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Hi, ladies!
I have a problem and I need some help. My ds5 has completely stopped paying attention during our story time. We are almost mid-way through the year and he started this about 2 weeks ago. I have to read something to him 2-3 times before he can answer simple questions about what I read. Once I read it several times or threaten to lose privileges, he all of a sudden grows ears and can hear me. He has done really well up until now. I seem to remember my oldest daughter doing the same thing right about this time, and I am just not sure what to do. He was really excited to start a new book (Grandfather Frog) today but then he did the same thing. Has anyone else dealt with this and what have you done that works? I get so frustrated because it is such a struggle with him.

Any help would be great!
Mary

Just a few thoughts that have helped me:

Before you begin, describe the activity you will be doing with the story or say something to the effect of "we are going to answer some questions about this, so pay attention so you can answer them the first time." With the storytime readings in Beyond this really helps my kids if they know what we are going to be doing with the story after I am done reading it. My kids definitely space out too during reading sometimes and remember nothing of what was read.

Sometimes, if it's been a few days or a weekend between our last reading I will review with them (probably feeding them most of it, or letting them look at the picture if there was one) what the previous chapter was and what we were waiting to see next. The stories have good cliffhangers or suspense between chapters so that helped them get into the story for that day.

Mary,

Sometimes we just think these little ones have stopped paying attention, and then we'll find out later they were gaining more than we thought. Keep in mind your little one is only 5. My current 5 year old veers wildly between being able to answer the questions to having no clue with Storytime. He's just nearing the end of Reddy Fox in LHFHG.

Take heart that these little kiddos do grow into the skills, but all skills have spurts and fits. Don't despair. I do set the stage for my little one too if needed to let him know what we're looking for from the Storytime box before we start. Just keep on plugging, as at this age any connection is a score, and we cannot expect their little minds to connect the dots every day!

Blessings,
Carrie