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?

no. i am not a teacher, but do know about number bonds etc

you know about number bonds too, even if you don't know the name. You know that 6+4=10, 7+3=10, 8+2=10 etc

Kids use these phrases, number bonds, split diagraphs... Number bonds are the numbers that make a round sum, 2+8, 13+7, 34+66 and so on

i just wondered how you know so much specific detail about the curriculum and what they do in school? My DD doesn’t tell me anything apart from “we learned about Australia” that sort of level.

teacher doesn’t pass any info on at all. Parents evening was “she’s doing fine”

How do you know so much? Off the teachers/ school?

@Polyestered number bonds at early stage will also demonstrate that 2 + 8 is the same as 8 + 2

This makes it sound like I haven’t taken an interest in my child - I absolutely have! We do all her reading and homework every night, I help out at the school whenever I can etc. we are involved, we just don’t seem to get any feedback.

im asking because i now feel like im not informed or helping enough

because the school provides the entire curriculum as standard. They have a breakdown of all the work they're doing by term etc.

et me find you an example - 3 random primary schools in UK

LINCOLNSHIRE: https://www.woottonstandrews.co.uk/curriculum-ks1-ks2/
HUMBERSIDE: meresideprimary.com/curriculum
DEVON: https://stmichaels.ovw7.juniperwebsites.co.uk/page/?title=Year+1&pid=65

At that age (in the dark ages) we had to read by rote, by the time it came to my turn I had finished reading the book to myself and had to try to find where the class had got to, it was so boring. If she is clever reading instead of just sitting bored to tears when she has finished the set work is good, otherwise she is going to get so frustrated constantly just sitting waiting for the class to catch up.

Totally reasonable. It sounds like she is being given easy work then being allowed or told to read because she has finished. Occasionally, this is fine, but if it happening often I be wanting to know

• whether anyone is checking her worksheet and helping her with the bits she got wrong.
• also whether she is being given support on the things SHE finds harder. If for example, she is good at reading, but not so good at maths, she shouldn't be being given a standard year 1 maths worksheet, rushing through it and then reading rather than being supported to do harder maths or do better at maths. You don't want in say year 3, reading at the level of year 6 or 7, but still on year 1 maths, because she's been allowed to put extra time into reading which she finds easy and not enough time into maths which she finds hard.

I was like that. I found the work super easy, was always finished very early and I loved reading. I was even allowed to take a book into exams with me!

I’d check she is being given stretch work if she’s finishing the ordinary level work quickly.

@Polyestered school website should detail the curriculum. DS used to just tell me had baked beans for lunch (which was usually evident by his school jumper!)

Some schools will have mini blogs where they might give a brief detail what the class has done that week, or have a session for parents to explain phonics, SATs etc. Some of our local schools also did session on maths to help parents navigate the way schools teach it and the language used like number bonds. This then helped parents feel more confident with maths too.

Was very evident during the pandemic that the maths work set by schools for home schooling was the one most likely not to be done as parents didn’t feel confident. Reading on the other hand was the most popular

of course you have taken an interest :) We all do

I looked at some random Australian primaries and they have the curriculum posted too?

https://brisbanecentralss.eq.edu.au/curriculum/learning-areas

and https://chertsey-p.schools.nsw.gov.au/learning-and-support/learning - which links to the NSW curriculum etc

I’m curious! How do you know so much about the other children, and in such detail?

@Polyestered it is a requirement (in England) that state schools include details of the curriculum on their website, so if yours doesn’t then you can query that

well, because DD tells me the children who are free readers, who's in her maths group, that so-and-so has phonics with the reception teacher etc - and i chat with the kids and parents too. So, one girl will show me her book she's reading and tell me all about it on the walk to school (the same girl my DD confirms is in her CLPE class). Also, a friend of hers comes over and he is still on the "lower" book bands, they are in his book bag and we sometimes read together. We also know through chatting to parents about the general abilities of some of the kids. We were at the park the other day and they were counting jumps/steps and one child couldn't count beyond a certain number for example.
Obviously I don't know exact details of every pupil.

Yes i have just seen it is on their website. I guess I hadn’t realised other people were doing this!

What exactly is it that you want?

Do you want your child to be given higher level work? Then discuss this with the school.

I'm struggling to understand why you are framing this as a problem that your child is reading too much.

