DITHOR (with Bigger)

[threegreatkids]

Hi there!
Just a few questions about this program. I've seen the samples but I'm still having trouble grasping how DITHOR actually fits into the other programs. Do you do it every day? How much time does it take? Does it increase love of reading? Do you do it every year? How would it compare to something like a Progeny Press guide?
Now with Bigger i noticed that there is a literature study with the storytime part of the program. Would it be repetative to do DITHOR at the same time?
I do like the idea of reading a variety of literature genres each year. I'm just having trouble understanding/envisioning the nuts and bolts of this program, and would love a few more details before investing the money.
Thanks!

[Kathleen]

This was my first year to use DITHOR, and it has been GREAT! It has definitely moved my son toward loving reading. We've read some great books, and I know that he's learned a lot and we've really enjoyed the projects that wrap up the genres. They've been some great memory makers. My favorite part of DITHOR is that it's really helping my son learn to be discerning as he reads and compare attitudes and actions of characters to God's Word.

We've done it every day this year. I know that when you move to Preparing (as we'll be doing this fall), DITHOR is scheduled 3 times a week.

It takes us about 20 min a day to do. (I used the level 2 book pack this year and have followed the pacing suggested with those books for DITHOR. I think that reading short portions of a book are suggested to "savor" it.)

You would continue to do it every year through 8th grade (possibly 9th). The same teacher's guide is used, and then you'd just continue to read new books from the different genres each year.

I haven't ever looked at a Progeny Press guide, so I can't help you there.

I'll try to give you a little peek into what you'll do with a genre in DITHOR. When you're beginning to read a genre (we'll use mystery for this example), you'll get to choose a kick-off activity. Carrie lists 10 different options for this, and you pick one. I chose the mystery lunch. So, I made up our menu for the day: Doe cubes (grilled deer steak), fresh stalks (green beans), refreshing splash (water), sticky mud (brownie), etc. The kids all ordered what they wanted in courses. (They still ask for sticky mud. ) Before and after that lunch, we talked about the definition of the mystery genre and its characteristics.
The next day, you move into the 15 daily plans in the guide. There are prereading activities, vocabulary work, story element lessons (which are on prediction and inference with the mystery), lessons on the godly character traits of loyalty and fairness. We were in level 2/3 with the student book, so 6 of those 15 days, Grant had to write in that book as part of the lesson. Doing things like, drawing important events from the beginning, middle and end of the book, making predictions about what will happen next in the story, looking at a picture in the book and writing down as many details as he could remember and then marking them based on whether they had to do with the characters, setting, were mysterious, and which was most important to the book.

Then, after he finished reading his mystery, we had 5 days for a project to wrap up the genre. Each genre has 3 options for the project, and Grant chose to do the radio drama to go with the mystery he'd read. This was the "group" option for this genre, and since he's the only one in our family doing DITHOR, the rest of us were his group. We all (even the 2 yo) helped with the drama and had a great time!

Now everything I've listed all fits into the 20 min daily that we have alloted for DITHOR. I think you might spend 30 min with an older child. At the 2/3 level, you have your child read aloud most days to you. My son likes to read silently and is capable of that, but I've seen a huge improvement in his reading fluency and expression. And, being able to read aloud to a group (or just his brother and sister) is a great skill to have....and one that's important to teach and provide practice with! We have loved both storytime in Bigger and DITHOR. While you do cover the same genres and chacter qualities, your child is focusing on different skills with them. They're the listener for storytime and the reader for DITHOR.

I know that I had a hard time imagining how DITHOR could be a reading guide that truly worked over and over with amy book you choose, but it really does. I love that there are just a few discussion questions every day that really get my son thinking. They aren't book specific, and he has to think to answer them, but they're not "hard", and keep it fun! I know that DITHOR is definitely worth what Carrie charges for it...and much more! As we started this year, I thought, "I'm going to be using this book (DITHOR teacher's guide) for like the next 20 years!" (If I use it till my youngest is an 8th grader...and even longer if the Lord blesses us with more kids!) If money is tight, you could sure look for books at the library as you wouldn't have to own those, and just get the teacher's guide and student book(s).

Hope that helps!
Kathleen

[threegreatkids]

Kathleen,
That helps tremendously!! I was thinking about skipping DITHOR this year and picking it up the following year, but it sounds great! I was afraid it was going to take much longer than that and suck the joy out of reading, LOL
Blessings,