When not to worry about spelling and handwriting?

[sw1ssm1ss]

My daughter is 7, almost 8. We just finished Beyond and are starting Bigger and DITHOR. She varies as to whether she "likes" to write. She will sometimes write for fun--lots of notes and pictures with text, sometimes journals and even stories. She will sometimes complain about writing for school. Copywork was far and away her biggest frustration with Beyond. Having to write things down in a notebook completely stymied us last year when we were doing a Bible study of 1st Peter related to the Bible Bee. We stopped it completely because it was such a struggle, and it really didn't seem to be worth it to be stressing ourselves to that extent for something that was should be spiritually nourishing and fun!

We are on Day 5 of DITHOR in our first genre--Biography. When we had to do the first student page, she complained and moaned and groaned about doing any writing at all. When the writing was done, I made her go back and fix some things that were misspelled or illegible (or both!). Today, I told her we could do the pool in the backyard after she finished her DITHOR page. We discussed the questions and some possible answers. She worked on it while I made lunch. Pretty soon it was, "I'm done!" Of course, the paper was riddled with spelling and handwriting mistakes, but the sentences were complete and accurate. The English teacher in me cannot stand to leave these things unfixed. The realist knows that she IS learning, that spelling "James Ferocious" JAMS FUROSUS is not particularly bad or abnormal for her age, and that demanding perfection in every area will probably make us both hate school. Help!

[Molly]

I have seen many a time the advice to write the answers etc on a board or another piece of paper as they give the answer and then have them copy the answers on the student page. I have done this with my 8 year old occasionally, and sometimes I have also just filled out the page myself with her telling me what to write. For me the purpose of DITHR is to help them get a deeper understanding of literature, so I leave the spelling and handwriting to other times in the day where it is more important. I hope this helps some. DITHR really is great for helping them think about the books they are reading. I really like the way HOD encourages them to think about what they are doing, rather than just being a passive participant.

[arstephia]

I too don't want to get caught up in the mechanics of the early years, so either I write her answers on a white board, or I have her write her answers on a white board. If the latter, then I fix her spelling errors and such so when she copies it, it is correct. I don't dwell on it because sometimes her vocabulary is further than her spelling ability, and I want to encourage the more descriptive vocab in her writing and not be hindered by her lack of spelling skills. Now handwriting is a different deal, and I do tell her to take care and pride in her paper. If she scribbles or is messy, it is more of a character training opportunity then a writing ability for her. If a student is struggling with handwriting, then working on shorter copy work selections to correct form may be needed.

[my3sons]

Is she 7 yo? If so, it sounds like she is writing oodles more than my sons did when they were 7 yo. Now at 9 yo and 12 yo, they have turned out to both be very good writers.

When we started DITHOR, we went half-speed. The boys read half of their alloted pages one day. The next day they read the other half of the pages and we did the DITHOR 2/3 plans. Like the other ladies, I wrote the answers in the DITHOR Student Book as they dictated. After one genre, I wrote half in the book and the other half on a markerboard for him to copy in book. Then, after another few genres, I wrote all answers on markerboard and he wrote them in the book. Finally, by the end of the fourth or fifth genre, I was just nearby with markeboard to help him with spelling of any words he found difficult. I agree, we don't want them spelling words incorrectly as soon incorrectly spelled words become habits and "look right" to them, even though they are wrong. Easing into DITHOR this way helps dc spell correctly and be able to truly enjoy sharing their answers as they focus on the comprehension rather than the spelling/grammar of writing answers.

I think your dd would enjoy a progression such as this, and I think you would too! You have so many years to enjoy DITHOR ahead of you, no need to start with too much of a writing load for dd. Rather start with enjoying it, kind of book club, meeting together style - I think you'll both enjoy it so much with these few changes!

In Christ,
Julie

[krazzymommy]

Is she 7 yo? If so, it sounds like she is writing oodles more than my sons did when they were 7 yo. Now at 9 yo and 12 yo, they have turned out to both be very good writers.

When we started DITHOR, we went half-speed. The boys read half of their alloted pages one day. The next day they read the other half of the pages and we did the DITHOR 2/3 plans. Like the other ladies, I wrote the answers in the DITHOR Student Book as they dictated. After one genre, I wrote half in the book and the other half on a markerboard for him to copy in book. Then, after another few genres, I wrote all answers on markerboard and he wrote them in the book. Finally, by the end of the fourth or fifth genre, I was just nearby with markeboard to help him with spelling of any words he found difficult. I agree, we don't want them spelling words incorrectly as soon incorrectly spelled words become habits and "look right" to them, even though they are wrong. Easing into DITHOR this way helps dc spell correctly and be able to truly enjoy sharing their answers as they focus on the comprehension rather than the spelling/grammar of writing answers.

I think your dd would enjoy a progression such as this, and I think you would too! You have so many years to enjoy DITHOR ahead of you, no need to start with too much of a writing load for dd. Rather start with enjoying it, kind of book club, meeting together style - I think you'll both enjoy it so much with these few changes!

In Christ,
Julie

I know this thread is a little older, but I just had to thank you for this post! I was just looking through our DITHOR materials that we'll be starting soon and was starting to get a little worried about my ds. I am going to do exactly as you've suggested here and I think it will be a great year. Thanks, Julie!

[scampbell2003]

Yes Thanks Julie! We will be starting DITHOR soon as well. I typically am a all or nothing. I was thinking we will just go full steam ahead. But reading this thread and knowing my DD just turned 8. That would be a disaster. I will be using these steps and setting my DD up for success! So blessed by this board once again!

[my3sons]

Thanks, ladies! It worked well for our kiddos, so I hope it does for yours too! We've enjoyed DITHOR for many years now. It really is a neat way to teach reading, and along the way, dc learn a lot about writing well too.

In Christ,
Julie