What To Do Between Emerging Readers and DITHOR

[StephanieU]

My daughter just turned 6, and we are doing the emerging readers. I had planned on doing it very slowly, about 2-3 days a week. But, she is asking to do every day right after history and storytime. So, we may be done with it before she is even 7 years old. I have looked at DITHOR, and I think that will definitely be too much for her - too much writing, too abstract, etc. - even a year from now. So, I am starting to think what to do between the two. Ideally, I would wait until she is at least in Bigger if not Preparing to start at least the workbook portion of DITHOR with her. So what should be do in the fall when she is done with the Emerging Readers?

[Samuel'sMommy]

I think you have several options.

Are you adding in the supplemental reader each week? You can probably find them at your library and that would double the time it takes to get through the emerging readers.

You could also have her move on to the level 2 DITHOR books and just not have her do DITHOR with them. She could read them aloud to you or on her own and you could just have her narrate at the end if you feel you need to do something. You could also get Carrie's book list and choose some of the level 2 books that are listed.

If you feel she's not ready for the jump to level 2 readers, look at some of the reader packages from other companies like Sonlight for ideas of books you might be able to get from your library and have her read.

[bethelmommy]

I think you have several options.

Are you adding in the supplemental reader each week? You can probably find them at your library and that would double the time it takes to get through the emerging readers.

You could also have her move on to the level 2 DITHOR books and just not have her do DITHOR with them. She could read them aloud to you or on her own and you could just have her narrate at the end if you feel you need to do something. You could also get Carrie's book list and choose some of the level 2 books that are listed.

If you feel she's not ready for the jump to level 2 readers, look at some of the reader packages from other companies like Sonlight for ideas of books you might be able to get from your library and have her read.

We are doing all three of Samuel's Mommy's suggestions and are stretching things out nicely. We have been through all the supplemental readers, are starting the Christian Liberty Nature reader, and are on grade 3 readers from SL. Next year I will have dd read through the HOD level 2 readers and we will start DITHOR orally when we get to the level 3 readers. HTH.

[psreit]

Can someone give me a list, or direct me to the supplemental ER book list. My dd is finishing up the ER books. We are in Preparing, but this is where she is in her reading because of dyslexia. I did write down the DITHOR 2 book list. Some I can get in the library. I thought I would see how many supplemental ERs our library has. I don't want to buy more books right now. I know there are lots of books in the library she could read, but Carrie has such good choices. I wanted to check those out first. Thanks for any help.

[StephanieU]

I know they are in the Emerging Readers section of the Beyond guide. At the top of each unit, it has Supplemental title for Unit __. I hadn't thought about using those. Maybe we will do that to spread it out some. And then if she gets done with that and the workbooks still seem too much for DITHOR, we can do the 2nd grade list just reading and narrating.

[StephanieU]

And I just noticed there is a list of chapter books at the end of the merging readers too. Hopefully those will take her a while. Some days she reads great and other days it is a flop. So, I think she just needs a lot of practice!

[psreit]

The Emerging Readers are not listed in Preparing, because by that time they are usually in DITHOR. I can see the ER books on the website, but not the supplemental ERs.

[TrueGRIT]

We also used the supplemental readers. Then went on to other level 4 books.
Just this month we went to DITHOR level 2 books.
I am glad we did this. He is doing much better than expected.
(He does have mild dyslexia & we are doing Preparing.)

[momof3kids]

Just a question for those responding..... Wy do you slow down the ER? We are doing The ER set now with Beyond with my oldest who will be 7 in May. I hadn't thought of slowing him down. I just assumed he would go into DITHOR when we start Bigger next year. Is this not a good idea? I just thought that was the normal progression.
Do most of you wait to start DITHOR?
He is doing well right now, but wondering why some of you slow them down, maybe I have missed something.....is DITHOR to difficult for a 7 yo?

Sorry to bust in with a question, just curious if we should be slowing down as well.

