I set her in my lap and she sees the actual words in the book, she is paying attention better, but I don't think it is her learning style. What can I do, or is this just her age? Thanks!

[HappyMama]

Hmmm....maybe it's because she's just used to picture books? Listening to chapter books is a skill that most kids will acquire over time I think and it can take kids some time to make the transition for picture books to chapter books with few pictures. I know that when my boys were 5, they would not have been ready to listen to those Burgess books, we still mostly did picture books at that age. I bet if you keep at it, she will get more used to the books in Little Hearts. You may need to slow the pace down to 1/2 pace.

How does she do with comprehension and answering the questions at the end of the reading?

Sorry, I'm probably not much help, those are just the thoughts I had.

[julieabird]

Hi! I have a five year old daughter and we are doing LHFHG too! We are at the end of Unit 3. I actually just posted about her lack of comprehension skills last week. Please scroll down and find that post if you have time, there were some REALLY great replies!!! I was ready to put Reddy Fox away for awhile but was advised to keep reading it to her. I explained to her why we are reading Reddy Fox. I went to our main bookshelf and pulled several books down to show her that big people books don't have pictures in them, just words! I told her that learning to listen and answering qustions about what is read to her is something she will need to do in order to understand those big people books one day. I also tell her right before we read the chapter that she is to listen VERY CAREFULLY so she can try to answer the questions I will be asking her. I also remind her that she is to sit still and not do anything with her hands while I am reading. This helps a lot! I've found over the past 4 days that when she gives her undivided attention to those 3 pages she gets almost EVERY answer right! It is a skill that they need to learn and these books are a great tool for teaching it! She actually likes Reddy Fox now!

[tnahid]

Thank you ladies. I think you are right. I think it is an acquired skill. I am going to talk to her about "big people books too." I did a little today and she did better. It is so funny that my boys are so different. If I don't let my 10 year old do something with his hands when he is listening, he responds with the deer in the head lights look or "Duh..." But I have noticed that when I let my daughter doodle with her hands or move around in my lap dawdling with things, so does NOT seem to listen. I think the more still she is, the better she comprehends actually.

Thank you again for the advice. I also notice that when we act out the stories afterward, she gets it very well. She is very kinesthetic for sure!

Blessings!

[blessedmom]

Just want to encourage you to just keep going. My just turned 6dd has made such improvements over the last year in her ability to listen.
Funny thing is is that she used to listen to chapter books with the whole family, but doing it by herself with me was a challange. I still have to remind her that she is not to have a toy in her hand (because she will play with it), play with her hair, ask me questions about other things or tell me stories, comment on what her siblings are doing, etc (all of those possible distractors). Listening is such an aquired skill. She used to have such a hard time answering the questions. It's so much better now, but she still misses things from time to time.

[MelInKansas]

Yeah it was the same here. It was a bit rough when we first started, though my kids got into the books quickly and wanted to hear what was happening so they then paid attention. But it was hard for them to remember or answer the questions sometimes. This is part of them learning how to listen and comprehend without the pictures and I'm sure your DD will do great once she is used to it!