from Our Story in Progress
Last night I read to my 6 year old from Winnie the Pooh. He chose the story "Eyeore loses his Tail." After we finished we got my narration cubes out. First he rolled characters so I had him name all the characters in the story we read. Then he rolled connections. I asked him what were some things he was reminded of while we were reading. Since Owl had taken Eyeore's tail and used it as a bell pull, mistakenly of course, Ben and I were reminded of the bell pull from The Wizard of Oz. Then he rolled on N which meant we could be creative. So I had him take his stuffed animals and create his own version of the story. He called it "Rabbit loses his Tail."
We had such a fun night! I love nights like that!
This product is a companion to Narration in a Jar. Included is a picture study cube with three levels of play, three levels of color-coded activity strips and a booklet to help guide through implementing picture study in your home.
We must trust that his mind is capable of dealing with the nutrition it needs by itself. Charlotte Mason Vol. 1 in Modern English
Today I was reading from Home Education by Charlotte Mason on narration and decided this was a great place to "think out loud." Charlotte speaks of how natural narration is to children. There is nothing that needs to be taught to the child. It is us, the parent, that must be taught to not only allow the child to narrate but also to enjoy the child's narration. It is simply not enough for us to add a smile or an occasional "uh-huh." We are to be engaged in their storytelling. She also speaks of the rich literary diet a child must feast upon. It is our duty to supply a well-balanced diet. (I could write a whole blog post on that but I will save it for another time.) It is the act of narration that creates ownership of the knowledge presented. I have seen this in my own life as I have journeyed down this "new" education. Narration also is as unique and individual as our children. It is not our job to interfere or correct but rather to allow the process to happen. We must trust that when feasting on a rich diet and then digesting it through narration the child will nourish itself.
Quick Tips for Narration:
- Read only an episode at a time
- Spend only a few moments reviewing what was previously read but jump right in to reading
- Do not correct the child while narrating
- Multiple children can take turns narrating
