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We just started DITHOR last week; still trying to get it all figured out to run smoothly but since she is just 7 I figure we have a few years to master it! . I had seen the Book Projects before but forgot about them; do I need to have the book projects too? She has struggled a bit with the DITHOR workbook stuff & learning think for herself but I think she will do fine as we go along. She loves to read. I am not really sure I want to add anything else into her school day since she is already taking longer than her sister unless it is necessary.

The book projects book is optional. For the first 15 days of plans, you read and do the DITHOR workbook. Then for the next 5 days of plans you do a project that goes with your genre. There are several options for the project, one of which comes from the book projects book. There are several other options for you to choose from that do not use that book. Check out your teacher's manual for days 15/16 and it will explain more about the project options. We've only done two DITHOR units so far. For the first one we did humor and did the project out of the book projects book. We made character tube puppets and then did a scene from the book with the puppets. This last unit, biography, my dc chose to do the interview as their project which was not part of the book projects book. So you may choose to use the book projects book or not. There are some fun options in there though so I would recommend it!

Thanks!! I am feeling rather busy right now with being pg and everything else so I may just wait until next year when I have 2 in DITHOR....... Unless I get TONS of energy in the next week!

The pp already did an awesome job of answering your question. Congrats on expecting BTW! When I started DITHOR with my 7 yo, we eased into it. We read one day, and the next day did the DITHOR plans. We alternated these, and enjoyed easing into it. This allowed my ds to spread out his books and read fewer pages each day, and for us to have more time to ease into the writing skills he needed to develop for the Student Workbook.

I also wrote his answers that he just gave to me orally in his Student Book for him at first. Then, he dictated them and I wrote them on the markerboard for him; he copied from the markerboard to his Student Book. Finally, he took the writing completely over, and I just helped him with his spelling by jotting the words he asked me for help on a markerboard. This worked great! Since your sweetie is on the youngest age for DITHOR, maybe something like that would be nice to try. We have enjoyed using DITHOR for many years now, and we still love it! Once you get in the swing of things, it's such an enjoyable way to teach reading! HTH! Oh, and we do love the Book Projects books here, but you can easily get those anytime.

In Christ,
Julie

We started doing DITHOR this year, and finished our first book a couple of weeks ago. I had the Book Projects Grade 2, but like you, I was wondering if it was really necessary...

The book project was to make a face mask, and the student was supposed to pretend to be the the character in the book, and answer a few questions. Mind you, I wasn't keen on the idea but I thought we'd give it a t ry. I AM SO GLAD WE DID! She loved the book (Toliver's Secret) in the first place, but this really made it come "alive". I video taped the interview and took pictures -- she had a blast. It was so worth the extra effort.

Like you said, your daughter is only 7 and you are trying to master DITHOR, so there's plenty of time for that. I was at that point last year, so I know what you mean. All this just to say sometimes when I think about skipping a part of HOD (like the art, science or in this case, the Book Project assignment), it turns out being the best part of our day.

Just a thought to consider.

Joy

That's neat to hear, Joy! We have found the same to be true with the Book Projects we have done. My oldest ds is not so artsy-crafty, and at the start of a project he can be unsure how to proceed. BUT, once he's in it, and he finishes it, he's so proud! It's the thing he wants to show my dh when he gets home. He also keeps his DITHOR projects for a very long time. This says a lot as he shares his room with our 3 yo, and space is at a premium. Here are a few of his past DITHOR Book Projects...
Acting out a scene from "A Penny's Worth of Character":

An encouraging card he wrote to his brother-in-law:

A bar graph of important events from his book, with their intensity level noted:

Buffalo Bill mobile:

Timeline of important events:

Who Am I? Riddle with character puppet (featuring J.D. from "Dust River Gulch")

Here is the DITHOR Book Project he's in the middle of right now. This is the start of his adventure map for his brochure:


We decided a few years back to "go all out" on our Book Projects for DITHOR. I realized I was wanting to do that with something artistic to teach my dc how to put together a neat final project. I realized DITHOR was the perfect way to do this! We've enjoyed it thoroughly. I think you would too!

In Christ,
Julie

Aw, Julie, thanks for sharing and posting those pictures.

my3sons wrote:We decided a few years back to "go all out" on our Book Projects for DITHOR. I realized I was wanting to do that with something artistic to teach my dc how to put together a neat final project. I realized DITHOR was the perfect way to do this! !

I am in complete agreement. Sometimes you just never know until you try!

Joy