At long last, I'm finally beginning the written narration assignments with my almost 12 year old son. BOY do we have a LONG way to go on this. He worked very, very hard on this weeks. In fact, I think we both were ready for a BREAK when he finished. He tends to be a bit long winded and his narrations are much longer than what I understand the guide is encouraging. The information he provides is good. There is some superfluous detail, but overall it's good. When I ask him the questions about did he include this and this, he simply adds more information. In fact, after he wrote up this weeks narration he handed it to me and said, "Oh, I thought of some more things I wanted to say and added them in." So, he ended up with 11 sentences in an assignment that asked for 3 to 5. It is my understanding that the narration should be more concise. Am I correct? Can someone help me here in how to guide him?
Thanks a bunch.
Written Narration
Written Narration
With Joy!
Florence
My blog: http://florencebrooks.com/
Began HOD 1/2009
Currently using: Bigger, RTR, Rev to Rev and MTMM
Florence
My blog: http://florencebrooks.com/
Began HOD 1/2009
Currently using: Bigger, RTR, Rev to Rev and MTMM
Re: Written Narration
My ds always wants to add more too, and I made the mistake of letting him for a few times. 
I realized exactly what you are saying - that he needed to be more concise and that this was exactly the skill he needed first before writing more. 
His other previous shorter narrations were better than the longer ones. I only let him write 5 sentences maximum now. We've talked about how it forces him to weigh what is really MOST important to include in the narration, and that this makes for a better narration overall. Also, next year, in CTC, dc will be able to (and expected to) narrate more in-depth. The goal is that by then, they'll be trained in sharing the most important things first, and then be able to add more personal flare to it at that point without missing the important content of the reading. That's just been my experience with it, but I'm sure others will join in here! 
In Christ,
Julie
I realized exactly what you are saying - that he needed to be more concise and that this was exactly the skill he needed first before writing more. His other previous shorter narrations were better than the longer ones. I only let him write 5 sentences maximum now. We've talked about how it forces him to weigh what is really MOST important to include in the narration, and that this makes for a better narration overall. Also, next year, in CTC, dc will be able to (and expected to) narrate more in-depth. The goal is that by then, they'll be trained in sharing the most important things first, and then be able to add more personal flare to it at that point without missing the important content of the reading. That's just been my experience with it, but I'm sure others will join in here! In Christ,
Julie
Enjoyed LHTH to USII
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie
Currently using USI
Wife to Rich for 28 years
Mother to 3 sons, ages 23, 20, and 16
Sister to Carrie
Re: Written Narration
I agree with you that my kiddos have wanted to write more for their narrations too! While CM-style narrations have kiddos writing as much as their heart desires, with our beginning narration stages we instead limit the writing so that the kiddos can take time to better prioritize and organize their thoughts. 
During my many years teaching in the classroom at the third and fourth grade level, I discovered that kiddos tend to go on and on in writing with very little direction or punctuation (if allowed to do so) and that forms some pretty bad habits which are tough to break later. So, while weighing what CM has to say on the topic of written narrations, along with my own experiences, we settled for a bit more guided narrations with a little more structured outcome in our guides.
Once and awhile I'll let my son go over the limit with a sentence or two at the most. Otherwise, we stick to the guidelines in the guide. I've found limiting the length makes him weigh more carefully what he writes (and it also makes it easier to edit for correct grammar, usage, and punctuation).
You'll find that limiting the number of sentences also keeps the writing sessions shorter, making written narrations less of a daunting task! It also helps the task of written narrations fit better time-wise in the schedule.
Blessings
Carrie
While CM-style narrations have kiddos writing as much as their heart desires, with our beginning narration stages we instead limit the writing so that the kiddos can take time to better prioritize and organize their thoughts. During my many years teaching in the classroom at the third and fourth grade level, I discovered that kiddos tend to go on and on in writing with very little direction or punctuation (if allowed to do so) and that forms some pretty bad habits which are tough to break later. So, while weighing what CM has to say on the topic of written narrations, along with my own experiences, we settled for a bit more guided narrations with a little more structured outcome in our guides.
Once and awhile I'll let my son go over the limit with a sentence or two at the most. Otherwise, we stick to the guidelines in the guide.
I've found limiting the length makes him weigh more carefully what he writes (and it also makes it easier to edit for correct grammar, usage, and punctuation). You'll find that limiting the number of sentences also keeps the writing sessions shorter, making written narrations less of a daunting task! It also helps the task of written narrations fit better time-wise in the schedule.
Blessings
Carrie