Help with narration

[JenniferM]

We just finished our first week with Bigger. This is my first experience with homeschooling and it went well overall. However, my son really struggles with narration. Mostly it consists of "ummm" and "I forgot." I prompt him with lots of questions but usually he just gives me blank stares. He is a great reader and likes to read the stories so I don't know what is going on. Is this just normal for a 7 year old boy? If we watch a movie he can usually tell me every detail about it.

Any tips are appreciated.

[Jennifer-Anne]

I am not sure I have any great tips but we are on week 11 of Bigger and My 7 year old daughter seems to be really catching on to the idea of narrating. I think like anything it just takes practice. Be sure to read the narrating tips in the manual. I have read that page about a billion times reminding my children and myself what a true narration should look and sound like.

[Jennifer-Anne]

I am not sure I have any great tips but we are on week 11 of Bigger and My 7 year old daughter seems to be really catching on to the idea of narrating. I think like anything it just takes practice. Be sure to read the narrating tips in the manual. I have read that page about a billion times reminding my children and myself what a true narration should look and sound like.

[tpschettle]

Hi, Jeenifer!

Take heart! A month ago, I was as concerned as you and posted about it.

We are on week 5 now. Ds stunned me with practically a word-for-word narration on Henry Hudson last week.

What has helped?

1. Small chunks. We usually divide storytime into scenes and narrate one before reading the next.. (This worked well in Ben & Me.). We do history in 2-paragraph sections right now. I can read the whole science assignment & he remembers almost all the animals we covered, giving a sentence or two about each.

2. Stop translating hard sentences and let him figure it out. This is really hard for me!

3. Modeling. Usually, if I get the narration started and hand him the "I need a little help" card, he can pick up the narration just fine. We sometimes use it like a game/quiz. I'll stop mid-sentence before some important fact I want to see if he remembers. He'll fill in the blank, continue with the narration, and stop mid-sentence before the next important fact. Then he hands me the card to see if I remember.

My oldest son was a real reader. Still is. He gobbles books up in one sitting. But I discovered he doesn't retain many details. Narrating forces him to do something he doesn't do naturally. It takes practice.

Stick with it! You're doing fine!

God bless!