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We are completing the Emerging Readers set with Beyond, but I am just not sure my little guy is going to be ready for DITHOR when we begin bigger in the fall. He has done great with the Emerging Readers, but after looking over DITHOR, I feel we won't be ready for that come fall. My question is this...have any of you not started DITHOR after completing the Emerging Readers? What did you do instead? Should we go ahead and read the 2/3 books and loosely follow DITHOR? Should I try to find more early chapter books to further solidify his reading. I want him to feel confident and love reading, I am afraid that starting DITHOR with Bigger might intimidate him. I am not sure what to do! I love the idea of DITHOR, but feel like it would best fit my son when we do Preparing.

Some background on us...my son will be 8 when we start Bigger in the fall. We are loving Beyond and he is doing excellent with the Emerging Readers. We came over to HOD from Abeka, he has had a solid foundation in phonics and is certainly reading at level.

I would love any advice you ladies have to offer!

Thanks!

Is it the reading in DITHOR or the workbook in DITHOR that concerns you the most?

I agree that DITHOR is a big jump and if I had it to do again I might delay starting my oldest in DITHOR and not start it at the beginning of Bigger but rather half way through.

You could opt to read some of the 2/3 level books with comprehension discussion (which you would have to create yourself), or you could go back and do some of the supplemental ER titles toward the end. Each week of ER has a supplemental title. My 2nd is doing some of those and they are also delightful books. I guess the choice on that would depend on whether the ER books have been challenging or too easy.

On the other hand, I started DITHOR with Bigger when my DD was 8, and we did most of it orally. It has helped deepen her analysis and understanding of books, and we finished 2/3 level DITHOR after a few weeks in Preparing. The book projects (in Book Projects to take Home) have been favorites - classic things like a diorama, character mask, making a mini book, things like that. I really appreciate now that my DD can do a lot of DITHOR on her own, but I think me going through those things with her even at that young age was really beneficial and moved her along in those skills. So while I'm not sure I would do it that way again (and my 2nd will not be in DITHOR when we start Bigger because I have taken a slower reading path with her) it has been good overall. I hope this makes sense.

Bigger can be an intensive guide. I think it really ramps up into "real school" rather than mostly play and fun, at least that's how it felt with my oldest. It is still very hands on and interactive but there is a lot more writing and it just takes a lot more time to get through each day. That's the other reason I would say maybe get into Bigger for a few weeks and then add DITHOR. It could be a lot all at once.

Tidbits of Learning wrote:Is it the reading in DITHOR or the workbook in DITHOR that concerns you the most?

It's the workbook! I feel confident he could do the reading and comprehend it fine. But I feel it's not enough to just read the books, we need to do something, but not sure if DITHOR is it yet?

Would DITHOR doing the workbook orally be enough? That is what I am considering when we finish the ER books. But, we are also spreading them out so we won't be done until hopefully at least the end of Beyond if not part way through Bigger.

My younger 2 kids are finished with the Early Readers and we just go to the library and they read. They both love to read. So I let them pick what they want. My youngest loves the American Girl Books. My son loves the Geronimo Stilton and the A to Z Mystery books. Since the books they are reading are around a 3rd grade reading level, then that is fine with me. They also love the Magic Tree House books but I have heard of some parents who don't like those. And finally, my kids love picking books up off of the science section at the library. For me, I like starting DITHOR when my kids go into Preparing. My son will probably take on the science reading in Bigger after Christmas so that will be an adjustment for him. My youngest, because she reads so well, will probably read the read-aloud books (mainly because I don't think she is going to want to wait for me and she very advanced). But for me, I enjoy letting them pick the things they want to read. And they surprise me with their selections. Over the summer we compromise. I pick half of what they read and they pick half. So it is a good fit for us. We basically only want to read 5 books a year with DITHOR so that they kids only do half a level each year until they finish MTMM.

Great ideas here to ponder!!! Your answers to the questions asked have been so helpful. From what you've shared now, I'd start DITHOR 2/3, but do the writing for your ds. He can dictate the answers to you for awhile. I am planning on doing this with my turning 8 yo this coming school year. I'm also going to do this half-speed. I'll have him read half of the pages (I'm using the Level 2 Book Pack) one day, and the other half of the pages the next day. I'm either going to spread the writing out over 2 days, or do it all the second day, depending on what works better for him or for my day overall. I'll transition into him writing a portion of his answers a few months or so in (I'll write half in the Student Book, and half on a markerboard, he'll copy the half on the markerboard into his Student Book). Probably by the end of the year he'll be writing most of it or all of it himself. I did this with his older brother, and it worked well. I think it is good to keep them reading and growing in their comprehension, and not let their lack of writing hold them back. Hope something here helps as you ponder what to do!

In Christ,
Julie