AIBU school library

[QuickThinkOfAName]

Old timer but name changed as I don't want to be linked as the situation is quite unique. Cancel the cheque spangran etc.

I just want to know if i'm being unreasonable. DD is 6 and just started year 2 in an infant school (so this is her last year here).

Not a stealth boast honest but she learnt to read when she was 3 so when she started school she was labelled a 'free reader' so instead of being given 'green' 'red' or 'rainbow' coloured books to read at home she could choose whatever she liked from the library. Fine in reception. Now however she's 6 and frankly there are only 2 fiction books in there that I've seen that are in an way challenging (and I don't even think they should be in the library as they're adult books!)

I've spoken to his teacher before (deputy head, highly experienced etc) and I said i was concerned she was being left to choose her own books and thought she needed guidance to make sure she was being challenged/getting the right level. And she said, well that's her challenge isn't it, to make sure she gets the right book.

I feel like I'm going mad as it's like banging my head against a wall! I don't have a problem with her being given 'a choice' etc but she's effectively been put in charge of her own reading education.

• Just because she has the reading age of an 11 year old or whatever, doesn't mean she has the emotional intelligence of one, she's 6! I don't think she should be responsible for her reading education.
• It's a different life skill being taught to choose appropriately and being able to read. I'd be happy if she had free roam of the library to choose AS WELL as being given something level appropriate.
• There's just not much in there for her level. I appreciate they're not going to have much but I've asked for what sort of level she's at so we can get stuff for her at home and they've been very dismissive.

Am I BU? She is an experienced teacher but I just feel a bit like because she's ticked all the boxes of skills to be learned they're just letting her coast. (Apologies this is a massive post...)

Trying to out a positive spin on it, could you organise a used book collection amongst all the parents to fill.out the library with a range of age suitable books?

From the teachers perspective, if there is nothing age suitable and challenging then they cant really do.much. They cant guide your DD to.books that dont exist.

Hi Op I am an English teacher and an avid reader. Always was, my biggest thrill when younger was picking books out, usually from the local library. Really bright readers never coast. Is there a local library more suited to her needs? Most teachers are run ragged and when have really bright reader suggest reading lists etc.

i think you are right to be annoyed, she is too young to be picking her own books. you could look up some book titles on the internet, write them down and ask her to give the list to the librarian, and the librarian can check if they stock the books on the list. that way you have some aspect of control over what she is reading.

Teachers have NO say over their school library, it comes from the schools budget. Can you join her to a library that is not in school?

Library books should be about reading for fun. They don’t need to be challenging.

Just give her suitable books from home to read as her "official" reading book. The books she chooses from the library can just be fun books for her to read.

Can you talk to the school librarian? They may be able to guide your DD to appropriate books.
Also just personal recommendation, I was similar and at that age loved the Wizard of Oz series. There’s loads of them and nothing inappropriate for a young reader.

Thanks Lwmommy and Cheerymom. Yes, I'm not relying on the school to provide all the books for her (she is an avid reader and will easily get through a book from cover to cover in a couple of hours so our house is essentially a mini library!) but it's more the lack of help in supporting her. I've asked before about what we can do as parents and all I got back was 'well she can't read more adult books. You wouldn't let her read Harry Potter would you as it's not suitable' which I just find so unhelpful! Obviously there will be stories and themes that as a 6 year old she won't want/like reading but do they not have available reading lists for her reading age (which they won't tell me by the way either so I can't research it myself)

What would you like the school to do exactly? I do get perhaps more guidance however the can't have a library to only suit your DC they need to cater to the majority as they will have minimal budget. They also may want to leave book choice up to parent and child as they would only get flamed no doubt for picking a book with inappropriate content.

My dd is the same. Free reader from first week in reception, reading chapter books the summer before starting. Her school is also the same.

Basically we're at the stage now where school send home whatever, dd either reads it in 5 mins flat and answers all the comp questions etc or refuses to read it as she isn't interested. I then take her to the local library and the lovely librarian helps us find a suitable book which then gets written up in her reading planner for the rest of the week.

She's read famous five, magic faraway tree, wishing chair, secret seven, roald Dahl, the animal in my whatever books and all sorts of others. In my experience you can't rely on school to fund books for one outlier, they need to cater to the majority. You need to step up and help her find suitable reading material.

I'd view the school books almost as the equivalent as 'play' for her - easy, doable but she will be getting a lot from her books asides that reading that is appropriate for her age - humour she can share with friends, enjoying looking at the art-work etc. There will be lots in the books that is appropriate for her world.

In terms of the reading level, like another poster said get a list off the Internet and I'd use this to supplement at home.

Sirzy - I would agree. All the rest of the class get to choose library books for fun. However this is the ONLY book DD gets. She doesn't get a proper reading book. That's my point. This is DD's educational reading book. And it's not tailored to her reading level at all.

There is no school librarian. Parents help out for one morning a week (I do it for DD's class so I know what's in the library!) There is a good selection of factual books but again DD has gone through most of them but nothing for her in the fiction section.

