serendipitous journey Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 (edited) -- Button doesn't seem to. I've just received an order from Sonlight, and their tips incl. to let a fidgety child color or work with blocks during reading; but Button doesn't seem to retain what I read while he's playing. Even just futzing with a Rubik's cube dropped his comprehension astonishingly. Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Maybe it depends strongly on the child? :bigear: ETA: he wasn't trying to "solve" the cube, just playing with it ... Edited December 2, 2011 by serendipitous journey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiobrain Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 It works with my kids, but maybe you need to use a less "thinky" thing. I would suggest "Thinking Putty" but I just had a glob of it get all over an antique quilt, so if you go with that... make sure it gets put away. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 It works with my kids, but maybe you need to use a less "thinky" thing. I would suggest "Thinking Putty" but I just had a glob of it get all over an antique quilt, so if you go with that... make sure it gets put away. ;) ... it's well-named for the problem! I'll give it a try, and keep it off the throws ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 My oldest doesn't. If he's doing ANYTHING but sitting and listening, he will have no clue what I just read. If he had thinking putty in his hands, he would pretend it was C4 and make it explode. :glare: So he sits with nothing to do but listen, and that works for us. I started him out on easier books to listen to, and worked our way up to harder books. Doing WWE1 also helped get him used to listening to harder works, as did Lang's Fairy Tales (good "old" language). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 I think it depends on the child. I have one child where toys or activities are typically a distraction. This is even things like coloring. Math manipulatives don't work well either. He goes off into his imagination and reminds me so much of the little boy in the movie Like Stars on Earth (see this clip starting at 2:20 minutes) My visual-spatial learner is like that, except his paper would be filled with drawings. My other son could listen and play without a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 If he had thinking putty in his hands, he would pretend it was C4 and make it explode. :glare: So he sits with nothing to do but listen, and that works for us. I started him out on easier books to listen to, and worked our way up to harder books. Doing WWE1 also helped get him used to listening to harder works, as did Lang's Fairy Tales (good "old" language). LOL - my son does things like this as well. Putty wouldn't help him think. It would distract him. He loves listening to chapter books read aloud now, but it took SO long to get him there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted December 2, 2011 Share Posted December 2, 2011 Mine do. My oldest is actually one of those kids who CANNOT retain anything unless his hands are occupied while listening. He has a special "fidget" box that comes out whenever I'm reading aloud. It has thinking putty (that PP mentioned), a bean bag, a koosh, a water ball (the kind you fill with water in the summer that are squishy), the squeezy balls from the Target $1 section, a Bakugan ball, and a bouncy hard ball. Basically a variety of textures so that no matter his sensory need, he can get it met through one of the fidgets. He is also allowed to build with legos or blocks. I notice their comprehension because it comes out in the games they play, the questions they ask, etc. Fidgets definitely improve retention here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSkiesAbove Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 The only way my daughter retains is if she is doing something else. She needs to be busy while I am reading. She has always been that way. My son is the opposite. It is the main reason I ruled out Sonlight. I felt I would have to read everything twice even on the same core. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) One would and the other most certainly doesn't. The one who doesn't is extremely imaginative and right brained. If he's doing anything (thinking putty included) his mind and imagination is fully engaged in the whatever. He really has to be sitting with me and following along with the text himself these days to engage his mind in the content. Edited December 3, 2011 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyP Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 My oldest dd(8) has to actually read along or she retains very little. My 6yo ds retains almost everything regardless of what he is doing. I definitely think it just depends on the child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
go_go_gadget Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 We haven't tried actual playing while listening, but they do very well drawing while listening to SOTW. I do require that the drawings be related to the topic, but I don't know if that really matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 My kids don't hear me reading at all if they are playing, coloring, or doing anything else besides listening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 It works very well with my dd6, but she is a very auditory learner. I cannot personally learn anything from someone reading or talking to me unless I am actively taking notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Depends on what they have in their hands. With playdough, they are supposed to build something representing what I am reading about, and they each get a minute to tell the group about it afterward. (So if we are reading about Vikings, they can build a ship, or a Viking hat or whatever.) If it is coloring, I try to have a coloring sheet that relates to what I am reading about. During reading lessons, we have toys specifically designed for fidgeting with (squeeze balls, stress balls, etc.). They keep the hands busy, but aren't interesting enough to send them off into imagination land. http://www.trainerswarehouse.com/Fiddles-Fidget-Toys/products/108/ Toys designed for use with imagination (Legos, dolls, etc.) tend to not mix well with readalouds around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiegirl Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Well, my girls listen very well while playing but my ds cannot retain anything if he is not sitting still. I think it depends on the child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Have you tried letting him follow as you read? Tag team read or him read to you. Maybe give him a goal while you read, like "Listen for the part about ___ and let me know what happen to the ___" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 DS cannot do anything or he does not comprehend/retain/hear what I'm reading. In fact, if he wants me to read something to him and he's doing something, he'll unconsciously stop what he's doing in order to listen. For instance, he keeps tricking me into reading during lunch time, but then he stops eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Elliot Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 (edited) Maybe it depends strongly on the child? Yes, I think it does depend on the child. Some of my kids can pay attention while coloring or playing, and some cannot be doing anything else at all. Edited December 3, 2011 by Luann in ID Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxbridgeacademy Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 DS used to do better with legos but he seems to have grown out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
learningmama Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 My son can play and listen, he actually does better that way. But, most kids probably would have issues with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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