My one son is a dreamer.
He runs for the toys that allow him to lose himself in a fantasy.
But he is getting to the point where he wants real world wins, but he always falls into
this fantasy thinking which distracts from learning anything.
Also, how do you handle a daydreamer during group subjects where other siblings are all
too eager to jump in with the "correct" narration or details when your daydreamer keeps giving
far out answers or inexact narrations?
When you have a child who is a dreamer, you want to encourage his creativity not stifle
it.
But you want to help him make that creative mind an asset rather than a liability.
That will require helping him learn to control his thoughts.
Charlotte talked about children who are at the mercy of mental associations: something
that is read reminds them of something else and instantly their minds go down that rabbit
trail.
It can be very distracting.
So he needs help controlling those thoughts.
The key is going to be his Will.
Charlotte likened a person's Will to a gatekeeper.
Imagine that in your mind is a gate where ideas present themselves for entrance.
The Will is the gatekeeper, he decides whether to allow an idea into the mind or to reject
it.
It seems like, in your son's case, he would benefit from learning how to, as an act of
his Will, direct certain ideas to a waiting room to be entertained later.
He doesn't necessarily need to reject those ideas completely; but he does need to learn
how to set them aside until an appropriate time.
How can you help him do that?
Well, habits will help relieve him of that effort at first.
A habit can supplement and shore up a weak Will until eventually he gains strength to
do that mental traffic-directing on his own.
One way to help him practice and gain that mental habit is going to be the narrations.
Here's how you can make those a tool.
Before you read, scan the passage and pull out two or three key words.
They might be names; they might be actions; whatever.
List them on a small whiteboard or sheet of paper.
Show those words when you introduce the reading for the day.
Tell the children to listen carefully, especially for those key words, and to make sure they
include them in their narration.
Leave the list up there while you read and while they narrate.
It will give them mental hooks to hang their narration on and help them know which mental
paths should be the focus right now.
Let your son know that he will be required to give a factual narration first, using those
key words; but that he will be allowed to share his more creative ideas in the discussion
time after the narrations.
That way he knows he will have an opportunity to explore those ideas, but when it is appropriate.
Keep the reading short at first, so he won't have to direct too much mental traffic at
a time and won't have to wait too long before exploring and discussing.
As he gains experience and success in controlling his thoughts, you can gradually lengthen the
readings and the time he has to wait before sharing those creative, waiting ideas.
The goal is that, little by little, eventually he will be able to put those creative ideas
on hold until an appropriate time to explore them and they won't interfere with his ability
to learn in the real world.
I don't know how old your son is, but if he is old enough—and by that I mean probably
older than ten—you might explain about the Will as the gatekeeper of his mind and how
it directs the mental traffic.
That if he practices, he will be able to make himself pay attention to what he should as
an act of his Will, but still keep the creative ideas available for an appropriate time.