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After a suggestion from this board, I spent time praying and planning our DITHOR selections for the upcoming school year, as well as choosing the "Kick-off" and "Wrap-up" activities.

I'm SO excited to see all the wonderful literature we are going to be exploring this year, as well as the strong emphasis on Christian character traits!! (Repsonsibility and respect have been ones we really wanted to focus on, so I was really happy to see they will be some of our very first units!)
The activities also sound so fun, that even our dd, who hasn't loved school since the early grades was listening to some of the ideas for the books, and she said "That's school? That sounds like fun!!" I'm really excited to see some of her joy of learning already start coming back, and we haven't even started yet! (Of course, she still said she won't ever love math! LOL)

Anyway, DITHOR looks so wonderful, and I'm SO thankful that the LORD led us to HOD Just wanted to share!!

I pray you and your daughter will fall in love with the HOD curriculum as so many on this board give testimony of all the time. Blessings to you for a good start with DITHOR and CTC and that this will be the year of your daughter turning to love all her school (well, math is just math)
Carrie has and is doing a fantastic job in writing these manuals with God's guidance and it sure is a blessing for us who use HOD by the Lord's leading, it is everything you could have hoped a Godly curriculum would be and more

Heather,

So glad to hear that my recent question and planning have "sparked" some planning of your own!! I was so excited to see all the wonderful topics that God is bringing into our school days with HOD. And I'm really glad that other christian Mom's can share in that excitement with me!

I am praying that the Lord truly blesses your first year (and mine ) with HOD!

In Christ,

Lisa

We just started DITHOR today and I was a bit nervous even after planning.
But I just followed the guide and it was a breeze! (of course it was with my son who LOVES to read!)
So glad that the program is working well for all.

You're going to have a great time with DITHOR! We've loved reading the great books Carrie reccommends. And, my favorite part is the way it guides me in helping my son learn to read with discernment in comparing characters and their reactions in the book to how God says we should act/respond. The kick-off activities and wrap-up projects are FUN, too! You're ahead of me, if you've looked at them. (That is the one area of HOD that I should actually look at before we're ready to do it. ) I've occasionally put Grant off a day because I needed to read through our options there. You've inspired me to glance at that now before we're ready to dive into school this year!

Kathleen

Heather,

I'm so glad that you are excited about DITHR! We pray that it may bless your day richly and that the wonderful literature and discussions will draw you ever closer to one another and to our Lord!

I am so impressed by your planning ahead! What a wonderful way to begin your year! I do pick the books for DITHR before the school year begins, but I must admit that I choose the kick-offs and end projects on the day that the lesson comes up in DITHR. Then, we actually 'do' the kick-off or project the next day. We still finish 6 genres a year even with me taking an extra day to choose and plan those areas when they come up in the DITHR guide. So, if you happen to ever run out of time to plan ahead, DITHR blessedly still works!

You'll get to know the guide well, and it becomes like a well-worn friend by the time your child gets to the 8th grade. I can't believe what deep thinkers my kiddos have become by using DITHR through the years. It is a joy to watch their progress, and our discussions are a blessing to all of us. I notice my boys choose and enjoy excellent literature on their own too, as they know what it looks and sounds like. They can also read and understand more of the classic-type literature without the struggle I seemed to have with the antiquated language. Most importantly, they are weighing what they read in light of God's word and that becomes the standard and compass for their interactions with the literature that they read.

It makes me glad that my own children are receiving an education in literature that is so different from the education I received. While I consumed many books, I dwealt on very few and the quality of those few was rarely very high. While my children dearly love to read, the books that they have dwealt upon are worthy of their time and worthy of being remembered the rest of their lives. We pray that the same will be true for your family.

Blessings,
Carrie

Carrie wrote: I must admit that I choose the kick-offs and end projects on the day that the lesson comes up in DITHR. Then, we actually 'do' the kick-off or project the next day.

Whew! I feel much less like a slacker now. This is exactly what we have done. (I do feel inspired to actually look ahead this year though, Heather. )

Kathleen