Concerned..any thoughts?

[Rachelle]

I've got two newly six year olds and we started LHFHG this week after finishing LHTH.

One of them isn't doing so great with the discussion questions/activities at the end of Reddy Fox. I'm a worrier by nature and I've always worried about him particularly. He's probably ADHD-Inattentive and likely that's part of this but he is sitting there listening. But he seems to get caught up on a certain detail and doesn't see the over-all story line if that makes sense. Today after reading the chapter about Farmer Brown's boy waiting with a gun for Reddy all he seemed to remember was that there was a gun. He didn't even seem to realize that Farmer Brown's boy had it and I had to prompt him to realize Reddy was in danger. Ugh. Any thoughts or suggestions to work on this?
His twin (fraternal) is great at all this which makes me more worried.

[happy@home]

I wouldn't worry just yet!! It takes some time for some children (my own included) to get used to books without pictures and the Burgess books take some time to get used to! But they are wonderful stories!!

We are using LHFHG too! Yesterday we were reading about Buster Bear and Little Joe Otter in Unit 25. Buster Bear "stole" a fish from Little Joe Otter who in turn frightened the fish and muddied the water in the Laughing Brook so as to spoil Buster Bear's fishing. When Buster Bear went fishing the next day, Little Joe Otter tried the same trick. But Buster Bear was smarter and just moved to the bottom of the Laughing Brook!! My ds (who was 7 in October) just couldn't figure out why Buster Bear went to the bottom of the Laughing Brook. I had to physically act out that part (TWICE) before my ds realized that was where all the fish had gone! He normally does much better though.

If your ds is being still and listening, he is doing GREAT in my opinion. I still have problems sometimes getting my wiggly 7 year old to be still!!

One thing that my dc really like, and you may already be doing, is I change my voice and facial expressions as I read to them which sometimes helps them to realize more!!

I know you will get more advice & reassurance!! I have a hard time "typing" what I want to get across! Hope this helps!! You're doing great!!

[christyg]

Hi Rachelle!
I have a 6 1/2 year old daughter in Little Hearts this year too. We have never taken her to the doctor and had her diagnosed, but feel pretty sure that she would be labeled ADHD if she were in public school. We have had the same problem this year with the storytime part. But, I am not going to worry about and I don't think that you should either. I was given some good advice from the ladies on this board that this is a skill that they WILL learn. My daughter had a lot of trouble with Reddy Fox and a lot of days I would wind up having to do a lot of extra explaining. But, we are now in Chatterer the Red Squirrel and she is doing better. So, I can see some improvement. We are just going to keep plugging away at it and hopefully we will have that day soon when it just clicks.

The only advice that I have is this: 1) We ordered a Dover coloring book called "Meet Peter Cottontail" from Amazon (super cheap). It has a picture of most of Burgess' characters in it. Every time that we start a new book, I have her to color the page with the main character from the book. Then, as we are reading the book, if we come to a character that is new, we flip over to the picture of that character and she can look at it or color it while I am reading to her. 2) I usually try to do funny voices and animate the story as much as possible. and 3) We have to make sure to do all of her schoolwork in the mornings, first thing, while she is fresh. Sometimes, we have to do school later in the day depending on what our schedule is. And, that usually leads to a meltdown. I have always liked to do my grocery shopping and errands first thing in the morning (to avoid crowds and because the kiddos were usually in a better mood), but now we have changed our schedule to get school done first and then go out. You just have to find whatever works for you, and go with it.

I hope that this helps,
Christy

[mariaw]

For my wiggy, low-focusing ds, I give him hexabits to mess around with while I read (www.hexabits.com). That seems to really help. I will say, though, to just remember that the purpose of a curriculum is to grow in skills, not to be perfect at them right away (I forget this often!!). So give it time, and you may notice that his attention span gets longer and longer. We're into the 3rd Thornton Burgess book in LHFHG now, and I can say that it has definitely improved for us. They are really starting to get into the stories more, too, because they are getting to know the different characters better.

