AIBU to ask why my Year 1 child reads so much at school?

[tnorfotkcab]

DD is 6, in Year 1 and a free reader since Jan. She is, somehow, reading 1 or 2 books a day at school (for example Dog Man or Worst Witch type of books). She read an entire Dog Man in less than one day - she had library visit around 9:30/945 - and had finished it by 3:15pm. I know they're not as long as they look, and she is a fast reader, and I'd estimate would take her around 30-45 minutes to read it.

She assures me she isn't doing this reading during her break and lunchtimes - but in classroom time. I am not entirely sure how she has so much time she can read these books...

I have no issue if she's reading at the end of the day - eg when they're all on the carpet in front of numberblocks or whatever whilst the kids get sent in 12 different directions.

She claims she is reading after doing work sheets and stuff hmmmmm, but also said she was reading during student Show&Tell. I told her she was not allowed to do that anymore and she must listen to their presentations

I know this is definitely a "nice to have problem" - but shoudl i email in and ask how it's possible she has so much "spare time" that she is able to spend 45-60 minutes a day reading?

It would be better if at least some of the time she was given stretch work to do on the subject being taught or for her to be given handwriting sheets so she could practice what she is weaker at.

Are you/the teacher reading with her to check her comprehension. There's a difference between being able to read the words and being able to understand them in the context they are written.

I voted YANBU because I think this is a massive red flag that your child isn't being challenged in her work.

In our school this would NOT be a good thing. Children who finish the work need to get more in depth work. The work is endless. Letting her read is lazy and probably mean that she may not be greater depth/mastering by the end of the year (well, probably can be in reading and comprehension, but she's probably already there). Has your school done well in their last Ofsted or not had one recently?

Today, on “teachers can’t win”…
Please do your job and let the teachers do the job they were trained to do - they are heavily monitored.

You definitely need to clarify what is going on. It's obviously great that she's happily reading but not if she's being neglected in other ways. It sounds like a way for the teacher to keep her easily occupied and not bother to set her more challenging work or work with her handwriting, if it's weak.
My son is an avid reader - y3 and would read a lot during class time, but this was with our support and knowledge. He is bright and was not being stretched either! Equally he can read and absorb exactly what's going on around him and engage!

Since whan is reading a “filler task”??

they have book quizzes - accelerated reader pogram - and she gets "full makrs" every time - she's definitely reading the books properly. I was using Worst Witch as an exmaple of the level of book shes reading.

and yesterday the teacher very proudly said she did two quizzes that day and got full marks and her CPD will likely go up. and i know these two books were only given that day, as she had no reading books overnight from school, as she had finished one right at the end of the day (she was reading it when i went to pick her up and had the last page to read, so i waited a f ew moment) and hadn't got a new one to replace

we also have the "problem" that she can multi-task with attention,,, if that makes sense? She can be reading a book and will know the conversation/ what's being talked about and will answer questions about it.

... not really.... this is why I'm asking before i say anything.

this is my worry - thats, as she's possible ADHD its actually easier for the teachers/cover to let her sit quietly reading, rather than "managing" her behaviours to get her to engage in further work....

I don't know.

I've for a first class English degree from an RG university. I'm certainly a reader. I'm from a family of readers. I maintain a Y1 won't have properly read it within a school day - skim read, yes - even if they've passed Accelerated Reader tests. Shorter books I can see, and perhaps that is what the OP meant.

they do things like... analyse texts, spellings, developing writing skills (eg instead of "The cat sat on the mat" - they have to expand their sentences "The black, fluffy cat stretched out on the shaggy rug" ? it's the CLPE programme

phonics is done by ability at the school - so yes you might get 4 year olds with 6 years olds etc, Year 3 with year1.. She's definitely not doing the phonics scheme and has moved onto Accelerated Reader and chooses books freely (with in her ZPD level) for reading - but instead of phonics sessions she now does CLPE with the year 2and 3s (or Literacy as they call it)

I voted YANBU because I think this is a massive red flag that your child isn't being challenged in her work.

