Paying Attention

I always let my kids draw, do handiwork or play with legos while I read aloud. My son graduated year before last so it’s just my daughter and myself now. She’s in 7th grade and still prefers to have something to do with her hands while I read. I’ve always allowed it because I personally, listen better when I am doing something instead of just sitting still. When I listen to an audio book or a sermon, I clean or walk or do needlework. I never just sit still with my hands in my lap and listen so I don’t expect my children to.

My dd MUST have something to do with her hands/body while she’s listening or she just can’t give a narration. Usually this is play dough or putty or even a stuffed animal. She can give spot-on narrations if I allow her to listen this way. It took longer than I care to admit of me insisting that she sit perfectly still while I read. Then we would both be frustrated when she didn’t give a good narration. I still get somewhat distracted by her quiet play while I read, but I have to remind myself that she is her own person and I need to respect how she learns. 

My ds, on the other hand, can sit perfectly still and listen and then give great narrations. My children are COMPLETE opposites, however. He doesn’t need the movement; she does. As long as she’s not making a bunch of noise or distracting him in any way, I let her move around/fidget as necessary and trust that she’s really paying attention.

Her biggest obstacle when it comes to attention is when she’s given a task. She gets distracted very easily. For example, this morning she went into her bathroom to brush her teeth, but her brother’s ninja sword was lying on a chair on the way. She started playing with it, and I had to get her back on track. When I asked her why she was playing with the sword instead of brushing her teeth, her honest reply was, “I got distracted.” She’s my stop-to-smell-the-roses child. 😉

My daughter lays on the floor with her legs in the air and moves them like she is riding a bicycle! This is her go to position when I am reading out loud. She needs the movement. She will hang upside down off the couch too. She dresses her doll in different outfits and she builds with legos. She never looks like she even has a clue that school is going on, but when she narrates it is outstanding and the connections she makes or her view or take on a reading is uaully very insightful, so I have no problem with her doing these things. Now, when we do work that require writing, then I require her to sit still, proper,  and give me her best efforts.

My son usually takes his lego people and acts out the reading with them on the coffee table. Otherwise he sits beside me and follows along in the book. I have noticed though that when he sits and follows alaong is when he usually starts day dreaming! 

I have often worried that I was enabling bad habits, but I do not want to raise kids under the sit down, shut up and listen style of PS. I want my kids to ask those questions and think outside of the box and not be sheeple so we are not prim and proper we are whatever gets the job done people. LOL  HTH

Handwriting/copywork, coloring, playing with blocks, etc.  Even my 12YO, except for when he is taking notes for science.

My daughter is the same way. If she is in the mood to color & I have a coloring page that’s relevant to what I’m reading then I let her color. (Very easy to find relevant coloring pages for Bible lessons online). She can move around as long as she does so quietly and not right next to me on the couch. I simply can’t focus on what I’m reading if she is making noise or bumping into me. I also have a 2 yr old son so, I often feel like I’m homeschooling an only child. She seems to listen the best and absorb the most when she colors while I read. Play dough is a no-go because she does not like getting it under her nails. I like the Lego and dressing dolls ideas! I might give those a try to change things up.