Narration for Young Children

A big part of a Charlotte Mason education is narration. The idea is that when a child knows they will have to recite a story or lesson after it has been read, they will pay better attention to detail.  The process of narration also helps solidify the lesson in their memory as they work to re-tell it.

Charlotte Mason does not recommend narration before the age of 6 as it can be difficult at first and can dampen a young child's natural curiosity and love of learning.  I was noticing though, that as I read to my children, there were many times it was obvious that they weren't paying attention.  I realized that some simple narration might help so I brainstormed techniques that would be age appropriate and fun. 

Puppet Shows and Plays

The first way we have started working narration into our days is through plays and puppet shows!  They naturally tend to do this anyway, so I knew it would be something they enjoy. 

Last week they were obviously zoning out as I read to them so after I finished I suggested we do a puppet show.  Michaela, my little perfectionist gave me a look of horror and then sheepishly asked me to re-read it to her.  After a couple of readings, she finally attempted a puppet show and did so well!  I was impressed at what she was able to recall, and we will definitely be doing this more in the future as the need arises!

Journaling

We journal pretty much everything.  We found these wonderful primary composition books with space to draw on top and manuscript lines underneath.  They love to journal items they found in nature, or about what they did that day.  At this age, they basically draw everything and ask me to label it for them.  We recently started journaling their weekly bible stories as a way to help them remember them a little bit better and I am impressed by the details they remember.

Do you do narration with your young children?  Please share in the comments if you do, I'd love to get more ideas!  Thanks for reading!