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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want more than 1 book per week.

167 replies

mealychump · 16/10/2019 21:34

Am hoping you can tell me if IABU or not before I go in and see my DS's teacher.

DS has just turned 5 (august baby) and has started Year 1 at a new school since we moved house.

He had a really slow start to reception and it took him ages to start reading. Initially I wasn't worried as he was only 4, but everyone else started to pick it up and he seemed to struggle. His then teacher wasn't that worried but he didn't reach the expected level by the end of reception. He finished on red books (just about) but had been on pink for ages.

New school put him straight on red books, thats all fine and i'm happy. Suddenly, it's starting to click. Slowly but surely he's getting it and making some progress. However, at his new school they only change the reading books once a week! So we are only getting one new book a week. We read it a few times but I really think he needs more than this to make better progress and help him to catch up.

His previous school gave him a book every day or every other day, I thought that was the norm! I want to go and discuss this with his teacher and see what she suggests. But before I go in and ask for multiple books a week, I wanted to hear what other schools do. If his previous school was a real anomaly with lots of books per week then I guess I have to accept I might be stuck going through this at snails pace. How on earth though, is a slightly struggling reader supposed to progress if they only get one bloody book a week!?

Other than pestering school for more books, is there anything I can do?

OP posts:
AthollPlace · 16/10/2019 22:20

I’m totally puzzled why your first thought wasn’t just to get some library books? If your child is slower to read than others it’s probably at least partly because they’re reading other books at home.

VashtaNerada · 16/10/2019 22:26

Y1 teacher here. We teach using Read Write Inc which means I teach my group a book a week and they take that book home to read to parents on the Friday. We also provide a library book for parents to read to them. If a parent wanted more I’d have to offer books at a lower or higher phase which would make no sense.

AudacityOfHope · 16/10/2019 22:28

@Gingerbreadsonme when they've read it through once I cover the pictures and make them read it to me backwards. So I can see they are actually reading and not memorising Grin

I'm mean though.

purpleme12 · 16/10/2019 22:30

Our teacher has said that she's fine to change the book if they need it within the week

Original poster
mealychump · 16/10/2019 22:31

Ok.

Thanks for helpful replies.

Obviously we read together at home, we have lots of books and we are members of the library, which we used frequently.

But I'm talking about specific reading scheme books. Sorry if that wasn't clear. Eg books that teach your child how to read. He is nowhere near able to read the majority of books we have at home. We do of course talk about the words and letters we read them but he is a long way off reading them independently.

I have actually looked for some reading scheme books in our local library, there were one or two that were appropriate but not a very wide range.

Seems like it varies a lot as to what schools offer.

OP posts:
Gingerbreadsonme · 16/10/2019 22:32

But if they only read it once Audacity they can’t be memorising! Seems like the perfect way to kill any joy in reading...🙈

But infant school reading threads always get so contentious, so I’d better not get sucked in!

Bluerussian · 16/10/2019 22:33

You could buy some books or go to the library and borrow, and read with him. I used to do that with mine before starting school, it was very helpful - also writing.

Gingerbreadsonme · 16/10/2019 22:34

The Songbirds books available on the Book People are good OP if school won’t give you any more books! I know where you’re coming from, some kids are very much out off by a sea of words they don’t understand and then flounder on the words they do know!

Tyrionsbitch · 16/10/2019 22:34

Books changed once a week but 2 books given. It's important for children to read the book more than once/a few times though as it helps to develop fluency and speed in reading, and can help to develop understanding. Make games out of it to make it fun and develop his learning- give him sentences from the book on strips of paper to match to the book, get sentences from the book and chop up for him to sequence, use little bits of paper to blu tac into the book to change the sentences etc

ineedaholidaynow · 16/10/2019 22:38

The Book People usually have some very cheap sets of books. You could then donate them to the school library once you have finished with them. Many schools don't have a budget for books at the moment.

bakingcupcakes · 16/10/2019 22:41

DS is in year 1 and he has his school books changed once a week and we get 4 each time. In reception it was twice a week and we got 3 each time. I also change his library books once a week but they're story books that I read to him.

