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Hi. I'm new to HOD and DITHR. I have a question about the length of the literature selections for the different genres.

I have two boys (12 & 10) who like to read. The 12yo is an average reader and the other can fly through an average 4th/5th grade chapter book in a weekend.

I think I'm planning to stretch each book over the 20 days. And I'm planning to do 8 of the genres this coming school year. Soooo, my question is this: How long should the books be? How many pages would stretch out over 20 days? Would it be better to read two books per genre and finish each in 10 days?

Also, are the page assignments read only during the school day? Are they reading during the evenings or weekends?

Thanks,
Kristie

I haven'd done Drawn, so can't help with that...but, did want to say

WELCOME KRISTIE

We're glad to have you here, and don't worry...someone will be along shortly to answer your question!
Mel

Kristie,

You can actually pace the readings of the books to suit your kiddos best, so if you have readers who like to consume books, you can be on the faster reading pace each day. If you have readers who want to be done with the reading sessions quickly, you can schedule shorter readings.

With DITHR, the kiddos are only reading their assigned pages during their school-time. Their evening and weekend reading is separate and not related to DITHR.

At our house, I have moved to scheduling shorter readings for my boys' DITHR assignments so that I can keep a better handle on what they've read and also keep our overall time down for that area. With my older son (whose going into grade 7), I have also gone to selecting more classic, difficult-type books that I want to make sure I spend time discussing and processing with him. Then, I schedule only one lengthy book done in shorter segments. So, those are just a few tips we've come to through our years of using DITHR, but the great thing is that it works for all types of families and all types of readers. So, vary it to suit your family best!

Happy reading!
Carrie

Does your son ever ask to read more during his reading time? And do you tell him "no, that is to be saved for tomorrow"? My son will often ask me if he can keep reading even when his 30 minutes is up. I'm just wondering how you handle it at your house.

inHistiming,

I don't let my kiddos read ahead during their DITHR time. We do it very Charlotte-Mason style with our goal being set readings over a longer period of time for better retention. But DITHR works with all types of philosophies, so you can use it whichever way fits your family best!

Blessings,
Carrie