Reception children and reading

[Bumblebeeanddog]

Hi, for those with a reception aged child, I was just wondering what sort of sentences they can read?

My little one can sound out CVC words and recall a handful of tricky words but that's it.

'Cat is red' type sentences most Reception children are reading or more complicated?

More complicated here but I have no other school age children so not sure if that’s the norm

This time last year dd was reading basic paddington stories so more advanced than that, but also had peers who are just slightly ahead of that stage in Year one. So there's a broad range of abilities.

Both mine were at a similar point when they started reception. Schools don’t expect children to know any of this when they start so there is no need to worry.

I'm amazed by how far my son has come since being in Reception. He could only read his name when he started in September and now he is reading "He sings in the shops and he sings in the shed." (Actual excerpt!) But please remember all kids are different and there are prob other kids in his class who are above and below this level of reading.

My dd is 5 and we are up in Scotland. She won't start school till she is 5.5years but can read stage 4 books in the Oxford reading tree books. She can retell the story in a more basic way than she has read. I'm not sure how old kids in reception are but they all develop at their own rates so I wouldn't worry. I think the main thing is to encourage a love of reading so they get a lot of practice.

All 3 of mine were at the same as your dc, op. All much older now any very advanced readers.

DS1 struggled and I (correctly suspected) dyslexia quite early on. He was still on stage 3 yellow books in y2 when his teacher tried him with colour filters, he suddenly read fluently and was bumped up to stage 5.

It took a long time to learn all the sounds and phonemes. Then reversal type errors was/ saw because his visual tracking doesn't work smoothly from left to right.

In y5, he's now in the expected band for age. His stamina isn't great because of the effort. But he's functional, has a good understanding and a great vocabulary. I still read to him a lot because it opens him to texts that are too challenging to read himself, but he can understand.

If you do have a slow starter, don't panic, keep it fun, don't force them, work with their interests. Read with them. There is lots of time to catch up with patience.

My May born DD went to reception reading simple CVC sentences because she was really keen to read. I will post a photo later of her reading books this week, they are not massively more difficult. She is a really reluctant to write sentences mostly because her letter formation is poor. She is doing additional group work in school for this.

If you have concerns then you should speak to your lo teacher. Have you not had a parent’s evening since the last lockdown?

At lockdown last year, so March of YR, dd2 was still going c-a-t dog?

Over lockdown we hammered phonics sounds, red words (the kind you can't sound out like 'one') and by Oct half term of Y1 she could read books like Julia Donaldson's A Squash and A Squeeze.

It just clicks into place and then they improve really quickly in my experience.

Reception is all about play, DS is in yr 1 and the jump between that and reception in terms of his development is unreal.
I’d not hugely be worried about what point they are at in reception.... I’d be more concerned about year 1 and beyond

Sorry I misread this as DC starting reception this year - ignore my post!

Mine couldn’t do much although we had tried. It all clicked and he’s doing great - don’t worry (I really did!)

As promised here are the middle two pages of this weeks books

No point asking on Mumsnet. All of their children can read war and peace from birth.

Your child is completely 100% normal for their age. They’ve missed a lot of school. Expect huge leaps this summer term and into year 1 and don’t worry. Let them play and be 5. That’s what Reception is for.

My DD is at exactly the same stage as yours (and probably the oldest kid in the year too). I wasn't concerned until I read this thread , now I am a bit!

We did all the homeschooling during the most recent lockdown, but phonics hasn't quite clicked yet, to be fair, I struggle with it myself so can understand why 4 and 5 year olds find it tricky!

If it's reassuring at all OP, my DD's teacher said most of the children in her year were struggling with digraphs etc and they were going to recap phase 3 phonics over this term rather than progressing onto phase 4. She didn't seem concerned in the slightest about her reading level, just emphasised to keep it fun and talk lots and lots to build vocab for when they can read a bit more.

No idea on other children in her class but my daughter is 4 and a half and reading level 3 of the Oxford books. We read with her everyday as well as doing tricky word practice, it was almost like a switch had been flicked, one day she wasn't bothered then all of a sudden she was and progressed quickly.

DS1 is in reception and is at the stage given above - spells out the letters but can't then say what the word is. Can't blend the sounds of the letters into a word.

That said he's at a school that values non academic pursuits - he's in the forest and at the beach a day a week each, and very rarely in a classroom situation.

Comparison is the thief of joy - reading about some of these other children has made me anxious for a minute, but generally I'm happy with where he is and confident he's progressing.

My son can read a few tricky words and some he remembers. He hasn’t really got blending and not overly interested in reading and writing. I’m hoping it clicks soon. He’s more interested in sports and making things

I’m sure I’m heard the goal is to read a sentence by the end of year r..

@trilbydoll my ds was exactly the same ‘h-a-t....pause..shoe?’. Madness!

I agree with all the pp’s, keep plugging away at it, encouraging and making it fun. When it falls into place it’s amazing how quickly it all snowballs.

Comprehension is so important and you can work on that now. Have you googled VIPERS for KS1?

I do feel like they have missed so much school and it hasn’t helped my son has had lots of different teachers and bubbles with the lockdown and his main teacher has been off a lot for personal reasons. Wasn’t the best start to school. Not much can be fine though!

Reception teacher here. I have a really broad range in my class, from children who are reading more complex sentences (e.g. with words with digraphs and longer words), to children who don't know all of the single sounds and who can't blend yet.

If your little one can sound out and blend CVC words and read a sentence like 'The cat is red', I'd say they're getting there with reading .

Keep practising the phase 3 digraphs and tricky words. Fiveminutemum has lots of great activites and games to play that don't feel like they're 'doing reading'.

@SlidesAndLadders I am jealous!

One dd read war and peace and les miserable in the original French age 5, the other is suspected dyslexic

Bog roll.. How did you know re the tracking...

PS if your dc is still struggling by end of year one you need to be looking at why and try other ways to get them to read like sight reading, hfw flash cards... Peter and Jane etc.