My intro and a question

paliz · Post by **paliz** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:01 pm

Hi, my name is Liz and I'm thrilled to be here. I have 4 children and am currently using Beyond Little Hearts with my oldest. The next to oldest is still warming up so to speak but will be using Little Hearts next year.

Now for my question. Next year we will be using Bigger Hearts and I'm wondering why it's so important to have both story time and the reading part like Drawn into the Heart of Reading. My oldest does a lot of reading on his own and I'm curisous as to how the two sections differ and how that benefits the child.

I'm looking forward to being part of this board and learning and sharing.

Tansy · Post by **Tansy** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:03 pm

IMO The story time books are great classic Lit. My dd's reading lvl is not yet up to reading the read aloud books on her own. I have seen how they introduce her to new words and concepts without her having to struggle though how to pronounce it. And Mom sees that "look of I don't get it" and can stop and explain.

I have also seen how my child is begining to follow my lead, I read the books dramatically, use "voices" and whisper when its quiet. She has started to do the same thing. She is noticing mood and applying it to her voice as she reads her books. She would have never learned that with out my modeling it for her.

Now to tell the truth (I posted this some where else but I will repeat myself), We didn't Do DITHOR every month during Bigger. We did a month of DITHOR and a month of reading for pleasure. It worked for us. The DITHOR has a great workbook, it covers characters, mood, style ect..

The read aloud area is a discussion type interaction. Where as DITHOR is discussion which is then reinforced by writing and projects and is much more varied and in depth.

Candice · Post by **Candice** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:55 pm

Liz,

Welcome, just wanted to say hello and glad that you are here!

Candice

6timeboymom · Post by **6timeboymom** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:06 pm

To me, the reading time is separate. The DITHOR time is more the instruction time, whereas the read aloud time is for snuggling on the couch and doing "school" that way. It's a way to get larger, more complex ideas into their heads before they are technically ready to comprehend it by reading it themselves.

6timeboymom · Post by **6timeboymom** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:06 pm

and oh, yeah! Welcome to the boards!

my3sons · Post by **my3sons** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:10 pm

Hi Liz! It's so nice to meet you! I've used all the HOD products and have come to understand the way things cycle and build upon each other. I'm using Bigger... right now, and I'm finding that the Storytime is my time to really model a lot of things, and DITHR is a time for my son to do more. The two work so nicely together, and build upon one another, making connections go off like little light bulbs in my son's mind.

Many skills are this way in HOD. For example, we practiced oral narration in Beyond..., and then again in Bigger..., so that by Preparing..., oral narrations will be an accomplished, independent skill for our children, and I'm guessing written narrations will be the new skill to learn a bit at a time in Preparing... In the same way, copywork and spelling prepare the way for dictation, vocabulary cards prepare the way for research skills, globe skills prepare the way for map-making skills, and lab sheets prepare the way for more independent notebooking.

So, to sum it all up, I think the repetition you have so wisely noticed, is purposeful and will help our children become... ahhhh... dare I say it? INDEPENDENT with that skill! What a wonderful thing to look forward to, hmmm?!? Hope that helps somewhat, and it's so nice to chit-chat with you here at the board!