To be a bit freaked out about some of the reading levels some children have

[theWomenInTheWoods]

DS was very slow to take to phonics and reading. He's nearly 6.

I was feeling pretty pleased as in the last month he's gone through book 1 to 4 of the Peter & Jane books and were starting on book 5 tomorrow.

He can also use his phonics to sound out a lot of phonic based words

However sometimes when I read threads on mumsnet I feel like maybe he isn't making such good progress. I saw one post where someone said their child was done with all 12 of the peter & jane books by the time they were 3 and a half. DS started school just before he turned 5 and he didn't know a single letter. I would have taught him letters if he seemed interested but he was too busy playing - and didn't seem to naturally absorb them or have any interest.

When people say their children are reading books like Harry Potter at age 6 are those children still sounding out words or do they somehow know a huge amount of words by sight?

My two girls were early readers. My 6 year old can read anything, but obviously she can't understand everything. She could read HP but if I asked her what the book was about after she would only be able to pick up bits of it. Reading and reading comprehension are two different things. My 8 year old was an early reader as well.

My boy's on the other hand were very slow to read. They were very behind their peers. Now they can read as good as everyone else; it just took them longer. Not one of them likes reading though, sadly.

I have a nephew who is the same age as my oldest child who is amazingly smart in every single area. He truly is one of the brightest children I know. He was winning chess games against experienced adults at a young age, everything he does he does well. He was walking at 9 months but my son did not walk until he was over 2. My son had LD and my nephew is incredibly gifted and I always compared them and I wish I didn't spend so many years doing so, because at 16 my son just left school with 7 GCSE's, a college place doing what he loves, and well, he can walk as good as anyone else ;). The worrying and comparing them was a waste of time.

I have one child who is very smart and the others are average or just below average, but they are happy and lovely so it just isn't an issue.

sleeponeday Your DS's school sounds great. My DS2 was lucky enough to go to a special preschool that worked very similarly. Forest school, lots of free flow and semi-structured play. It was based on Reggio Emilio system which is very child centric, but they found the DC with ASD needed rather more guidance than those with other SN as they could fall into obsessions too easily if given no gentle guidance. The move to MS primary was gradual but Reception was too 'free for all' rather than 'free flow!'

do not worry. In most European countries kids learn to read for the first time at 6 year old! All children get there at their own rhythm