[psreit]

For us, it has been because my dd's reading skills are not where they should be, and even when we get finished with the ERs, I think just practicing reading will be best for her. She has dyslexia, so just doing a short reading is plenty for her. Others may wait because of the extra writing. It is up to the individual. Yes, after the ERs, it usually is DITHOR, and it is no problem for you to go into that if you feel your child is ready. HTH

[StephanieU]

Supposedly DITHOR has lots of writing. Although my daughter CAN write all of her letters and copy things, she is very reluctant to do it. Her letter formation isn't great, so we are strongly considering doing Cheerful Cursive with Beyond. With that added to Beyond, i don't want to add something else that we will either have to modify (so there isn't as much writing) or cause too many battles to complete. Also, I read that DITHOR has a lot of higher level thinking in it, and I don't know if she would be ready for that at 6 almost 7. So, I was thinking of waiting until she was almost 8 to start DITHOR - either during our break between Beyond and Bigger or just after we start Bigger full speed.

[StephanieU]

The Emerging Readers are not listed in Preparing, because by that time they are usually in DITHOR. I can see the ER books on the website, but not the supplemental ERs.

I would email Mike, Julie, or Carrie and see if they can send you the information. There are also "narration" questions in the guides (Bigger and Beyond) that go with the book using Bloom's Taxonomy. I know you have done Beyond and Bigger before, so they probably would be willing to email you those pages from the guide.

[psreit]

Stephanie - Thanks. Someone offered to give me the titles. Since we quit the Barton Reading System, I have just been letting dd read. The reading in Barton was controlled, so I feel I deprived her in some ways. Right now I just want her to practice reading and enjoy it. If I do anything else, I will just have her tell me about what she read and leave it at that until we decide on DITHOR.

[Samuel'sMommy]

Just a question for those responding..... Wy do you slow down the ER? We are doing The ER set now with Beyond with my oldest who will be 7 in May. I hadn't thought of slowing him down. I just assumed he would go into DITHOR when we start Bigger next year. Is this not a good idea? I just thought that was the normal progression.
Do most of you wait to start DITHOR?
He is doing well right now, but wondering why some of you slow them down, maybe I have missed something.....is DITHOR to difficult for a 7 yo?

Sorry to bust in with a question, just curious if we should be slowing down as well.

I personally did not slow down the ER, but my son loved reading and begged for more when we did them so I used all the extras I could find.

I don't think there is any reason you couldn't do DITHOR with your 7 year old. As others have mentioned, there is some writing involved but it's not everyday. Most of the days just have questions or things to discuss orally. We've been doing DITHOR for a couple of weeks now and have only had 3 worksheets. Also, I know Julie has said that when her boys first started DITHOR she allowed them to answer orally and she wrote for them, or she would write on a whiteboard and have them copy the answers. So I think you would be fine to just move onto DITHOR when you are done if you want to.

[bethelmommy]

Just a question for those responding..... Wy do you slow down the ER? We are doing The ER set now with Beyond with my oldest who will be 7 in May. I hadn't thought of slowing him down. I just assumed he would go into DITHOR when we start Bigger next year. Is this not a good idea? I just thought that was the normal progression.
Do most of you wait to start DITHOR?
He is doing well right now, but wondering why some of you slow them down, maybe I have missed something.....is DITHOR to difficult for a 7 yo?

Sorry to bust in with a question, just curious if we should be slowing down as well.

We are not slowing them down, but adding to them. Ds did everything as scheduled. He is 7.5 and is doing DITHOR, though I still help him sometimes with pages that include a lot of writing. On the other hand, dd started the Emerging Readers at 5 and if we had just read those, she would have finished them before age 6. So, I added the Early Readers Bible and the supplemental books for daily reading and then Sonlight Readers for free time. I will also fill in with some HOD level 2 books through the summer and early fall. Dd does not turn 7 until October and I honestly don't have time to add DITHOR for her before then. I find it fairly teacher intensive at this level when they need so much help with writing.