heartofdakota.com

So we've made it to the second selection in Beyond, the adventure book. Out of the suggestions offered I chose Twenty-one Balloons knowing that the others didn't have a prayer with him. But alas, that one has flopped, too. We're just 3 chapters in and if I were to be perfectly honest I'm bored as well. No kidding here...I read a page totally out of sync and order, just random words strung together and then asked what he thought. Response: "It's good." with a glazed look in his eye. He sooooo was not even in the same room with me.

So, wringing my brain, I'm trying to think of other options that might actually interest him (like Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Treasure Island, Robinson Caruso??). Might you all have some other ideas?

I know I'll probably have to do some more searching for the other genres as well. He's just that type of fella.

Thanks so much!

Having him narrate back to you forces an amount of listening. Would it help if you asked questions after every few paragraphs to help train him? Sometimes they simply have to learn that they have to listen. I found with my 7 y/o that it took training, sometimes re-reading a section, having him narrate and narrate and narrate.

What type of books does your ds like having read to him? Does he listen then? Mine is all about adventure. Not sure how we'll get through the other genres, lol. We'll be reading The Sword in the Tree. It's a great book! I sat down and read it cover to cover.

Hi Whitney,

The book The Twenty One Balloons may not be the most appropriate choice based on the age of your son. I noticed that that book is a selection in the Creation to Christ Storytime pack so, it may be better suited for a more mature kid, perhaps age 9-11. I believe you are doing Beyond with your son who is age 7, is that right?
I am wondering why the titles in the Beyond Storytime packs wouldn't possibly work? There seems to be a really nice variety there.

Candice

I have to say that my 7th grader just read 21 Balloons this year! I think you need to stick with the Beyond Read Alouds that HOD suggests. He would have probably really enjoyed A Lion to Guard Us for the Adventure genre. You need to read books that are at a level that he can truly understand and enjoy. (Your other choices that you mentioned, while classics, are still way over his head. Those are great 6-8 grader choices, but not for a younger child. Stick with list/book packs that are recommended and give him a chance to enjoy them. I typed out the 3 titles for each genre (girl choice, boy choice, classic choice) and I chose the books across those three lists. My daughter will enjoy some of the "boy" books and the classic books since we've already read aloud or did audio books of some of the "girl" choices, etc. If you don't want to use those lists, get the sample book list HOD sells for $5.00 and use those lists. They are broken down by genre and level too. I just think you are picking books that would be hard for a Beyond student to enjoy and be able to understand enough to do the activities with.

Thank you all for the responses. I hadn't realized that Twenty-One Balloons was too advanced....it was in the manual under adventure titles. I have purchased books that are from the Boys, Girls, and Classics lists and the one I originally got was King of the Wind for our adventure title (long story short...he was taking riding lessons at the time I bought our Beyond package and the horse he was riding was an Arabian....thought he'd get a thrill out of the connection there). But after reading a little bit myself I wasn't sure he'd take to it. So that's why I went for the Balloons.

I'll revamp our selection and see if that helps. Thank you all again!

When we did Beyond we read " A Lion To Guard Us" (from the girl interest set) during our storytime for school and both of my kids (ds & dd) really enjoyed it. We also read "Sword in the Tree" (boy interest set) just for fun as reading before bed. They both really enjoyed this one as well. These choices are much easier reads than "King of the Wind" and "Twenty-one Balloons". HTH

Stephanie

Look on the Heart of Dakota website in the Book Shop link. On the right side will be list of books sets based on which guide they are in or reading level they are at if you are doing DITHOR. The Beyond guide sets are listed there for boy, girl, or classic. That should help you find some good suggestions to start with.

Hmm, I'm picking out our books to read for Beyond with my dd7. Good to know that 21 Balloons may not be a good choice for that age. I also saw it listed in the manual and was going to use it as our library already has it. I was also going to do King of the Wind (my daughter is horse crazy) until I saw the manual said it wasn't recommended for sensitive listeners. My dd7 is quite sensitive so I'll be waiting on that one. I really appreciate all the effort HOD puts into narrowing down some great book choices for us.

My Fathers Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. Loved it! I did this my my 7 year old DS and he loved it.

I am having a hard time with the Adventure genre, too. My dd is too sensitive for King of the Wind and A Lion to Guard us doesn't sound exactly like her cup of tea. I wish there was a more extensive list of books to choose from in the Adventure category, or all the categories for that matter. We're finishing up Squanto and she LOVES it!!

A Lion to Guard Us is great for boys or girls, IMHO.

The Sword in the Tree was a favorite for my boys and girl. Also, "Baby Island"... I think that was adventure, and they all LOVED it (at ages 9- 7- 4). This might have been from Bigger, though... I mixed and matched a bit. Also, Snow Treasure was fantastic. Just a few recommendations...

"A Lion to Guard Us" and "My Father's Dragon" were both big hit's with my 8 yr. old!

My ds loved King of the Wind last year with Beyond. He was 7 also.

I try to find books that are on cd at the library because the kids would rather hear them read that way.