AIBU or very PFB to keep speaking to the school about DDs reading

[averywoomummy]

As DD is PFB I have no idea if I am becoming "that" mother or if If I am helping my DD.

DD is in year 1 and is a July birthday. She seems to be struggling with her reading and entered Year 1 on pink ORT level and is still on pink ORT level. From looking at the ORT guidelines this does seem to be behind. I went into school a couple of times in reception and they waved away any concerns and said she was fine and some of her blending was at a level 1 level etc but clearly it's not!

I have again asked this term and been told she's fine. I have asked what I can do do help her and all they say is keep reading with her. I have read to her everyday since she was born! We do 5/10 mins reading practice each day and often do word games like hangman/eye spy etc. The house is full of books - I can't think what else to do!

Anyway parents evening is next week and I don't know whether to voice my concerns again. I am torn because half of me thinks she is still young and she will get it in her own time and half of me thinks she is clearly behind and I need to do more to help her get up to speed and I don't want her to fall further behind. Also if there is a learning difficulty such as processing or dyslexia I would rather get help with it sooner than later. I also feel rather fobbed off by the school and have had no concrete advice or help from them.

AIBU to keep pushing this with them or should I just keep doing what I am doing with the reading and hope for the best?

How well can she actually read? Can she sound out and blend? Can she read any hfw?

She's year 1, give her some time

Keep doing what you are doing and keep pushing the school.

She is behind on her reading if she is on pink books in Y1.

In my school for Y1 they like Rec kids to go into y1 on yellow and leave y1 on orange books.

Keep pushing and ask what sort of intervention is in place for weaker readers.

A bit of advice avery, be wary of projecting your anxieties about your DDs reading to her. She will sense it and become anxious also and she may (like I did many years ago as a child) start to dislike/fear/avoid reading.

From my experience children develop their reading (and other) skills in their own time and not as per 'guidelines'. Certainly mention it to your teacher again at Parents Evening, but listen to their advice and always making your reading together a fun and enjoyable experience for your child. This way, as time goes on, she will be encouraged to read and explore books for herself. Good luck.

As an ex librarian who read to my son several times a day and can't move in my house for books I took it as to personal failing when ds didn't take to reading. However now he's seven we're getting there. He's dyslexic but they didn't test for that until last year. We plough on with the reading, slowly but surely he is getting better.

But the love of books is there. So even though it's difficult and takes a lot of effort he still seeks books out.

It sounds like you have instilled the same love of books so whilst she's building the foundations of reading keep sharing books, buying books, borrowing books and enjoying them.

Owlina - she knows all her individual letter sounds and she can sound out CVC words like cat, big etc and blend them. She also knows some sight HFW like the, then come, was. She has fairly good comprehension and can happily talk about what might happen in the story - how the characters feel etc

Thing is she is not very consistent. Sometimes she can read a book very well - othertimes she struggles with easy words that she has been able to read previously. Sometimes she will remember HFW at other times it is as though she has never seen them before.

We have some ORT red books and home and she can do about 85-90% with them.

Ilethimkeep20quid I feel the same - as though I have done something wrong or failed my DD.

DD certainly loves books and loves being read too - it's just reading them herself that she struggles with.

I have a July born ds who has also just entered yr 1 and is on pink level books. I'd suggest that you relax about it all, I'm not a teacher but from speaking to many other parents of older children and teachers it seems that a well supported child will learn to read somewhere between about age 4 and 7 and there's little we as parents can do (other than reading with.them and all.the things you're already doing) to determine when that will be. A friends son I'm the last term of yr 2 went from reception level reading to free reading within a term. I'd concentrate on enjoying books together

I think parents evening is the perfect opportunity to discuss this. Tell them you fear she is falling behind with her reading, and see what reassurance they offer.

I was all ready to say YWBU but I thought you were nagging the teacher every day about her progress! This is exactly what parents evening is for. If the teacher knows this is a concern for you, you could continue to communicate via DD's reading diary.

I wouldn't worry. She's only just 5, sounds like she's doing fine. DD1 coasted along the bottom groups until the end of y2, when she suddenly woke up and shot through the reading levels. Now in y3 she is doing really well, is right in there with her peers and enjoys school. It just takes some kids longer to hit their stride.

She seems so young to have major worries about it,tbh. If she's reading some words then she's making progress. The idea that people are determining five yr olds are behind at reading seems mad...but that's coming from Ireland, where many don't start school till five or after...

My son was six and half before he really started reading 'properly', some of his friends were a year earlied, no diff now seven yrs later

So, I'd imagine keep doing what your doing and keep readding fun for her

I wrote a long post, lost it and now the thread has moved on.

Ok, firstly I think you are right to be concerned- pink level is low, if you can see lots of progress that's one thing, but I get the impression that you're not seeing that.

