My dd isn't where the teacher says the class is

[Thereistoomuchconfusion]

The teacher put a sign up saying that the class had done really well and had now completed all of phase 3 phonics. My dd doesn't know all her phase 3 phonics. The teacher put that they are moving to the next stage, but I'm worried if my dd doesn't know the basics she will just lose more and more interest. It's a struggle to get her to read. She really isn't interested. She says its too hard. She is reading phase 2 books. She cannot even finish 2 pages. She makes no mistakes but its so hard for her to sound it out however she does get there but it takes her such a long time she gets fed up.

I really want to sit down with her teacher and just discuss this but we just had parents evening and my dh thinks I'm making mountains out of mole hills. And to leve it to them. The teacher told us at parents evening that, our dd is very bright and that she isn't ready to learn at the moment she is in a reading group on her own to try and bridge the gap between her and her peers. The teacher told us she feels frustrated as she knows dd can do it but isn't interested. She reassured us there was nothing we can do at home they will tackle it at school and it seems as though they have implemented things to help her along.

I'm so worried for her I am more than aware that if they can read at school it is so much easier for the child. I struggled to read at school and dh struggled with concentration and we were branded naughty kids. I don't want that for her.

Any words of reassurance would be fab. Or just honest harsh advice needed (I have tough skin). My dd is turning 5 this week.

[adeucalione]

Whilst it does sound as if the school are on top of the issue, I think you should make an appointment to discuss your concerns with the teacher as you are clearly worried. There is absolutely nothing to be gained by fretting about it at home, when you could talk through your concerns with the teacher.

I am surprised that you have been advised to 'leave it to them' though. IME reading is one area where huge improvements can be made through practice at home with a parent. Even just sharing books with her, or having her see you read books yourself, might trigger some enthusiasm in your DD - since you say that she is capable but uninterested.

[toughdecisions]

The usborne books such as shark in the park have lovely illustrations (and flaps) and were far easier to attempt to interest DS in trying than the school ones at that stage.

[HeathRobinson]

This may be for older kids, as I don't remember mine having phonics to do but could you read one sentence and then she does the next. Or one paragraph each.

I'd also get some interesting books to read from the library, that you read to her every night. after the school reading is done. So that she wants to get to them and learns that reading is interesting.

I don't know whether it's too soon, or whether you already do it, but you could be asking dd to find you a letter, or a word on a cereal packet or sign.

Ime, practice and more of it, always helped. But it's got to be fun.

[bangwhizz]

What I did was make a few cards each with a phonics sound on it.Put them at the end of the garden or other side of the room and shout the phonic sound and child runs to get it and bring it back as soon as possible and then another and then another and time it.Then get the child to time you doing it (and of coutse you are never as quick as your clever child!!)next time try to beat the time or add another phonic in.Try hopping instead of running and then bunny hopping.
It defuses the situation the child thinks it is a hopping game rather than learning reading.

[bangwhizz]

or of course it doesn't have to be just phonics sounds it can be whole words

[Thereistoomuchconfusion]

Thank you everyone there are some great ideas here. Dd loves her bedtime story. But it's difficult to get her involved she just gives up. I find it hard to determine whether she is not capable or can't be bothered and that's basically what I would like to determine from the teacher. Her teacher is lovely so I think I will ask for a chat. And take some of these ideas on board thanks again xxx

[sillyoldfool]

my DD was really struggling, then her school got a subscription for everyone to 'reading eggs' it's a sort of online reading game based on phonics. She's come on leaps and bounds since playing on it, it's very repetitive but fun, so it really made the phonic sounds stick in DDs head.
You can have a 2 week free trial before you pay anything for it, I really can't recommend it enough, DD is now reading well and enjoying it.
The game is meant to be suitable from age 3, the children do a little quiz when they start to find what part of the game they should start on.

[learnandsay]

When my daughter started reading she point blank refused to sound out words and would only read words that she knew and if she saw a word that she didn't know, like cats, because it's cat with an s on the end she would say I don't know that word. And then one day she started sounding out.

[HeathRobinson]

silly - you've reminded me of the Woodlands School website. Great for literacy, maths etc etc.

[sunnyday123]

I'm surprised they're progressing the whole class as a group- in dds school, all classes inc reception are split into four groups for reading - some are on ort 3/4 some are on stage 1? They do cover phonics together but their books reinforce it anyway so your dd shouldn't be expected to move at the same pace as everyone else.

[Geeklover]

My dd really struggled with sounding out words she was way behind. They just would not compute in her head.
Now she is just about 10 and her reading and comprehension age is way ahead. Once she got it she flew.
Tbh we didn't do a huge amount of extra work at home. Just revised her phonics and did her reading.
She was one of the younger ones in the class and I wasn't in any panic to get her reading. I knew it would come eventually.

[DameFanny]

Ds is bright enough but was well behind in his reading in the first two years. Then something twigged, and suddenly he was flying. We finished the Harry potter books last year - us reading a chapter at bedtime and he reading one or two on his own - and he turned 9 this January.

I honestly think that reading is one of those things - like crawling or walking - that don't come to a child until a certain bit of brain joins up, and that happens at different times for different children.

So my policy was to make sure we did nothing to put ds off reading - a bit of work with the school book and then a meaty story that we'd read for enjoyment.

When he was getting closer to independent reading, and for a while after, I made sure he could see the page I was reading from, and I followed the text with my finger - which he liked. Worth a try?

[learnandsay]

What are parents' views of what is expected of their children in terms of using new sounds? We often hear from parents who help out in school that children go into Y1 on a range of book bands from pink to free readers. So there must be a lot of children out there who have "covered" all sorts of sounds in class but are not having them in their reading books. It must be normal.

[simpson]

You could try getting some books that you read together.

Usborne do a fab set of books where the adult reads one page and the child reads to speech bubble on the next page.