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Hello! I have a question about the Burgess books and some struggle we are having with them. I am doing LHFHG with my almost 6yo son. In almost every other subject/activity I do with him, he can narrate back to me what I've read to him with very little difficulty. But when it comes to these read alouds, it never fails, he cannot answer one question regarding the reading accurately. It's almost like his brain steps out for lunch as soon as we open the book. :~) I don't understand it. I'm wondering if it's the language and the older words that aren't as familiar, but even when I try to rephrase things, he has no clue what was just read. It's only 2 pages but you'd think we'd have been reading for 2 hours. He really does not enjoy them. We are only a little ways into the 2nd book and I just can't imagine making it through the next 6 like this. I love the books as do my other children and I really love reading them in a super animated way with different funny voices for each of the characters (my favorite is Ol' mistuh buzzard) but that seems to make no difference either. Btw, he is a very, very verbal child and was carrying on verbal conversations with people before he could even walk which is why I tend not to think it's the language of it. Any thoughts/ ideas/ suggestions?

Even though the chapters are really short, have you tried to paraphrase after ever few sentences instead? I did this often with my son who was 6 yo last year when we went through LHFHG & the Burgess books. It really helped him understand them a lot better.

I also let him play with his Legos or draw while I read - he seemed to listen more intently if his hands were busy.

I think that the Burgess books are important, for they begin to teach dc to listen to books that require more attentive concentration. I believe your ds is showing a need for that skill to be developed, as my dc did too at the start of the Burgess books. I remember one of my dc not realizing there were 2 foxes in "Reddy Fox" even when we were almost to the end of the book. I believe he asked why Reddy Fox was wearing a skirt or something. I remember saying none too patiently, "Because that's not Reddy Fox, that's Granny Fox!" And he said, "There are TWO foxes in this book?" However, this just made me realize we had to work on this skill more, a lot more.

Charlotte Mason style books often do take more focused listening if they are read alouds, but also more focused reading when they become independent reading. I have come to believe it is because many of us didn't grow up hearing CM style living books, and many of the books our dc have been exposed to are not very CM-like either. I used to teach ps, and it's been funny how over the years of homeschooling those ps books get read less and less and less. My dc have learned to identify living books better than I have, it would seem. Little by little, I've gotten rid of most of those ps books, and gradually replaced them with CM style living books.

I just want to encourage you that many of CM-style skills take quite awhile for dc to become proficient at - like oral narration, dictation, and written narration, to name a few. The reason they take awhile is because they are worthy of being learned, and they take some focus and concentration to do. So, a few things that helped me with my ds growing into listening carefully while I was reading more CM-style, timeless, kind of books...
- Give a brief review what happened last time (i.e. Last time Buster Bear got his head stuck in the bucket. Oh, my what a mess he got himself into over those fish!) Showing an accompanying picture if there happened to be one is a good idea too.
- Then spark their interest by giving them a cliffhanger (i.e. Do you think he will ever get his head out of that bucket? I wonder what everyone else will do when they see him stuck in that bucket? Let's read and see what happens next!)
- Remind him to listen carefully because you will be asking some questions.
- If he doesn't have a clue what you read, tell him the goal is for him to listen carefully so he can enjoy the story, and then answer questions about it to show he understood it. His answers show you whether he understands the story, so you'll read it again today, but really you are just supposed to have to read it the one time for him. Today will be a practice to learn how to listen carefully.
- If he is still struggling after this, I'd read the one page. Turn over the book and give a quick summary of what's happened, again giving him something to listen for... (i.e. Well, everyone is laughing at that Buster Bear now! I feel so sorry for him - can you imagine how embarrassed he must be? I bet he's wishing he'd been nicer to the other animals. Let's keep reading to see if he ever gets this bucket off or not!)

I hope something helps here, but here is a past post that should give encouragement too:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=126&p=512

In Christ,
Julie

I have to agree with Julie. My dd didn't really get what was going on in the Burgess books at first and we had to really work and getting the skill down. Now she is giggling and carrying on during the stories because she is GETTING IT, kwim? I found if I stopped during the story and asked a simple question instead of waiting until the end of the chapter I could keep her engaged and understanding. Like with Reddy Fox - when Reddy was running the bridge I asked, "Why is he running?" "What is he running on?" "What might he run into on that bridge?" "Who taught him to run across the bridge" those kinds of simple fact questions sprinkled in here and there, and that helped her train a bit to listen for details and to play the story out in her head (vs visually like most picture books) Now she loves audio books, read alouds so much better because she is able to follow the story in her mind. Hang in there.

4therace,

You've already received such wise counsel, so I'll just paste my response from a previous thread that may help encourage you to continue on with them.

I'm so glad that you are getting a chance to use and enjoy Little Hearts! Don't get too worried about your little honey not seeming to love Thornton Burgess right now, just keep going and give it time. I'll link you to a past thread that will really encourage you in this area. Make sure you read the thread to the end, as Dorla had the same question, and it's great that she checked in to update the thread 4 months later.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=126

Another fun thing is that many of the ladies who posted on the thread that I linked above have now enjoyed going through the Burgess books too and have moved onto the next HOD programs. It is definitely a growing experience and one that will help mature your child as a listener, which is such a necessary skill.

Blessings,
Carrie