DITHOR How do you choose what level to begin?

[doubleportion]

I am looking at DITHOR. I know I would need the TM but how do I know which level student book to buy?

I have a young 9 yr old dd in 4th grade. She is a pretty strong reader. But sometimes I know she skims when she is reading on her own for pleasure. If I started with the 4/5 package would I miss something or could we just jump right in? She is a strong writer so I am not worried about the writing side of things. She's very gifted but I still want to move at a pace where I will be sure to build the skills and not accidentally create some holes. KWIM?

I've read everything I can on the board about DITHOR and really like what I see!

Edie

[HappyMama]

Hi- I have not used DITHOR (yet) so I don't have a lot of advice, but yes, it sounds like you would have your daughter start with the 4/5 level. Level 2/3 is the same sort of material, just written at a younger level (for 2nd/3rd graders). So you wouldn't be missing anything and you would just jump right on. I'm pretty sure HOD suggests doing one level over a 2 year span... so she would do half of level 4/5 for 4th grade and the other half for 5th grade. But really, it is up to you on how you want to do it. HOD also offers book packs to go with level 4/5 if that's something you would be interested in. Or you can just pick your own books, it's totally up to you. Hopefully some of the more experienced ladies will chime in.

[my3sons]

Because she is a strong reader and writer, I think she could start with 4/5 and do very well! Our fifth grade ds is finishing out the 4/5 Boy Interest Package from DITHOR and enjoying those titles sooooo much. I bet your dd will love the girl choices! Or, of course, you could choose your own books too - whichever you prefer. Are you going to do it 5 days a week, or less? DITHOR is so flexible. We are currently doing it 4 days a week and have our 7 1/2 yo in Level 2/3, and our almost 11 yo in Level 4/5. We especially enjoy the kickoffs and final projects, and I love the strong reading comprehension DITHOR fosters as well as the Godly Character Traits influence. Enjoy - you have many excellent days of learning ahead of you!

In Christ,
Julie

[doubleportion]

Because she is a strong reader and writer, I think she could start with 4/5 and do very well! Our fifth grade ds is finishing out the 4/5 Boy Interest Package from DITHOR and enjoying those titles sooooo much. I bet your dd will love the girl choices! Or, of course, you could choose your own books too - whichever you prefer. Are you going to do it 5 days a week, or less? DITHOR is so flexible. We are currently doing it 4 days a week and have our 7 1/2 yo in Level 2/3, and our almost 11 yo in Level 4/5. We especially enjoy the kickoffs and final projects, and I love the strong reading comprehension DITHOR fosters as well as the Godly Character Traits influence. Enjoy - you have many excellent days of learning ahead of you!

In Christ,
Julie

Thanks, Julie. That confirms what I had thought would be the choice; but without seeing the full program in front of me I was unsure. I think we will see how it goes in terms of how many days a week. Right now we are used to schooling 4 full days and 1 light day. With extra curricular activities we sometimes ended up catching up, often on that 5th day. But I am hoping our Spring will be less heavy than the 1st half of the year. I was really drawn to the Godly Character Traits portion of the program. We so want to see our children learn to have that internal filter that is rooted in the Bible. In the beginning we may just go with Library books, until we have more give in our budget. The girl interest pack does look good, and actually I even like allot of the boy interest books too
My dd loved reading the Black Stallion this year. Thanks for chiming in.

Edie