9yo daughter and shoddy narrations

It sounds a little to me as though she just doesn’t want to write anything detailed about it because she doesn’t like it. That, to me, is rather rebellious. If you are not sure you have explained your expectations to her clearly, I would sit down and tell her what you want to see in her narrations. Perhaps you could even give a bit of a narration just like you wrote in your post so she can see what it would be like even with only a few details.

If you have read better narrations from her before this, I would be firm with her that shoddy narrations born out of a dislike for the book are unacceptable. Give her consequences for this lack of effort (ex: if you write one sentence and tell me ‘nothing else happened,’ you will have to copy the entire page where you started reading today) so she’ll know that you will not accept substandard narrations.

As far as a sheet asking about conflicts and resolutions, I’d avoid doing that at this age. I assume she is just beginning to narrate in writing, so she needs time to just get used to putting what she remembers down on paper. And Charlotte Mason encouraged parents & teachers to allow children to make their own connections while reading. The deeper details will come later as she practices written narration.

Maybe it is difficult for her to narrate because she is just not connecting with the story. If that’s the case, maybe she could use an index card as a bookmark and use the index card to jot down a few words or phrases that will serve to jog her memory when she does narrate back to you.

Also, I’m not familiar with the book, but is it possible that it is slightly above her reading comprehension? If it is a book that is challenging for her and a subject she just doesn’t like, I can only imagine her difficulty!

For my ds9.5, who is a great narrator but hates dictation, I have to tell him that there are always going to be things in life you don’t like doing or don’t enjoy but have to do anyway. I don’t expect my children to love everything we do. As they get older, things are getting harder and taking longer, and I understand that they don’t like this or that because sometimes I don’t like such and such. BUT, I believe Charlotte would have wanted the child to learn to persevere with diligence and give their best effort so that they can get it over with. Perhaps you could explain this to your dd.

Also, begin working on the habits of diligence, mental effort, and fortitude. I highly recommend Laying Down the Rails and Laying Down the Rails for Children.

And like someone else mentioned, she just may not have formed a connection with the book. Can she narrate other books well and with energy or excitement? Have you tried having her narrate from your literature or science readings? If doing an oral narration, can you help her by writing a few key words or people down? Charlotte called that “little hooks on which to hang their narrations”. Also, do explain to her what you expect; but also expect that it will take her time to meet your expectations if narration is a new skill for her. We’ve been narrating from the beginning with my dd8 (over 2 years now), but this year she is FINALLY giving good narrations.

At the SCM JAX Conference I attended recently, we, the mothers, were put into a CM Morning of Studies, and asked to give both oral and written narrations. Let me tell you, it wasn’t as easy as we thought it would be! Narrating is hard, especially if the child feels pressure that they’re not doing “enough”.

Blessings,

Lindsey 

I would recommend two things. First you pre-read the chapter or book and you make note of any words that may trouble her or that warrant special attention. Then BEFORE she reads the chapter, show her the list and very briefly go over it orally. This gives her some mental hooks for her reading. The second thing is habit training, actually I should have made this the first thing, it sounds like she’s developed a bit of an attitude that she only wants to do or read what she chooses. I would nip this in the bud right quick. Lindsey is right, we all have to do things we don’t like. On last thing, does she read twaddle? If so, that is another problem. Often times kids who like to read, but who are used to twaddle, find the mental effort too much for real, living books. I suggest this only because she is disliking some rather good books and your mention of required reading.

Warmly, Christie

I am an up front kinda person, so with my kids, I call it like I see it. 

So I would say something like – Honey, that was a pretty blah narration of this book. Do you think you did the best you could?

If she answers No, then let her know that sub standard work isn’t ok and have consequence.

If she answers yes, then ask if she feels it is so blah because she doesn’t like the story or because it was too hard to understand.

If she answers that it was boring or she doesn’t like it, then again sub standard work, assignment didn’t say narrate story only if you liked it, LOL, so consequence.

If she answers too hard to understand, then I would read it together and have her try again after discussion. 

Just how I roll here….with my whopping less than a year experience. I have been having my kids narrate a passage from stories I read to them since they were 3 and had no idea it had a name until this past year. LOL I guess I’m a born home schooler and have just found my calling. 

Canning and reading??! Where do you find the time, LOL!