When my kids were young, I tried narration in my homeschool.



But instead of working how it was supposed to, it made my oldest daughter freeze with panic. She actually started hating books she had previously loved. Read-aloud time became fraught. And the quality of her education suffered for it.



In today's episode, I'm diving deep into the Charlotte Mason (CM) idea of narration, and offering an idea for what to do if narration simply isn't a good fit for your family.



In this episode, you'll hear:



What's the goal of narration anyway?What my family does instead of narration (and we like it so! much! better!)A reminder of what we're going for (spoiler alert: narration isn't the only way to get it)



Click the play button below:







Listener Guide



Use the time stamps below to skip to any part of the podcast:



4:23What is narration, exactly?7:08Just find another tool ?10:15The students should do the thinking15:17What's the goal?16:47Open-ended questions and conversation26:14Low-quality answers30:34Re-reading is GREAT reading34:01Don't let a tool override your instincts36:07Let the kids speak







Books from this episode:




Nothing Found




Links from this episode:



RAR # 166: What's the Deal with Open-Ended QuestionsJoin RAR PremiumRAR #141: Why Re-Reading is Possibly the Best ReadingRAR #163: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind, Alan Jacobs RAR # 145: The Importance of Reading at Whim and Developing Your Own Taste, Alan Jacobs RAR Premium: Water Your Bamboo (Circle with Sarah)RAR Premium: How to Talk with Your Kids About Books (Even if you haven't read them yourself)RAR Premium: Best Tips for Talking with Your Kids About Books











What is narration, anyway?



If you’ve been in homeschooling circles for long, you’ve probably heard about narration.



Narration is a method most widely associated with 19th century British educator Charlotte Mason. Homeschoolers use Miss Mason's methods a lot, and I've gained a lot of wisdom from learning her philosophy of education.



Narration is a basic tenet of CM education, and according to CM (Charlotte Mason) methodology, it's this:



Asking a child to tell back what they just read (or what was read to them). 



Now, if narration works well for you, keep on keepin' on. You probably don't need the rest of this post. After all, I would never tell you to fix something that isn’t broken in your homeschool.



But if your experience with narration has not been all sunshiney?



??‍♀️



If your kids seem to enjoy listening to read-alouds less when they know you're going to ask for a narration?



??‍♀️



Or if you notice the quality of their listening has actually decreased?



??‍♀️



Yes, well. This post is for you. (You can listen to this post instead of read it by using the player at the top, by the way!)







What's the goal of narration?



On a broad, 30,000 foot level, the goal of narration is to help students synthesize what they've read. 



Directions for doing narration often look something like this:



Read aloud a passage to your child (or have them read it themselves)Read the passage only once; do not read it again [gasp! more on this below]Ask your child to tell back what they read/heard in their own words



Usually we’re instructed not to direct the student in their response through hints or prompts. We’re also often told that the child must do this after a single reading, as re-reading a passage is thought to diminish their habit of attention.



Oh my. I have so many opinions.



What I really want you to know is this:



Narration is not the only way.



As homeschoolers we can get a little dogmatic about our methods, and we often forget that the methods exist to make our jobs easier and more effective.



This is good news, because it means we can choose a different method if something isn't a good fit for us. 



Our methods and our curriculum are simply tools. They help us build the more beautiful thing: the educat...