[mariaw]

Oops, after checking the website, I noticed that they've changed the name to "puzzibits." So here's the correct website: http://www.puzzibits.com/

[Jennifer]

I have a very active 7 year old boy. Sometimes it seems his eyes glaze over when I read. I just keep reading and sometimes he does only pull one detail from the story, sometimes more. However, I am noticing he using lots of the vocab from the story and will remember details while playing later in the day. Even though it seems he is just not getting it, he is getting more than I think.

[michmcl]

I have a son who we had diagnosed at 9 yrs old with ADHD- I was always concerned about him- I think that's what us moms do! He is now 10 we are doing PHFHG this year- and sometimes I wonder if he has heard a thing I have read- he is looking around, etc. but he is answering the questions and comprehending- even though outwardly it doesn't look like he is paying attention. This is the first year he is doing this- so don't be discouraged.

So far I have learned that every kid learns different, some take longer to "get it" but they do get it- unless there are severe learning problems- which it doesn't sound like it with your child- I think boys like to move, like action, and don't like to sit and listen- at least not for a long period of time ( I have 3 boys and this has been my experience:-) ) I have found if I let them build with blocks or legos quietly that they listen and are doing something at the same time.

One last thing- with my middle son we have figured out he is a right brain learner ( 48% of all people are ) so he learns differently and we adjust to that- so just keep in mind that we all learn differently and that's the best thing about homeschool- we can cater to our kids learning styles! Be encouraged!!! (sorry if this was so long!)

[ncmomof5]

I wanted to say thanks to all of you who have replied on this thread. It has been an encouragement to hear how your little ones have "grown with the guide". I, too, am starting out with a little guy who doesn't seem to be getting much out of the reading, and it is so tempting to think, "This isn't sticking, let's drop it." But thankfully, I am beginning to see that some things just take time to develop.
Also, Rachelle, don't worry if one of the boys is getting it and the other isn't. My 2 oldest are 16 months apart, and in a lot of ways the 10 yo catches onto things more quickly and easily than the 11 yo does. But then again, the 11 yo is more disciplined, consistent, organized and has MUCH better handwriting. Go figure!! Sometimes I wish I could rub them together and have them rub off on each other.
Oh well, hang in there! Your little guy will get there, just like mine will. We just gotta keep keepin' on.

In His love,
RuthAnn

PS. Well said michmcl!!

[DHT1999]

Rachelle, I am using Little Hearts with my 2nd grader. He was already a very mature listener before we started Little Hearts. But, he has still had to learn how to pick out the important things in a story to tell back. Eventually, Little Hearts will guide you in helping your child to tell something from the beginning of the story, something from the middle, and then something from the end. It is a skill that will be developed through the whole program. Reddy Fox seemed, for us, to be a little more difficult than the other books. I myself had some difficulty following the story and not letting my mind wander. Soon, the Little Heart guide will have you modeling the narration for your children. That's when I realized just how hard it can be! And, we are not at all new to narration. But, when it came time for me to do it myself... well, I had a lot more appreciation for how difficult it can be for the children.

Every child is different but I think all can learn to narrate. It takes time and practice. Little Hearts will guide you in that process as you progress through the year. I eventually began to just trust the guide and do what it was instructing us to do without making it more complicated or adding any more requirements. The guide covers what you need but it does so gradually. It becomes second-nature. It is perfectly acceptable for your child to make their connections to various parts of the stories. I know the gun episode made an impression on my son, too!! He acted that one out and just loved it but he did definately focus in on The Gun more than other details. That is fine! As you go along, you will eventually guide your children in picking out certain things.

[water2wine]

Just wanted to encourage you too that we found narration is definitely a learned skill. It's worth taking the time to learn it but not unusual I think for it to take some time. I worked slowly with my children starting a few sentences then working up to a paragraph and so on. That really worked well for us. I would say step back a little and maybe focus on littler chunks to learn the skill. Hang in there! It is so worth it!