I didn't set out to be a "Charlotte Mason Homeschooler." I'm not one of those moms who researched all the various methods before choosing the perfect one. In fact, following someone else's method of teaching goes against what I believe is one of the greatest benefits of homeschooling- education which is tailored to the needs and styles of the learners. But over time I have discovered that many of the things which I began doing simply because they worked, were things which Charlotte Mason also used. One of these things is narration.

With our large family, it has always been easier for me to teach the children as a group whenever possible. Science, geography, and history have always (up until this year) been done together. Even the toddlers sit in on these lessons. The young ones are often fidgetty and it is sometimes hard to know whether they are actually listening. In order to make sure they pay attention, I stop often to ask questions. Thus, my children end up narrating throughout the lesson. When we have finished our reading, I ask one or two of the older children to tell me what we just learned. This gives the little ones a chance to hear the material one more time (they usually listen better to brother or sister) and they often want to add their own narrations as well. Having the children do narrations offers them an opportunity for friendly competition, as everyone wants to be able to mention that one important fact that everyone else forgot.

I think the problem with using the term "narration" is that it takes something that is really very simple and makes it seem more complex. To me narration is nothing more than having a discussion about something you have learned. It is a tool for measuring learning, not a permanent record of that learning. It is a memory shared between two people, not something that must be recorded for all posterity. Most of the time I don't require a written narration, especially if the child is still learning to read and write. However, since my oldest three are working on their own this year, they have been doing more written narrations. I still feel it is my duty to respond to these narrations, to guide them with more questions if necessary. That way we can still have that "discussion", even though it is on paper rather than being spoken.

If you'd like to learn more about narration, you may be interested in reading my post titled What Is Narration?