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Original poster

Can reception children read?

188 replies

ReadingGeniuses · 15/12/2022 16:22

I went to DS' nativity this morning (he's in reception). There were 2 girls narrating the play, they were reading it off a script. I was quite confused. Can some children already read this fluently at that age? They hadn't memorised it, they were just reading. Are they geniuses? Or is this way more common than I realise?

OP posts:
ButterflyBiscuit · 15/12/2022 16:24

Yes there will be reception children who can read - especially a term in. Remember some of those starting will be a whole year older than the youngest ones- so start reception just a bit younger than some of those starting yr 1!

Lolly86 · 15/12/2022 16:25

My daughter could as did a fair few others but plenty couldn't 😊

Imagineit · 15/12/2022 16:25

Are you sure they were from the same class? We usually ask children in year 2 to narrate the Nativity

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TeeBee · 15/12/2022 16:25

Both of mine did. My eldest was reading Harry Potter by reception (didn't understand many of the words or the context but could read/decode them). My mum tells me I was the same so I don't think its rare. But kids learn different things at different ages, depending on what their exposed to. We read a lot at home so that's what they learnt.

modgepodge · 15/12/2022 16:26

Some can, some can’t. Either is fine at this stage.

Tandoorimixedgrill · 15/12/2022 16:26

Yes some can read. A few arrive able to read well, most will take longer.

Some are five and some won’t be five till August (so 20% younger) which will also make a difference.

Don’t compare your child’s reading abilities to others, comparison is the thief of joy.

BabyofMine · 15/12/2022 16:27

My child can read by blending and segmenting words with sounds she’s already learned. And she’s learned by rote lots of “tricky” (non decodable) words.
She could probably be a narrator reading passages, but bear in mind they’ve probably practiced and practiced for weeks and it’s mostly memorisation by that point, they won’t have read the passages as fluently the first time they saw them!

When mine gets her reading book for the week there is lots of “c a t - cat” sounding out each letter, but by the end of the week she’s memorised the book and it would sound a lot more impressive than it actually is!

Echobelly · 15/12/2022 16:27

Some can read even before school, some won't read until they're 6, takes all sorts.

Squashpocket · 15/12/2022 16:28

Yes, my DS can read fairly well now and is in reception. He can read purple band books. I could also read in reception, so suppose it's genetic or something. I definitely did not turn out to be a genius, so I'm not sure being able to read at 4 is indicative of anything other than being able to read at 4.

GoingtotheWinchester · 15/12/2022 16:29

I could read very well at that age and was always the narrator 🙄. Kids all develop at different rates 😊.

ComtesseDeSpair · 15/12/2022 16:29

I’d imagine the narrators were picked specifically from the small minority of the class who are able to read fluently, and aren’t representative of the wider year group. They may be the oldest in the class and therefore a little further on in development / more academically ready than the younger ones; they may have very motivated parents; they may be geniuses.

I could read fluently when I started Reception because my mum started teaching me to read from about the age of three. I’ve no idea why, perhaps she was bored. According to my mum I’m definitely a genius, and I’m not someone to argue with my mum. In seriousness: whilst I don’t think it was common, I don’t think I was exceptional, there were definitely a couple of my other classmates who were sent with me to the junior section of the library to pick our reading books.

RandyMandyy · 15/12/2022 16:29

I could read well when I started reception. My sister couldn't read until Yr1. She is unusually clever and is now earning a fortune. I am extremely average (but happy!) So.....meh.

Original poster
ReadingGeniuses · 15/12/2022 16:30

Yes I guess some of these children are almost 5 and a half. But even so, where did they learn it? At pre school they would only have just started phonics, so do they learn at home?

I feel like I haven't done enough teaching with DS in this case!!! I thought he was doing quite well deciphering 4 letter words, I know some in his class still struggle with 3 letter words.

I wonder how teachers manage to cater for such different ability levels in one class.

@Imagineit I did wonder that, but DS is adamant they are in reception.

OP posts:
Reindear · 15/12/2022 16:30

I was a fluent reader aged 5/6. Everyone caught up with me though. I’m not a genius- I read quite fast but that’s about it!