In summer I tried getting books for him to read to me from the library and found it quite hard to get them at the right level. They always seemed either too easy or too hard. In the end I got some of the biff,chip and kipper ones aimed at his level. I think you might be better getting some of the usbourne or songbird ones and working through those at home as well or asking school for extra. I don't see how all the 'learn to use a library' comments are particularly helpful.

Original poster
mealychump · 16/10/2019 22:41

I'm totally happy for him to read the same book a few times, but it would be nice to have 2 or 3 a week so we can mix it up a bit

Have just read all the comments and I think I've unfairly got a bit of a roasting. Knew I shouldn't have posted on AIBU!

Of course I bloody read with him, but he's not going to learn to read by omsosis even if I read him all the library books in the world. He needs decodable books! He's barely progressed past simple 4 letter words yet.

I am not sure how his old school managed to change books daily, but they did. I totally appreciate that it must be very time consuming, hence why I asked what was common practice. If one book a week is the norm, then that's the norm and I guess we have to work within that somehow. But if it wasn't the norm I'd be much more inclined to kick up a bit of a fuss.

I didn't know however that I could buy some from the book people, have just found the songbirds books. They look great.

I guess my conversation with the teacher should probably be more "what else can we do to help him" given that he wasn't at the expected level at the end of year R.

OP posts:
Welshrainbow · 16/10/2019 22:41

We get a book every time we finish one which for us is a new book every day. My DS is in reception. When they are still on a fairly low band and so unable to independently access a lot of other books I think it’s important they are changed regularly as the books are so short and there’s only so many times you can read them. We usually read our school book once when we get in, once at bedtime and once in the morning, they only have about 6-10 pages max so can’t imagine having to keep it for a week. OP if you can I reccomend buying a set of BOB books or oxford reading books etc online. Sometimes come up quite cheap on eBay.

Original poster
mealychump · 16/10/2019 22:42

Thank you bakingcupcakes :)

OP posts:
Sotiredbutcannotsleep · 16/10/2019 22:42

3 books per week in Reception for our school.

Grumblina · 16/10/2019 22:44

The point of not racing through books is so that the children can read them with fluidity.

DelurkingAJ · 16/10/2019 22:44

Worth asking...at DS1’s school they have to choose to change their book. Works very well for DS1 as he likes rules but I’m told some DC have to be reminded ad nauseum.

PanicInAmerica · 16/10/2019 22:45

Why can’t you go to the library?

Embracelife · 16/10/2019 22:47

And you can extend one book as was said. Ask questions. What do you think happened next? Why did she do that? What would you have done?

Original poster
mealychump · 16/10/2019 22:49

Embracelife we do all of that (we do that with the books I read to him too). His comprehension is pretty good. It's his decoding that's been weak.

OP posts:
Atthebottomofthegarden · 16/10/2019 22:49

I think ours used to be changed whenever it was finished (or if we asked for a new book as our child didn’t like it.

If school don’t oblige, or to ring the changes, you could try looking at the Reading Chest? (google it) It is an online library book service where they post books of the right level to you. It can also help you keep up the momentum in the holidays.

i agree, i could never find library books of the right level for my daughter at this age.

mellicauli · 16/10/2019 22:49

oxford owl ebook tree is free graded ebooks. Also worth googling your library to see if they have ebooks too.

Superlooper · 16/10/2019 22:50

2 books for the week aged 5 and 1 book changed twice a week aged 6. No limit to the books you can pick yourselves outside school Hmm (more appealing ones)

Original poster
mealychump · 16/10/2019 22:53

Reading chest looks fab!!

That will definitely be the solution if school can't help us a bit more.

Am hoping they might give him some extra support too, they suggested they would when I spoke to them in September.

OP posts:
Atthebottomofthegarden · 16/10/2019 22:53

Another option is word games, when he’s finished the book. Either swapping letters around to make new words with scrabble tiles or similar, or swapping words written on pieces of paper around to change the meaning of a sentence. The more ridiculous the better - my daughter used to love this! (Fits of giggles when we put Mrs Teacher in the red jam instead of the spoon, for example!)

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