To think kids learn to read at home

[homhumherewego]

A friend with kids was saying in her daughters class there are quite a few kids learning to read.

WTH?

Isnt teaching reading a parent's job?

[Bubblebubblepop]

What before 4?

[Sirzy]

A parents job is the encourage a love of books and reading.

A schools job is to teach a child the skills to read

[Misspollyhadadollie]

Really? I wouldn't expect a 3 year old to be able to read

[AdalindSchade]

Not really no
Learning to read in reception year is perfectly normal!

[MargoLovebutter]

My DCs were in school before they were five and neither of them could read.
I read with them at home but they were 'taught' at school. I was also taught by the school the phonics system they were using, so that I wasn't pronouncing stuff differently & confusing my DC.

[TulipsInAJug]

Are you being serious?!

[Holdbacktheriver]

[AuntLydia]

It's a team effort surely! Why would a kid learning anything in school provoke a 'wth' response? It's kind of what a school is for....

[opalshine]

I think it's very advantageous if parents can teach them.

[LooksLikeImStuckHere]

Well if it is solely the parent's job then that takes a huge weight off all us primary teachers Phew.

[Firesuit]

I would guess that 99% of children learn to read in school.

Responders are unreasonable not realise this is a stealth boast.

[coldcanary]

There’s no wtf needed, most children learn to read in school. Parents can read to them and expose them to books, help them to recognise letters and their names etc but teachers are best equipped and qualified to actually teach them to read properly.
I would have loved all 3 of mine to have been able to read before starting school, DS didn’t really ‘get’ it until half way through reception class though. His siblings could recognise some letters but certainly couldn’t read by the time they started school. All of them read perfectly well now though so I don’t think it held them back!

[Hermagsjesty]

I think it’s a parents’ job is to nurture a child’s curiousity, including a love of storytelling and books. I do believe in reading to your child every night for example. But I think it’s vital for children’s development that they get space to play, unwind and have unstructured time at home. So, I think the formal skills of learning to read should be learnt at school (with parents supporting).

[Wide0penSpace]

Learning to read is quite a complicated process OP, involving learning the phonetically correct way of pronouncing letters and being able to blend them to make words. Also learning common exception words. It usually takes a few years to be able to read fluently.

Are you confusing learning to read with learning to ride a bike?

[Nikephorus]

I'm with the OP - I think parents should be teaching their kids to read pre-school as part of reading with them & encouraging them. It's what my mum did. I don't see it as stealth-boasting, more the opposite for those that can't be bothered.

[Commuterface]

Erm no. Do you actually have children or are you just trying to be a GF? The expectation for a child starting in reception is to be able to recognise their name and that's about it.

As a parent our duty is to read to our children from a very young age and encourage a life long live of books.

[Enb76]

I think a love of reading often comes from home and many children who can read before school come from the homes of people who read to their children. However, if that hasn't happened then school teaches them how to read. You need to be able to read to access curriculum so it would disadvantage those children whose parents were unable for whatever reason to read with their children.

Children are meant to have a level playing field at school but of course, they are advantaged or disadvantaged purely by being born into a particular family, schools try to level this out by teaching all the basics.

[Nikephorus]

It usually takes a few years to be able to read fluently.
You are kidding aren't you?! I could read fluently at 4.5 and I wasn't a child prodigy.

[Commuterface]

Love not live obvs

[cantmakecarrotcake]

I think some children are receptive/ready to learn to read early (ie before school) in which case they learn from the parents. Others are not ready and learn via phonics at school. My eldest is in the latter category, I suspect my youngest will be in the former.

It was drilled into us at the Reception phonics evening that parents reading with and working with the children is as important as the work the teachers do with them and I agree. They can't read a book a day, learn spellings etc with each and every child.

Reception (and then KS1) teachers work absolute miracles with those little 4 year olds. I was astonished at how quickly my daughter could read a book but we've worked hard with her too to cement what she's been learning at school. It's a joint effort and neither will fully succeed without the other (home-schooling aside).

[Twofishfingers]

Children start school very young in this country. I made a very conscious decision not to teach my kids to read at home. They were exposed to books very young, I was reading to them every day, and they knew many letter sounds before starting reception (with the correct phonics). I think it's the school's job to do this, and my job to support, encourage a love of reading.

[Sirzy]

nike I am guessing you don’t have children?

[kaytee87]

I’d say most children can read there name and maybe a few words like ‘ball’ ‘dog’ ‘cat’ but it’s a joint process between teachers and parents and also an on going one into adolescence when you begin to read more complicated pieces for longer periods.
So of course children are learning to read at school, there’s nothing wrong with that.

Have a thought for parents with dyslexia, other disabilities or indeed who work 12 hour shifts to keep a roof over their children’s head and just don’t have the time to teach their children to read before the age of 5 (as if it’s necessary anyway).

[Commuterface]

I could read fluently at 4.5 and I wasn't a child prodigy.

Of course you could dear. Is your name Matilda Wormwood by any chance?

[LooksLikeImStuckHere]

Nike that's an unfair post. Some children will not be developmentally ready to begin reading before school. It's like a switch and when they are ready and have had all the relevant information, they can start to piece it all together. It's got nothing to do with not wanting to be bothered.

It bothers me more when parents don't hear their children read at home once they are in school than not trying to teach them to read before it.

My son was able to read when he started school because he was ready. Not because I sat down and taught him how (I didn't, I just gave him the tools to do so).