Dartmoorcheffy · 15/12/2022 16:31

I could read an Enid Blyton book easily at the age of 4. My mum had spent a lot of time teaching me to read though and I enjoyed it .

Ponderingwindow · 15/12/2022 16:32

Some can, those that aren’t will catch up soon enough. a few years later no one will remember who could read in reception.

dd was an early reader. It has advantages, but also some disadvantages. Finding age appropriate books in terms of content for children who want something much more complex at an early age is challenging. You also can’t spell things to hide them from your children or leave anything out you don’t want them to see.

troppibambini6 · 15/12/2022 16:34

Hi have 4 kids and 2 could read well in reception and 2 couldnt.
The 2 that could wanted to know what everything said and wanted to learn so I would teach them.
The other 2 weren't interested. I would still read to them which they all loved and try and encourage them but at the end of the day they weren't really bothered.
They are all much older now and can all read. 🤷‍♀️

TeeBee · 15/12/2022 16:34

Yes, of course they learn at home. You read them a story, you show them the letters and sound them out. You don't need to do it though, they will learn it at school. I just wanted mine to feel confident when they got there. Its honestly no biggie if you haven't done that. So long as you engage with their reading when they bring books home, it will be fine. None of them (well, very few) will leave school not being fluent readers.

BogRollBOGOF · 15/12/2022 16:35

I taught myself to read from watching Sesame Street when I was 2. I could read chapter books and newspapers in yR. I lost my advantage by late junior school.
I've got dyslexic children who are very different to me and took a lot longer to get going.

The normal range in yR is very wide.

Notjusta · 15/12/2022 16:37

Some can, those that aren’t will catch up soon enough. a few years later no one will remember who could read in reception.

100% this. Don't worry about it. My DS is in year 10 now. He still goes to school with kids he started in reception with. I have no idea who could read by the end of the first term of year R and who couldn't. The importance of book bands is really fleeting in the big scheme of things.

GiltEdges · 15/12/2022 16:37

Yes, I’m another one who was always designated narrator of my primary school plays 😏 Arrived at school being able to read fluently. I wouldn’t say I’m a genius by any stretch, but reading, and literature generally, has remained a passion throughout my life.

I don’t think my parents did anything special to help me learn to read, but my dad was also an avid reader and we used to sit together for an hour every night before bed while he read to me, all kinds of books, until one day it changed and I was the one reading to him 🤷‍♀️

Original poster
ReadingGeniuses · 15/12/2022 16:37

I went to school in another country and somehow had it in my head that the year you learn to read is Age 6/7. I could read fluently Age 6 and that was considered Advanced so I skipped a class.

So I thought he'd only know to read in Year 1 or 2!

He loves books, we spent most of lockdown reading, he could sit and listen to book after book. But I didn't really think to teach him to read as I thought it was way too early!

Should he be bringing reading books from school? We've not had that, just a sheet with the letter of the week.

OP posts:
AccidentallyRunToWindsor · 15/12/2022 16:38

I could read before I started school and was always the narrator in stuff because of it. Not special in any way, just how it happens. I couldn't tie my laces until I was 10 😂

DP's child is August born and we have to keep in mind there are kids in thier class that are all but a few days short of a year older than him.

DontFeatureMeOnSocialMedia · 15/12/2022 16:38

My son could. He is a September baby and went to the nursery attached to the school for a year before he started. They did phonics every day with the nursery children so he essentially had been learning for a year before he officially started school.

My daughter missed a big chunk of nursery because of lockdown and although she knew a fair few sounds she wasn't able to properly blend until the spring term. She is also a spring baby.

Age and circumstances make a huge difference at that age but most children catch up eventually and by the time they reach secondary school it won't be obvious who was an early reader and who wasn't.

WonderingWanda · 15/12/2022 16:39

Some do yes. Some kids pick reading up really quickly and others more slowly. Mine went to nursery and so started some phonics there and we read every night to them and they began to pick some of it up. When they began school they were pretty fast at picking up the phonics and making rapid progress. Some kids don't pick it is as fast but it can be linked to other aspects of development. Mine were early talkers but slower with gross motor skills.