You mention hfw- is she being expected to learn lots of words that she can't yet 'sound out'? Do her books include lots of words that she can't yet 'sound out- are the school expecting here to 'use the pictures' to work words out? All of these are mixed methods teaching, which fails around 1 in 5 children.

I would be asking how the school are developing her phonics knowledge, and how you can do the same. If the books are too hard, leave them. Give her words like 'top' 'went' 'next' to sound out which only include phonemes she knows. Write messages using sounds she knows- really simple things like 'I will get the bus'. 'The Ted is at the top'.

But don't worry if she can't yet read all the high frequency words, that will come later as her phonics knowledge is developed.

I think that children learn to read when they are neurologically ready. My October born DS left YR totally unable to read. I had read with Him extensively since he was tiny. Bedtimes were becoming stressful. I abandoned reading over the summer holidays. When he started Y1 he could read. He had not been physically ready until then

Try to relax about it. I am sure that your DD will get there when she is ready.

What concerns me is that you have said she only knows her single letter sounds. During reception children are usually taught to at least level 3 of Letters and Sounds, or complete all of the basics of Jolly Phonics.

So that would include consonant digraphs like sh, th and ch and the vowel ones like ee, ai etc to igh and air.

She is young of course but this is the area I would focus on, especially if she is more consistent with her blending but less so with remembering tricky words which have probably been taught in wholes.

Ask the school which phonics phase she is on (or what scheme they are using) and whether she is getting extra phonics help (imo she should be).

There's an excellent series of Letters and Sounds work books you can get from Amazon, they go right up to level 6 and use lots of different activities to help embed learning.

Just thought of another phonics recommendation- the phonicsplay website, some good games on there.

averywoomummy

My son is bilingual and we live in Italy. For the earlier years at school he was at Italian state school, so his reading in English lagged quite a bit.

To give him a boost I used this site for phonics and it very quickly had an impact. We just did 10-15 minutes a day IIRC.

There is also this now unlike Starfall it's not free, but there is a two week trial so you can see if it is liked or loathed.

I found it hard not to stress over him being "behind his peers", even thpugh I understood his peers had the advantage of being in a school where English was actually used. Being able to take control, even in a small way for a short period everyday helped me feel more relaxed about his progress. Might be worth a try to see if either of the above suit both of you.

Sometimes just feeling like you are doing something about it takes the edge off the "ekk!" factor. Which in of itself can be a big help while things sort themselves put at their own pace.

averywoomummy - you are doing a great job helping your dd, especially as you are trying to make reading fun and not a chore.

But of course you must tell the teacher of your concerns as she may be able to reassure you.

Quite frankly never be afraid of being 'that' mother as you may end up as 'that' mother who buried her head in the sand and did not do anything at all. Which would you prefer?

I found my dc loved treasure hunts where I wrote clues as simple sentences e.g. "Look under the table", "Is it next to the television" and then they had a reward for their work at the end.

My dc also liked to look for words in car reg. plates - simple but fun.

Has your dd had her eyes tested? I have taught in primary school for nearly 20 years and everytime there has been a concern about reading in Year 1 and 2, I always recommend a visit to a good optician for an eye check before anything else. Do not rely on any eye sight screening checks that a school nurse might do in Reception. I have often seen this been undertaken in unsuitable conditions.

You should be able to get an opticians appointment after school or on Saturdays but if not, schools can authorise the absence as a medical appointment. I would aim to get it done before parents evening.

Oh and if she is short sighted, that may explain her inconsistency. I wear glasses for reading and some days I can read very well without them, some days not a chance. Depends on how tired I am, lighting etc.

It will probably just click sometime soon, I think it's more important to enjoy reading at this age. Pink is behind, yes, but she is one of the youngest and in many countries would not even have started school yet and so you'd be none the wiser.

Agree with Finola, the first thing to check is eyesight.

All children should have their eyes checked anyway, even if they are doing well at school, but inconsistant reading can be an indicator for short sight.

She will catch up. Not every child is ready at 5. She sounds like she's at about phase 3 with her phonics.

There is this site letters and sounds that is used in a lot of primary schools. Might be helpful.

Try not to worry. She will get there. It is amazing how quickly a child can learn to read once they 'get it'.

I'm sorry I can't help with the details of her learning to read, but I just thought I would say MIL said my DH didn't learn to read until 7 and he (eventually) graduated from Cambridge with a first in French Literature.
I guess I am trying to say, some kids just don't click with it straight away but get it later and catch up.

Finola1step beat me too it.

I complained about letters moving around and merging. I'm dyslexic but I also have bad eye sight. My parents didn't take me for a check until I was 10 and I think they believed it was just attention seeking - it wasn't.