Hi OP. I mean this gently, but you do sound a bit OTT. You say -

"There are children still on CVC/CVVC/CVCC words and struggling, and 3 free readers - soa wide rane of abilities. We have children who still don;t know number bonds to 10, and (the same 3 kids) that have completed the Year 1 maths work books by feb half term...."

How and why do you know about other children who are doing CVC or whatever?

It sounds like you're also just a little over invested in these 'the same three kids' who have finished the reading scheme and maths book etc. Really, let it go.

Children learn to read at different times. It's like walking or teeth - some kids get there before others, but once they can walk and once they have teeth it's all the same! What I mean to say is, once the whole class are free readers, which will be soon, you won't remember any of this. In the meantime, don't be 'that parent' of the 'gifted' 6 year-old. It's great that she's enjoying reading, long may it last, but education is a long meandering journey and she's only 6!

If it's any reassurance, my DS has some fine motor skills problems at that age and by the age of 8 or so, he had grown out of it. I remember so much drama about doing exercises with putty etc - the school made such a fuss about it at the time - but it was just a phase. The reading levels etc, are also just a short phase. I remember my DS telling me his friend's mum used to blatantly look in his book bag to compare what he was reading with her son, Funnily enough, they can all read now!

I know what other children are doing because my daughter tells me so do the children and so do the parents. I obviously don't know exact details, but I do happen to know that the three kids that are free readers are the same three children in the math group.

I'm not interested in who is and isn't a free reader. I'm interested in my daughter being able to read instead of participating in class activities.

It's not about her "reading too much" it's that she's having so much time, supposedly free to be able to read that much.

Is it normal as it were that a child has 45 to 60 minutes available in a school day in order to read.

OP, your DD is in year 1. KS 1 and in particular the first two years are about getting used to school and finding out about other people and your strengths and weaknesses. I wouldn’t get at all hung up
on what she is doing academically, particularly as she is an avid reader which will stand her in good stead in all subjects and is something to be encouraged. I now tutor GCSE English students and if I had a pound for every one who comes to me and says they never read a book and wonder why their English skills are limited (SEND notwithstanding), I would be very rich

Again, what would you have her do rather than read ?

We're talking year 1.
The rhythm is not non stop work, relentless worksheets and pushing each child to squeeze every last drop out of the school day.

It sounds like your daughter is doing well.
Other pupils may be spending those 45 minutes playing or doing other activities not strictly related to advancing through the curriculum. School is about so much more at this stage.

If she's happy at school, if her teachers are happy with her progress and behaviour, then I'd be bursting with pride to have such a devoted reader and not worry about what else you think she " should" be doing with her time.

Like I said, if you're worried have a chat with the class teacher, but as a KS2/KS1 teacher of 35 years I think she sounds like she's doing wonderfully.

Reading, reading and more reading is the key to doing well and I am always delighted to have little bookworms as students.

At that age, there are children who are able to decode words but don't really engage or infer much meaning from the actual content of what they are reading. Other children might have slower phonic skills, but really engage and get a lot of pleasure from the content of what they are actually able to read. This is more important than the phonic skills themselves, because it is about developing a life long love of reading, rather than who can rush most quickly through the various book band levels. Some children love fiction and can't get enough, other children may be more inclined to read non-fiction because this is what ignites their interests. Your DD has found some books she enjoys and she sounds absolutely fine. If you're worried about anything though, just talk to her teacher. Maybe she is reading at lunchtime? Or maybe she is telling you she has read more than she has? But if your overall sense is that she's being 'held back' in class, just ask the teacher for her / his thoughts on this.

She very much enjoys reading. And fully comprehends what she's read. She will talk about stories, the characters, etc. She's able to explain the story accurately. She's able to describe up to a point if she hasn't finished the book. She's able to think about her and predict the future of that story and character.
She's definitely comprehending The books

Yes, I suppose you're right.

And some children can decode very well AND do the important understanding bit. My daughter is one, and it sounds like OPs daughter is too.

also enjoying the poster saying once they can all read it all evens out 😂 yes, because famously all children achieve the same GCSE grades don’t they? Erm, no. They won’t all be free readers ‘soon’, some may still be reading scheme books in y6 if they struggle. The difference in ability only widens as they get older. I have taught a y6 class with reading ages of 6-15.