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literature??
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Ok so I am fasting from the computer this week (for the most part) but I have a quick question?
We just got the Chronicles of Narnia set in the mail yesterday afternoon. And my son already read the Magician’s Nephew. All of it! I had to check to make sure it wasn’t an abridged version but it’s not..so what do I do with that?
I have it scheduled for his literature for the month of June. And I was planning on having him narrate some chapters to me bit by bit..well he narrated some last night and then some just now..but that is not what I was expecting.
I know he didn’t “get all” of the book by reading it that fast. So what am I suppose to do with that? I know he enjoyed it a lot!!! Every so often he would stop and tell me what was going on and I would hear these shouts of glee or shouts of “WHATTT!” as he was reading. BUT how am I suppose to use these as his literature for the year if he is going to read them in two days?
How do you guys handle this problem? Oh by the way ds is 8.5 yrs old. so any suggestions for this age of how to handle this would be helpful.
Shelly
How about having him write up a short narration of his favorite part (or two, or whatever) and perfect that? Maybe he could do something else as well (costume, picture, dramatization). Then move on and rejoice that he is a strong reader at such a young age. I know, we think, “But I bought that for…” It doesn’t always work out that way. Another reason to rejoice: you spent money on something he really is enjoying and will likely reread, instead of on something he’ll suffer through and never pick up again.
Wow! He really devoured it! I agree with Cindy about trying to stretch it with some alternative narrating (writing, drawing, drama, etc). He is one voracious reader!
Rachel 😀
He is a voracious reader!! I’m glad but I don’t know how to “deal” with it in an educational manner.
Do I just have a lot of books in mind to schedule whenever he finishes one. Up to this point I haven’t scheduled any of his reading, since he reads so much anyway. BUT this year I wanted to challenge him by assigning him books to read.
I doubt that he will read all of the books that I have in mind this fast.
Cindy and Rachel thank you for all the good suggestions for narration. If anyone else has suggestions about scheduling and such I’m all ears. 🙂
Shelly
A book like that is tempting to devour, but it’s also one that is likely to be read many times over the course of many years. Sometimes we need to make exceptions to our scheduling plans, and this sounds like one of them.
I agree with others – perhaps some more challenging narrations would make the book last the month of June. After reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, my oldest child made a board game based on the book. It look a while to make the game board, come up with rules, and make all the pieces to go with it.
In the future, perhaps explain why you want certain books to take a long time to read and ask for cooperation in advance.
Isn’t it wonderful to have this “problem”?!?! Things are going well!
I, too, have a voracious reader, and I deal with this problem by assigning specific chapters on specific days with narration to be done before continuing on. I also have plenty of free-reading books that she can read on her own when done with the assigned reading. Sometimes I have her read aloud to me in order to make it last a little longer, too. But, when kids are enjoying something, it’s hard to tell them to stop! I like the idea of an in-depth narration, like a play or board game. Maybe even a cool art project that would take a couple days. He could narrate more of the book to you as he’s working on it.
Always remember, that having a child who loves to read is a gift, not a burden! (I have to tell myself this all the time when my plans don’t “match” my daughter’s!)
Faith 🙂
Thanks for the encouragement everyone.
DS is half way through the third book now. And all I keep hearing is “MOM, I love these books!!!”. I have had more spontanious narrations in the past two days then in the whole two years since starting narrations.
I am thankful for the encouragement to start the Narnia series but I think YOU GUYS have created a monster. 😀
I will plan some other good literature books for his assigned reading…he is having to much fun reading these to put them on a schedule and make him slow down.
Thanks again,
Shelly
If you are concerned about his going through all of his “school” books so quickly here is what I would do.
I would have 2 shelves on the bookshelf. One with his “school” books and one with free reading. Let him know he is welcome to read and all books on the free reading shelf as quickly as he wants. But, the “school” shelf is off limits except for what is on his schedule. Make sure you have lots of great books on his free reading shelf and that you keep it rotated with new books.
It is important the he reads some books slowly but of course you have to choose which ones those will be and give him others to devour. What a great problem to have to deal with.
Thanks Shanna that is a great idea. DS is on into the 4th book but he was upset that he HAD to leave the books at home when we went camping this past weekend…he loves to camp but he wanted to take the books along too. I thought this was a good way of prolonging the books…MAKING him leave them at home and not pick one up for 5 days has slowed him down.
Shelly
Ok GOD really knows I need to laugh right now..because as I was writing another post that made me laugh my DS comes in behind me and says…”Not bad for Prince Caspian” and I turn around to see him dressed in his Knight dress up stuff holding a sword and shield and grinning from ear to ear.
Can I count that as a narration? 😀
Shelly
that is very funny – my 3 boys have really been into knights lately – my two 2yos don’t speak very well but manage to say “high-ya” very clearly 🙂 you gotta love dress-up clothes! sometimes their get-up can really cheer things up.
I remember when I was doing a lot of classical education with my older children. I went to listen to Susan Wise Bauer as she spoke on literature and writing. One thing I have always loved and treasured is when she said “some books are just too GOOD to do literature studies on” . Her main point was that if it is good literature, and your child is loving it (as yours obviously is) then just let them enjoy it for its own sake and come up with their own spontaneous narrations. I have done this with certain series and always been blessed by how much my kids just loved the books-truly a lifelong relationship. For my eldest and second sons it was Lord of the Rings and for my eldest daughter it was Anne of Green Gables. She even took her annotated Anne with her when she got married! For my youngest dd (9) she has loved Little Women and now is totally trapped in the Anne books just like her big sister. I know that no amount of analyzing or directed narration or even dictation can possibly do what just reading and loving these books has done for my kids. I even sold my unused Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings for that reason, and I haven’t been sorry:) There are plenty of good, lovely books out there, but only a few will our kids fall deeply in love with and I now know its ok to just let that happen-I have enjoyed watching it over the years.
Heidi in BC
Is anyone having their child read The Little Peppers books? Just curious to know how they are and if they’re age appropriate.
I like the many ideas on this post. I have the same problem with my 12 yr old dd. As a matter of fact, she’s read most of the books I have purchased for our home library this past year and all of the Christian biographies I purchased for the new school year. I pulled out a book for our family reading this morning and she mentioned that she already read it. Oh well!
We just finished book three of the Kingdom Series and they love it! My 10 yr old dd that dreads to read was very sad that it came to an end. She begged me to order books four through six immediately. Since we listen to the audio set (love the British accent!!), I have to wait and see if we have the funds.
As for the Little Peppers books, my 12 yr old dd read the first book at the beginning of the school year and she liked it. She said it was an easy read. AO recommends the first book in yr 2.
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