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Ok...so we are starting on Unit 8 this week. The first few weeks went great, well other than my dd not caring for the writing part, but that passed and she is now ok with that What the trouble now is - when we are reading in History, or doing our bible verses, its like shes staring right through me. I can ask her what the last word I said was, and her response is I don't know! This has been going on for a couple weeks now, and it seems no mater what I do, it's not helping. Today I repeated the MV 7 times, and she still couldn't answer my question of what God wants us to do for others. Am I doind something wrong? Sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm just not cut out for this!
Thanks

My middle daughter does this. I have two that can listen great to stories and can tell me everything back, but the middle daughter just cannot do it. I'm hoping it will improve as she gets older. I believe she does better when she reads the information herself, so maybe you could have her read some little something and then ask her questions. The Nora Gaydos beginning readers are nice and they have review questions in the back. Maybe try this, or read a sentence out loud and then ask her one question about the sentence. Just a thought.

Alison

My daughter does this, too. She is only 6 and I found that she really couldn't get into the books that we were reading during story time. I switched the books around to something else that she was a little more interested in and then would just ask her questions after each chapter. She really likes that. Maybe just try switching things up and then go back to it later. My dd is very easily distracted so when the younger siblings are doing something else it makes it very hard for her to concentrate. I think it will get better with time. She is starting to realize now that if she focuses on her worksheets, etc and gets it done, then she really can go play a little faster. This is my first year homeschooling, but I was also really frustrated by this. Not sure if that helps, other than to say keep going, don't worry too much about it!

Mary

I can't remember which HOD program are you doing and your dd's age? Could you please remind me? Thanks - then I think I'll have some ideas we can kick around.

In Christ,
Julie

Hi Julie,
My dd age is 6 and we are using Beyond.

I also wanted to say thanks for everyones ideas, nice to know I'm not alone!

Thanks for reminding me, Kelly! My ds is almost 7 yo, and we are on the last unit of Beyond this week. I can remember that he had times such as you are describing with your dd too. It has taken my ds all year to learn the habit of listening attentively. This is a skill well worth spending a long time on, as it affects the rest of the years of their schooling so much. For the Bible verses, it was key for me to explain it well the first day. It was also important for him to put actions to the verse, as it helped him remember it better each day. We sang it together as well, which I think doing it together helped him. Maybe your dd does fine with memorization, but these tips help with comprehension as well, since putting meaningful actions is one way of also remembering the meaning of the verse. As far as the days with the questions about the Bible verse, it was important that I read it first out loud to him each day. Then, for the questions I said one question at a time, helped him locate the verse the answer was in, and then we put the answer in easier to understand terms together. The Bible is such an amazing Book, but it can be daunting for dc to understand if we don't help them along like this. I found repeatedly reading the verse and repeatedly asking the question again and again does not help because they are truly needing our help to unlock the message in God's Word. So, first, I'd encourage you to look at the Bible discussion time as a time to talk through questions and answers together, rather than as a time for dd to give correct answers on her own.

As far as the history goes, it helped my ds to read one page, then ask just a few questions about what had happened so far with my ds. If he didn't know, I didn't reread it, I just summarized the big idea(s) for him and then set the stage for us to be excited about what we'd read next by saying something like, "I wonder if Hilda will change her complaining attitude or not? What do you think? Let's read on to see." This is a way to dangle a carrot for them to listen to find out what happens next. Then, when finishing, it's important to recap what was learned by reading the "Key Idea" out loud to the child. This is like a little recap of what was read and further helps dc understand the main things that happened.

Most of Beyond Little Hearts is about working all year to establish the habit of good listening and to work on beginning comprehension. It helped me to remind myself of this and not get frustrated when my ds wasn't getting it as well as I wished. I began to look at this year as a time for us to partner together to understand things, as a year full of modeling how to listen attentively. And, I am happy to say it has worked! His comprehension has improved tenfold, as has his ability to listen attentively. I remember having to do this with my oldest ds way back when we did Beyond too, and his comprehension was so improved by the time we began Bigger Hearts. Both of my ds's are very different from one another, but these tips worked with both of them, so I think some of them should help your dd over time too!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks Julie. Those are some very good ideas that I will try! I just have to keep reminding myself that things will work out Sometimes I feel bad because I'm afraid its me not explaining it right or something, and I don't want her to fall behind on account of me. It does help to know theres others out there to give me some ideas though..lol
I have tried the last two days to space things out alittle bit more with her so the reading parts of thing are not done one right after the other, and I think thats helped a bit.
I will let you know in a couple weeks how things are going for us!
Thanks again!!

Kelly,

I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone! Charlotte Mason talked about the habit of attention constantly, and she mentioned often that it is a habit that must be cultivated like any other. It is hard work sometimes for kiddos to attend to a reading and to form the habit of listening carefully, especially when the readings aren't easy!

Just keep on going, utilizing some of the great ideas that the ladies shared. Your daughter will slowly gain more than you think! My third son is a dynamo and has a terribly hard time sitting still for any period of time. He just exudes energy every minute of the day. Yet, after going through Little Hearts and now as we're moving through Beyond, I can see that he is getting more out of the readings and learning to attend better to what I'm saying. In my mind, we're just slowly moving forward in forming the habit of attention one day at a time, and good habits can take a long time to form! So, be encouraged, you're just one in a crowd rather than alone on this one!

Blessings,
Carrie