But in a regular school (one where the intake has not been skewed by various shenanigans) then the extra resources supposedly allocated for the atypical kids will invariably sink to the lower end of the class, leaving the higher end to pretty much fend for themselves. If the parents can pick up the slack then brilliant. If not .... well you have to ask who the education system is meant to benefit.

This isn't a dig at teachers (all the ones I ever met were quite honest about it). It's a reflection on how little we value education.

we do "pick up the slack" a fair bit at home and develop learning in other ways at home, mostly applied, and now she's starting amusical instrument. - and I completely understand they have to get everyone up to the same expected level.

she does all this, We're bored of the teachers telling us to "do some playdoh" - we do SO MUCH to help her, and they say try this - i can guarantee we're already doing it.... we've been working on it for years now, believe me.

She sews, she draws, she colours in, does puzzle books, she plays with lego, she plays with playdoh, she has squeezy/squishy toys, she cuts and sticks and glues, makes bead necklaces, does hama beads, can do small buttons up, uses tweezers/tongs. We make sure she does gross motor stuff to help with the fine motor like monkey bars, gymnastics, running. stuff for balance - eg balance beams, cycling, scooting, skating, swimming,. She does cechetti ballet - specifically started to help her with her writing! as it improves core strength, balance, spatial awareness etc as well as the other benefits of group work, music work, etc

We working more on core strength at the moment - by doing things lke cycling,

we have the pen grips, slanted writing boards, footboards etc all at home to help her. Her writing remains appalling .. it is slowly improving, but i think it will never be neat and will always be an issue :/

I would ask the teacher to ask DD to sometimes rewrite her work in her “neatest” writing. Mainly to show that she needs to slow down and work on her weaknesses and that there is something she doesn’t find easy and that she needs to work on.

At some point she will be more challenged academically so it’s good for her to develop the skill of persisting.

It’s disappointing that they don’t seem to have more extended work readily available to stretch her.

Year 2 is often a notable step up so hopefully there will be more ready & waiting for her then.

Two things you can do:

Make her do handwriting at home: you write out a neat paragraph copied from a book, she has to do the same paragraph, and you give rewards (stars, sweets, 20p coins, whatever) based on how neat hers is compared to yours.
You can do this daily - repeat the same paragraph so you don't have to write a new one each day.

Make sure she has harder books to read. Classics are good. Go to second-hand bookshops and get children's books from the 60's and 70's (the standard was higher and the content more suitable). Beware of getting modern 'young adult' or teenage books because the content will not be appropriate for her age.

Leave the teachers alone - their job is hard enough already.

This. I don't know why extra maths or extra handwriting is more valuable than more reading? Someone actively called reading 'filler tasks'?!

Yep, also not sure why reading aloud is a bar. My daughter stopped resting aloud precisely because it's slower than she reads internally. She's a faster reader than me these days - I've checked that she's actually reading and taking it in and yep, she is. Just like I did at her age.

The teachers will know what they are doing, your daughter is of course remarkable to you but there’s nothing they won’t have seen or dealt with every other year. I’d leave the school to it. Plenty of time ahead for harder work

@usedtobeaylis but if someone is struggling with handwriting then surely better to have extra time on that. If getting green ticks on everything in Maths and finishing early, signifies they are not being challenged enough on that topic.

Struggling on something doesn't automatically mean they aren't being challenged through their work on it. All you're talking about is more of it, which isn't necessarily needed if she's making progress.

It's every bit as important for children to do things they actively like and enjoy. You absolutely cannot go wrong with reading.

@tnorfotkcab are you a teacher? I have a yr 1 child and don’t know anything about number bonds etc

Absolutely not. I am talking about a regular school (One that works very hard for average results and with a high SEND compared to other local schools). Ofsted expects a certain level of mastery. This doesn't necessarily involves 1 to 1 with GD children, simply an additional worksheet, or 2 or 3... the work is never done. We used to be a school where books were read by the children who "finished" until we got a terrible ofsted. Now children who finish their work get additional work until the rest of the class is done. The TA or teacher supports the children needing the help.

It would be a bugger if she is marked down in exams if she can’t write them, although she may be offered a scribe or laptop if turns out there is an insurmountable issue.