what should the average 5 year old be able to read/count/spell...

[Nointhemood]

DS knows his alphabet, he can identify all letters and its phonic sound. He is sounding out his words to figure out what they start with-we play i spy games. He can read the short, repetitive books that he comes home with by decoding the phnic sounds (I see a cat, I see a dog, when I read with my sister, when I read with my brother, etc) though he can't always identify the words in those books taken out of context (ie, she knows cat and dog, but didn't know brother and sister when the words were by themself and with no pictures to reference).

He can count, but tends to skip some numbers in the teens and above. He can do basic addition and subtraction with numbers 1-10 when using exmaples i.e give two cars to you brother, one to me and three to you how many do we have all together? etc However I know on another day he maynot always do all the abouve because he isn't in the mood.

The thing is according to his teacher he is falling behind with his numeracy, english lit/ lang (he has speech and lang delay) so pretty much all of the national curriculum stuff for KS1.So what is it they expect from a 5 year old? I know that ds can be very lazy, hyper and playful although well behaved and isn't interested in learning tbh and wondering whether he just isn't performing in school because he does'nt want to or feels under pressure. He's very quick to say i can't but its trying to distinguish whether he can't or wont.

I'm in scotland and my ds is 5 and is still at nursery and out your list he can count to about 20, he cant read and cant even write his own name properly, the nursery are not one bit worried about him or his peers, they are all much the same level and to be honest i dont think he would sit and im happy with what he can and cant do.

Also the areas he is achieving in school are creativity, art and knowlege he loves earning about the world i.e volcanoes and dinosaurs. Also with the reading he can spell it out phonetically but sometimes i will repeat it once he's done it as he hears it better when i say it phonetically but im guessing this is because im pronouncing it clearer.

Hi my son is 5 and in reception. His Reading is similar to your ds, he brings home the little books, they have about 8 pages in. He is considered a very good reader but not like some of the girls. His counting is very good and can go up to 100. His adding and subtracting between 1-10 is ok, he also finds it easier with an object, like you say you use cars. Our school likes to push them quite hard but my ds is average and doesn't sound much dif to yours.

Thankyou for he replies-im just wondering what the school expect from him tbh

Thankyou for he replies-im just wondering what the school expect from him tbh

My eldest girl was thick as you like at 5 - couldn't read a word. By year 3 had a reading age of 14 and a hatered of maths. Now coming to the end of primary school, still hates maths, reads all the time and plays 3 instruments. My point is, there's little point worrying unless they're unhappy because its mostly out of your hands. The school will only step in if they fall below the average level - reaching potential isn't something most schools can realistically aim for with a class of 30+ and as you go through the years you'll probably find more and more parents using private tutors to bridge the gap.

5?? dont worry my grandkids are in USA they dont even start school till 6 hardly read till about 8 so dont worry. he'll get there.

DS will be 6yo in July and does not read at all.

DD was 6yo before she started learning to read.

We are not in UK, we are in Switzerland where the DC start formal education later.

So I think that the "average 5yo" depends on where you are living.

Since you are in UK, I would not be concerned that he cannot read more fluently, but that the school is flagging up a potential problem. He will learn to read, but the problem is, will he do it to the school's set timescale or to his own.

And how flexible you and the school can be about this.

By 5, mine could read reasonably fluently. Their reading scheme books were Biff and Chip and they used to read Kipper etc. DD was more advanced than DS and used to read those Tracey Beaker books. They could both count to any number, add and subtract, and had started with simple multiplication. Mine started school at 3, though, so not completely representative.

I was and still am worried by DS's progress in English, he is now Y5 and has never flown with the subject.

This is a lot to do with boys and how boys are, though. Don't think they adapt to academic learning as quickly as girls. Best just help them to get comfortable in their skin, IMO.

Put it this way. If you relax, he will relax and maybe come to things in his own time. If you get uptight, it won't help him and it'll drive you to distraction. So if at all possible, just relax.

My DS is 5 too, and I thought he was doing well with his reading, but his teacher isn't convinced! He can read about 50 sight words, and loves books and yet she says he could be doing better. The hardest thing is the amount of time I get with him after school. When I pick him up at 3, we go home and have a snack/rest until 4. We have about half an hour of homework before it's dinner bath and bedtime.. and yet they're meant to do maths, reading, spelling! He's 5! Seems a little excessive to me.