DITHOR DD wants to read ahead of schedule?

[jjcmehl]

MY DD 9 is reading our first DITHOR book and desperately wants to read ahead of schedule. I told her I would ask all of you, for your advice. If she reads ahead we won't be able to get all of the daily discussions/wksts done. At the same time, I want her to continue enjoying the book.

She is quite advanced for her reading level, I selected a book just a bit above her grade level. I could select even harder books for the other DITHOR books, so that she slows down her reading. (That would seem silly to me, though.)

Advice/ideas?

[jjcmehl]

Yes, it does. Thank you. My DD sounds very much like your child that you described!

[kvmck]

WOW. I too, am wondering about this. I was considering posting something similar so I was glad to read this. Today is the first day we have actually done a DITHOR "worksheet" with my 9 year old son, He is never happy about having to stop reading a book, but I have been making him follow his reading schedule only for his DITHOR books. Today he so desperately wanted to continue reading that he almost broke down into tears, I may have to lock his books in a safe
He got very upset that he had to stop and then "analyze" the story and doesn't get the point at all, "Mom, I'm never going to do this in real life"--umm, since when did 9 year olds get ideas like that ? And I think that learning about literature in a systematic way in one of the most useful skills he can ever hope to have, but how do I explain that to him? Part of the issue is that I am having him write and "think" at the same time, which to be honest, is a new skill for him. Typically his writing has consisted of copy work, making up his own stories and answering questions with definite right answers (so just restating facts). I am hoping that after we do it for a few more weeks that he will be more excited about it and see how it is helping him to "get more out of" the books he reads....we'll see.

So, I'm sorry I have nothing useful to share but I am interested to hear the experiences of others.

[funkmomma71]

I can foresee having a slight problem with this with my daughter, but next year will be her 3rd year doing HOD, so she is used to having to stop a story even though she wants to keep going. Like the first responder said, we have plenty of books for to read outside of school, but HOD books are restricted to school only and on the schedule mom dictates. She sometimes whines, but I remind her that what I am the teacher and she can whatever and however much she likes when we are done with school. It takes some time to get used to doing reading and storytime the HOD way, but the rewards are wonderful!! My daughter is able to narrate entire Am. Girl books to me, and she is only 6, so I say stick with, it is worth it!!

[Carrie]

Christine,

This is a great question! What a wonderful problem to have! We had the same problem ourselves in the past, so I'll link you to a past thread where I addressed this very topic. Make sure you read to the end. I thought you'd find it interesting as you ponder! Link: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=508

Blessings,
Carrie

[my3sons]

Christine - I'm so glad your dd is loving reading her DITHOR books! My dc LOVE to read as well, however, DITHOR books need to go at the pace we've set on the reading calendar. They are for slowing down and learning some skills while enjoying the reading. I agree 100% with 8Smiths; they are for literature study. As long as your dc have other books to read in the home, then slowing down one book for school should not be a problem - it's kind of a lesson on restraint, or maybe self-control, right?

One thing I wanted to share. One year I read a John Grisham book on vacation from cover to cover in about 2 days. I loved it, and enjoyed it completely. However, just several years later, when I was choosing a book to read, I was talking to my sister about which John Grisham book I should read next. I brought up reading the one I'd already read, and she told me she was pretty sure I'd already read that one on vacation once. I told her there was no way that could be right, I didn't remember a thing about it, there was no way I'd read it before. I have a habit of dating books I've read inside the cover to show when I finished it. She told me to check if I'd dated it. I couldn't believe it when I saw I had in fact dated it, and it had been just a few years back I'd read the entire thing! Now, with a John Grisham book I'm reading for leisure, forgetting it all is not such a big deal. However, that is not what I want for my dc's reading instruction. So, slowing down and savoring a book with DITHOR in order to have a purpose greater than enjoying reading is worth it.

I'd encourage you to tell your dc they can blow through any other books they want to, but the DITHOR books are special, and they require savoring and enjoying over a longer period of time. They'll get used to it, and even learn to highly anticipate reading time each day. We do the same thing with Storytime books, and my ds cannot wait for Storytime to roll around the next school day. Anticipation is something to learn to love, and a great tool for keeping the love of homeschooling alive!

In Christ,
Julie

[jjcmehl]

Thank you for all the advice!