And yes, she reads a lot at home and a wide variety of stuff too. Most weekends include a stop at the book shop/library. But I feel like we're just guessing and it would really help if we had more support to help her. I'm also worried she'll lose interest in reading as she finds the books so boring!

I had the same problem years ago with DS when he was about 8. Just because they can read adult books doesn't mean they should.
Your DD is choosing books for recreational reading rather than lessons. School libraries are pitifully underfunded as you have discovered. You would get much more help from the librarian at your local children's library. They will have a better selection and they will be happy to recommend suitable reading.

I had this issue as a child. Public libraries are your friends - more choice, can do interlibrary loans etc. I spent every weekend in the public library, or buying cheap books from the local charity shop.
I'd suggest possibly the younger Jacqueline Wilson books, The Narnia series, Road Dahl, Pratchett's children's books, maybe The Hobbit in a year or so.
Don't let a well-meaning uncle give her Stephen King books - he's still my favourite author but 8 was too young for Firestarter!!

Mrs2468 - I think if they could tell me what reading age DD is at that would be a start! As I could then research what we could get for her. We're currently just going with what she likes and how long it takes her to read (anything under two hours is out as it's too easy for her)

I'm honestly not suggesting they get a whole library for her. But leaving her to choose a book herself from a library that isn't suitable just isn't fair.

I'm more than happy to provide books for her to take to school but I'm not allowed to.

But she doesn’t need that. She is able to get what she needs from the books she is reading. Other skills she needs will come from the rest of the curriculum.

You need to be careful, if you push for more challenging things which become confusing or unstable for her age then you will do more harm than good. There are still books that I hate simply because I was given them to read too soon so whereas I could easily read the words I didn’t enjoy them because I couldn’t understand the topics.

'Free reader' is a stupid term. No four year old can be free reading. She may have been able to read at a higher level than her peers but for her development she should be encouraged to read a range and variety of appropriate books. Why don't you take her to the public library?

KS1 teacher here. This is totally unacceptable. Your child should still be challenged and helped to read at their appropriate level. This is extremely lazy. I’d ask to speak to the SENCo to discuss your child’s needs.

LikeLemonDrops - thanks. DD's read a lot of those too! It's hard isn't it. I just don't want her to lose interest as she finds everything mind-numbingly boring. The other day she brought back a book. She read it in one go but was just reading out the words, she didn't engage with it at all and it just makes me sad.

I'm a teacher and had no say in the library. It is awful if the school doesn't have a good choice.

With my own DS, I bought him a Kindle Paperwhite in Year 2 and we buy our own books. When challenged by the teacher, it was soon thrown out when we went through the school library together.

Yes agree with sirzy she can already read so doesn't need a 'level' or 'reading age'. Sometimes I'll read a trashy mag, sometimes I read Victor Hugo Les Miserables. It doesn't matter. To expand her reading you can do things around reading.

So you bake with her following recipe. That way you are checking understanding and she is reading in a practical way. You play a board game and have her explain the instructions. Do a treasure hunt with a map and directions and have her follow it. Play spelling games like scrabble and boggle. Get her to make her own little book with words and illustrations or tell a story using puppets.

Once you can read there isn't a level, it's just reading. My dd reads for fun because she does just choose what. Sometimes it's a short 'easy' book. Sometimes it's longer and more complex. It doesn't matter.

I know this isn't what you asked, but could you maybe give some idea of books that DD has enjoyed/are challenging, and perhaps MN could come up with some suggestions? Not saying your school library will have them .........
Also, if you have any books that DD no longer wants, please donate them to the school library so that others can benefit in the future. There isn't the funding around to allow much, if any, new stock to be bought.

Sirzy - she's really not. She's not enjoying the books at school at all. She doesn't engage as they are all too babyish for her. I'm very conscious of not treating her like a mini adult when she is quite grown up for her age and sometimes it's easy to forget she's only six. We never force books on her. If she doesn't like a book she just doesn't continue.

helterskelter3 - DD's teacher IS the SENco lead!!! She is deputy head aswell. I feel pushed into a corner as I don't want to make a fuss but she's quite patronising when I speak to her.

And thank you all for the suggestions of the library. Trust me, we are well known to our lovely librarians and they are all awesome!

That's tricky isn't it. You do need someone who understand what skills she needs to develop to help her pick books that represent a challenge - so her teacher!

It might be that you don't need more and more complex books in terms of vocabulary and sentence structure - but need to look at books in more depth together. eg my son (year 4) is doing the twits which he could have read in reception - but the complexity comes from thinking about it more deeply.

perhaps you could chat about why that characters did the things they did, what else the characters could have done, what the author meant by certain descriptions, whose perspective is the story from, is there a book about a similar subject with a different perspective. eg a few different books about ww2 or dragons

Fiesta my 4 yo could read as well as most adults and better than some. She could read signs as we flashed passed on the motorway. She could read any menu, any shop sign, any instruction book. She couldn't read just any book because obviously a wide range just aren't appropriate for her age, not because of her ability but because of the topics discussed. She had a reading buddy who was 11, the teacher stopped that when they realized she could read better than the 11yo and was getting bored.