DITHOR Question

[jkhamell]

I notice that in both the preparing guide and REv. to Rev. that DITHOR is scheduled 3 times a week. So, I was thinking that I could have all my kiddos in the 2 guides (4th, 6th, and 8th) study the same genre at the same time. I assume this would be a time saver in my week and the way it is intended to be assigned.

Next, will the books listed in the 7/8 be good for my advanced 8th grade reader? There are many titles we have not explored so I assume these will be challenging enough for her literature study this year.

I plan to select the genres for the year - 4 or 5 seem to be the average most get to in a year. I'm thinking 4 since this is my first year and I'll see 5 as a bonus. Then I'll let them select from the lists. does this work for mosst.

Finally, I'm also using the Beyond guide with my 7 year old. I notice that storytime teaches each of the genres. There is really no way to combine her into the genre study with the others if I follow the Beyond guide? Am I correct? I was actually thinking my 4th grader might benefit from joining in on our story time to get an introduction to each genre this year - while she works through a few with DITHOR. Any ideas on this?

Thanks,
Kim

[my3sons]

I notice that in both the preparing guide and REv. to Rev. that DITHOR is scheduled 3 times a week. So, I was thinking that I could have all my kiddos in the 2 guides (4th, 6th, and 8th) study the same genre at the same time. I assume this would be a time saver in my week and the way it is intended to be assigned.

Next, will the books listed in the 7/8 be good for my advanced 8th grade reader? There are many titles we have not explored so I assume these will be challenging enough for her literature study this year.

I plan to select the genres for the year - 4 or 5 seem to be the average most get to in a year. I'm thinking 4 since this is my first year and I'll see 5 as a bonus. Then I'll let them select from the lists. does this work for mosst.

Finally, I'm also using the Beyond guide with my 7 year old. I notice that storytime teaches each of the genres. There is really no way to combine her into the genre study with the others if I follow the Beyond guide? Am I correct? I was actually thinking my 4th grader might benefit from joining in on our story time to get an introduction to each genre this year - while she works through a few with DITHOR. Any ideas on this?

Thanks,
Kim

Hi Kim! Yes, you are right - you could combine your 4th, 6th, and 8th grader in DITHOR and do 4 genres. We have done this for 2 years in our house, and we love it! As far as the 7/8 titles being appropriate for your dd, I would think they would be, but that will be your call as 7/8 graders can really vary in reading needs. The 7/8 DITHOR package lists specific reading levels for each book, so you could look at those first. As far as your 7 yo, where does she place in reading in Beyond? Phonics, Emerging Readers, or independently reading chapter books? I'd guess by her age she probably is in either phonics or Emerging Readers, and if this is the case, you would not combine her wtih your older DITHOR dc. She will have many years ahead to be combined with them though - I'd not rush to it before she is truly ready for DITHOR. I wouldn't try to combine her with them this year. Storytime in Beyond will be a good introduction to the genres for your 7 yo. As far as having 4th grader listen in on those, you surely could. Will you be doing the PHFHG Storytime with your 4th grader too? It is history-focused, and really goes well with the plans. But, you can just combine your fourth grader and 7 yo for Storytime if you would like, and if you do, I'd choose the Beyond Storytime books, as the PHFHG ones will be too mature in content for your 7 yo. I'd probably not have the fourth grader listen to both Storytimes, as her day will get longer and she'd probably be less focused on the skills to be learned. If you have the time, I would do the PHFHG Storytime with the fourth grader, and the Beyond Storytime with the 7 yo. If you are short on time, I would do the Beyond Storytime with them both. Your fourth grader will pick up the genres and the learning well in DITHOR, and will not need the Beyond Storytime to do so. We have dc come to DITHOR at all different ages, and they do well if correctly placed. You may want to have your 4th grader do one year of DITHOR 2/3 if she has not had experience with genres and story elements. This is standard advice for DITHOR in this case. Hope something here helps, but we have enjoyed DITHOR for many years! I know you will too!

In Christ,
Julie

[jkhamell]

Thank you. It does help. I do plan to use 2/3 with my 4th grader as she is dyslexic and still working on fluency. So, while studying literature elements and comprehension skills I want the literature to be fluent for her. I think she will enjoy many of the titles as well. I was most concerned about the day getting too long. You have answered that question - so I will proceed as written for everyone combining the oldest three for DITHOR time.

Thanks for your help. I'm sure I will have more questions as I continue to plan.

Kim