Thoughts on Attentiveness
If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent. -Isaac Newton
In the book Laying Down the Rails, Sonya Shafer summarizes all of Charlotte Mason's thoughts on attentiveness. These are applied in the homeschool setting for older children, however, the principles span all ages and can be encouraged in younger children.
The main idea of attentiveness is that it is a natural capacity that children can learn very early, yet if not cultivated leads to trouble in focusing all through life. I can see how our culture does not value or prioritize focused attention on anything and we live constantly allowing ourselves to be distracted and letting our minds wander from thing to thing. Doing everything half-heartedly while justifying by saying that we are multitasking. At the end of the day we are left exhausted and unfulfilled with work half-finished and no memory of what we started the day reading. I would like to cultivate attentiveness in my children and in my own life as well.
To begin, there must be a set time limit on lessons. We must not repeat ourselves or allow our minds to think that a summary or review will follow, but require accurate recollection with the first hearing (reading). Also, with the children especially, the mind must be challenged to linger on an object longer than is natural and to be presented with things of interest. Essentially, if a book or story is beyond our mental capabilities it is very hard to pay good attention. With small children, attentiveness can be taught by challenging them to linger longer on something than is natural. An example from the book: A toddler picks a daisy and within a minute is ready to discard it for a buttercup. The mother, however, can step in and say "look how the daisy has a large yellow eye with white lashes. It gazes at the sun all day long, that is where it get's it's name, day's-eye. What do you think it does at night? It closes it's eyes just like little boys and girls." The little one has focused on the object of interest longer than is natural and is trained to pay attention and study, without any pain or discipline required. The daisy has become prized and valuable just because of a little attention. Also, training our children to accomplish tasks in a set time limit is important. Little kids should not be allowed to goof around when it is time to put on outdoor clothing, or come to dinner, etc. They should be required to obey on first command without asking "what did you say" or "just a minute" and they should be trained in the importance of good time management by giving positive rewards. Example, The quicker we get our jackets on, the more time we will have to play outside. Children begin to associate their promptness with reward and also learn a sense of order and timeliness.
Questions to ask about Attentiveness
In the book Laying Down the Rails, Sonya Shafer summarizes all of Charlotte Mason's thoughts on attentiveness. These are applied in the homeschool setting for older children, however, the principles span all ages and can be encouraged in younger children.
The main idea of attentiveness is that it is a natural capacity that children can learn very early, yet if not cultivated leads to trouble in focusing all through life. I can see how our culture does not value or prioritize focused attention on anything and we live constantly allowing ourselves to be distracted and letting our minds wander from thing to thing. Doing everything half-heartedly while justifying by saying that we are multitasking. At the end of the day we are left exhausted and unfulfilled with work half-finished and no memory of what we started the day reading. I would like to cultivate attentiveness in my children and in my own life as well.
To begin, there must be a set time limit on lessons. We must not repeat ourselves or allow our minds to think that a summary or review will follow, but require accurate recollection with the first hearing (reading). Also, with the children especially, the mind must be challenged to linger on an object longer than is natural and to be presented with things of interest. Essentially, if a book or story is beyond our mental capabilities it is very hard to pay good attention. With small children, attentiveness can be taught by challenging them to linger longer on something than is natural. An example from the book: A toddler picks a daisy and within a minute is ready to discard it for a buttercup. The mother, however, can step in and say "look how the daisy has a large yellow eye with white lashes. It gazes at the sun all day long, that is where it get's it's name, day's-eye. What do you think it does at night? It closes it's eyes just like little boys and girls." The little one has focused on the object of interest longer than is natural and is trained to pay attention and study, without any pain or discipline required. The daisy has become prized and valuable just because of a little attention. Also, training our children to accomplish tasks in a set time limit is important. Little kids should not be allowed to goof around when it is time to put on outdoor clothing, or come to dinner, etc. They should be required to obey on first command without asking "what did you say" or "just a minute" and they should be trained in the importance of good time management by giving positive rewards. Example, The quicker we get our jackets on, the more time we will have to play outside. Children begin to associate their promptness with reward and also learn a sense of order and timeliness.
Questions to ask about Attentiveness
- Am I working on the habit of attentiveness as a top priority?
- Is my child working toward making proper associations without letting those associative thoughts control him?
- Do I have my child's attention during homeschool lessons?
- Am I encouraging my child to look at an object longer than is his natural inclination?
- Do I sometimes play "what do you see" with my child?
- Am I learning to pu8t aside any lesson that my child is dawdling over, provide a change of pace, then return and attempt to make it bright and pleasant?
- Do I try to vary the day's lessons and encourage my child's desire for knowledge?
- Are our lessons short with a definite time-table scheduled?
- Am I progressing in using natural consequences to motivate my child?
- Do I emphasize conduct and character over cleverness?
- Am I mistakenly excusing my child's in attentiveness as lack of ability instead of treating it as a bad habit?
- Am I helping my older child learn how to fix his thoughts on the matter at hand?
- Am I careful to avoid things that might encourage inattentiveness in my child?
- Have I been expecting too much work or too difficult of work from my child?
- Do I require any homework to be done within a set time?
- Do I require my child to narrate after a single reading?
- Am I trying to use the time-table idea and antural consequences with every day activities?
- Is my child making progress toward not being bored constantly?
- Am I trying to use good books and minimal oral teaching in lessons?
- Am I modeling a lifelong habit of study and learning?
gotta go, Ana's awake!
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