Have you ever had a child for whom CM did not work?

I’ve talked to a couple moms who said CM didn’t work for their children. Those were cases of switching from other methods but not giving it much of a chance. In one instance I think she tried it for only a week. Learning to narrate and develop the habit of attention can take some time, especially for an older child who hasn’t been brought up that way from the beginning. We’ve heard plenty of good reports of the benefits from those who have stuck with it, though.

My experience is exactly as Doug and Robin stated.  I was so tempted to give in and choose a different path on many occassions when we first started CM.   I wanted what most of us want;  instantaneous results.  But I’m so glad we persevered.  One of our children (age 10 at the time) actually pleaded with us to give him a textbook instead of reading living books with narration.  I was perplexed because textbooks are so boring to me.  Why would a child ask for a textbook?  Because it’s easier.  I agree with Robin;  take baby steps and focus on any progress you make however small it may seem. 

Blessings

Hi Robin,

I think you’ve posed a very interesting question.

I too wondered if CMs methods — which work so well with my first child –would work with my second who is so much different. Happily, the more I researched and used CMs gentle approach, I found my children and I were stretched in different areas but never pushed to the panic-zone.  Her methods are multi-faceted and rely as much on the formation of character as they do on living books and narration.

Do let us know more about what you are experiencing with your child.  Maybe we can be of some help.

Peace to you!

Richele

CM also requires the child to think!  And that’s HARD!    In so many curricula, the thinking is done for the child.

I agree with RobinP – this is what my boys found the hardest last year when we started narrations. They were 11 yo and definitely not used to having to pay attention that well in order to be able to narrate. They would much rather do some fill-in-the-blank or multiple choice worksheet associated with what we (or they) were reading! I have many times had to tell them that what I am asking them to do isn’t comfortable for them yet because it requires them to think about something before responding and they aren’t used to having to do that! And they are lazy by nature and don’t WANT to have to put forth that mental energy to do the thinkging.

Now, even though they still at times utter low groans when they have to narrate, especially if we haven’t done much of it lately (like taking a summer break), they love that we have moved to living books instead of textbooks. They really didn’t understand what textbooks were that much before as we never have really used a lot of them, but now that they are in middle school and would normally be using MORE textbooks than ever before, they see how much more interesting living books are to read. And what they don’t quite get yet is that they are retaining so much more about the time periods and events we are studying BECAUSE the book is more interesting to start with! Add to that the narration, and they just don’t yet realize how much they are learning! It does take time to see the results, but it makes so much more sense!