ARGH! My ds does not like to talk about literature with me!

[Hoggirl]

I am so frustrated. We recently started Literary Lessons from Lord of the Rings. He does not want to stop at the end of every chapter and do the discussion questions/read the notes. He just wants to read the book without interruption! I don't want to kill his joy of reading, but at some point in his life (perhaps not today) he HAS to do this! I have tried working with him on scheduling it differently. It isn't just the fill in the blank stuff (we have been doing it all orally) or just the notes, or just the discussion questions. I thought I could "cut" some of it. He says he "hates it all." As far as the notes go (the best part IMO) he says, "I already know all that stuff." This is NOT true, though he has done Figuratively Speaking and half of the Walch Prose & Poetry (the prose part) Toolbox. I have tried to explain that he has to make the move to getting those elements (theme, conflict, etc.) within the context of a larger work. Should I just let him read and forget it? He is 10.5, BTW. I just thought this would be a good place to start. Can someone please tell me what to do? I have this dread fear that he is NEVER going to want to talk about literature with me!!! :eek: He is a math-y guy, but still! What say you, wise hive?
Cynthia

[Sue G in PA]

and I just let him read b/c anytime he reads I'm thrilled. Don't kill his joy. If he's really enjoying a book, he'll remember it. As for analysis, couldn't it wait until middle school or later? My dd11 will do LL7 next year and I'm already afraid it will kill her love of reading. Maybe choose another book to analyze (one that he isn't so "in to", KWIM?). Just my opinion...others may disagree.

[Kelli in TN]

My 17 year old is like this. For her freshman and sophomore years I used a curriculum that had study questions for the literature. That way I could see that she was understanding the lit. without pressuring her to talk to me!

[Lizzie in Ma]

This could be just because I am a rabid Tolkien fan, but if this is the first time he has read them, I would let him simply revel in them. Discuss things as they come up for sure, take turns reading it aloud together but it too special to not just enjoy and experience on the first go round.
I know LLOTR was expensive but save it for the 2nd go round. Some books need to be experienced before breaking them down into parts.
I bought and am doing for fun myself LLOTR but I would have hated stopping for all that work any one of the first 5, 6, or 7 times I read them. :)
Maybe you could try it with a read once kind of a book, like (and this is just me again) Tom Sawyer?

[Chris in VA]

He does seem young. Isn't it for 12 and up? I vote to let him read the rest of the book, maybe have him do a few chapter summaries if you want, but basically table LLLOTR until at least middle school--maybe even high school.
Those books are so rich and full, it's nothing to read them more than once. Sometimes children are capable of reading certain books (they are on the child's reading level), but the true understanding comes later. Let him dig deep when he's older. JMHO!

[Hoggirl]

I will lighten up and just let him read the books. I think I kind of knew this as I was typing up my frustrations. :o I appreciate you all so much!
Cynthia

[Carol in Cal.]

I own and have been looking over this curriculum, and there is a lot to it!

LOTR is our family's favorite literature, and we are planning to use this curriculum to enhance our rereading of it and deepen our understanding around it. But we have already read, enjoyed, reread, and pretty much mastered the books. We are not going to concentrate on the 'fill in the blanks' questions, although we will probably rush through them. Instead, we will focus on the 6 unit studies and develop our appreciate for the books by gaining understanding of the author and of influences on him. This part of the curriculum is so rich that I would not have attempted it with DD much before age 12, even though she is an avid reader and likes to discuss books. We would have missed all the depth and annoyed her with all the picayune stuff in the curriculum.

If I were you, I would go back to WTM and look at the literature questions for the logic stages, as well as the literature suggestions. Pick works that are easy for your son to read and understand, and discuss those according to those questions and in light of what he has learned from Figuratively Speaking. Maybe study two per month in that way, while making sure that he reads and enjoys other things just for pleasure, including LOTR. I have learned that it is much easier for children to discuss a book that they can thoroughly master than one that they have difficulty understanding or following anyway. In our Junior Great Books coop we read works that are about a year behind grade level to make them easier to analyze and discuss.

Then use that great curriculum in a couple of years, after your son has really enjoyed LOTR, if he really wants to.

I found that my DD appreciates having some choices, as well. If she doesn't want to talk about literary elements, I usually tell her that we are going to talk about SOME book, and give her several to choose from. That way she doesn't have to 'ruin' one if she loves it but just doesn't want to talk about it. I felt kind of wimpy about this (my dirty little secret permissiveness...probably I'm a failure as a homeschooling mother...etc) until I heard SWB advocate this exact thing in a lecture she gave last October. She said that some books hit children too deeply for them to talk about. And that that is a great experience that we should let them enjoy. So pick other ones to study. She said that when she received her review copy or press release or something like that about LLLOTR, her first reaction was, "Why?" I loved that!

[mcconnellboys]

So, you don't need more replies, but I do agree with all of them. I wouldn't kill love of the story to analyze it to death....

Regena

[OneRoomHomeSchool]

Oh man, if I were reading a book that I found just pure great pleasure in reading....I would be SO annoyed if someone wanted to stop me after every chapter and analyze. :mad: :D

Choose a different book for the lessons and let that boy just read! Maybe after he's read 3 or 4 chapters you could just lure him into a conversation in a narrative type way? Ask him how he likes it, what he thinks about a certain character in a non-chalant manner. Works everytime on my 11 and 12's.

[mcconnellboys]

Yes! Stealth analysis is what I ALWAYS used with my older son, who has somewhat of an auditory processing glitch, anyway, and has trouble answering direct questions....

Regena

[Beth in Central TX]

I do some socratic dialogue with my boys using the list of questions at the end of the Teaching the Classics booklet. A lot of times, this happens at the lunch or dinner table when they don't even know they are still "doing schoolwork" with mom and dad. Sometimes I'll break up their seatwork, and we'll sit on the couch to discuss what they are reading. I don't discuss every book they read, but I do require a book report at the end of each book (as outlined by the R&S Grammar program). To help with the book report, each boy has a composition notebook. They are suppose to write a one sentence summary of each chapter of the book they are reading (ala TWEM). This has really helped in our socratic discussions, and it helps them describe the plot on a book report. In addition, I think it is developing good habits for their junior high and high school years.