Dd is just 4 (last week) and can read dick all, she starts reception in Sept...

[handlemecarefully]

Will she really be reading a bit by the end of Reception? I find it hard to imagine...

She seems like a bright enough girl (enquiring mind, good memory, intelligent questions about the world around her)

They don't start school in NZ until their 5th birthday - we have one of the best literacy rates in the world. Maybe leaving it late is a vital part of that.

Don't worry! That's what school is for!

DS just completed reception year

could just about recognise his name when he went in (its 3 letters)

can read phonically on way out .. and can read about 50 - 100 words fluently ... although presently under sufferance, it seems to go up and down but he's definitely got the building blocks .. bizarrely despite us reading a lot to him and for our own pleasure he doesn't love books atm

don't sweat it .. let school do its job

hmc, my DD is just 4 (08/08). She really isn't great at reading. She can recognise a few letters etc, but reading isn't really on her radar. I've spoken to a few teachers about this (including DD's new teacher) and I've been told that it's not unusual at all for the younger ones in the reception intake to have little or no reading skills.

phew electica....so basically you were a bright child who went to a school that didn't challenge you.
My dd could read very simple books before reception ,purely because she went to a little nursery where they taught her and she was interested.She wasn't the only one in the class capable and others soon caught up.
Ds on the other hand is completely uninterested in anything other than cars and thunderbirds so he'll be fine when it comes to rockets
I would be fine in trusting the school to teach as long as you give lots of time and support at home,as I think a lot of schools don't have the time to do individual reading with the children and that's where parental support is vital.

Twig, my ds sounds so similar to yours (although he will just start reception in a couple of weeks time). He recognises his name and a good ew letters but really doesn't love books at the mo.

DH and I are complete bookworms, bookcases in every room of our house and we have religiously read to ds since babyhood; but we're now at a stage where he refuses books except at bedtime, and even at bedtime he doesn't llok at them, he'd rather lie upside down walking his legs up the wall and interrupting loudly with un-related questions like "Do solar flares hit the earth?"

I am agog to see what the school will be able to do with him!

sorry- mind works faster than the hands, I'm terrible at paragraphing on forums!! Being pregnant doesnt help the old train of thought either lol.

I did benefit from reading young, I guess what I'm saying is that i don't feel the full benefit was ever realised due to the lack of teaching support, and maybe thats got a lot to do with why I wouldnt rely on a school to teach sprog to read. I still ended up with a decent degree from a decent Uni, and earn significantly more than the national average, not to mention having less tangible benefits like independence of thought etc. Its probably also true that most people in my psition would feel pretty content with themselves, whereas I am my own worst critic.
Anyway, I think with my own, I will pursue it but in a more laid back way than dad did.

But electra77, maybe if you hadn't been pushed so hard at such a young age, you would have ended up with an excellent degree, from an excellent school and been earning significantly more than the national average. Or even better, be ecstatically happy with what you do for a living.

My ds entered nursery at our local primary at 3 without any knowledge of his letters. He left with a passable ability to recognize the alphabet and sound out words. By the end of the summer he had forgotten it all. He then started Kindergarten (here in the usa) at the age of 4 and did much of what he had done the previous year all over again. He left the year with a slightly better ability to sound out words. He was about average in his class. It is now the end of the summer and he has forgotten much (but not all) of what he has learned. He is excited about starting class again in a week and I am absolutely sure that not only is there nothing wrong with his progress, but that he is almost certainly a genius (the mensa kind) as despite his lack of ability to spell his name, he has been asking questions that only my cousin the astro physicist can answer (there also happens to be a lot of genius' in the family). By the way, in contrast, dd is 3 and can already write her name and recognize most of the alphabet. She has taught herself (I have pointedly avoided teaching her). She will do extremely well at school, but probably won't found to be the genius her brother is. But ultimately my goal is for both my children to enjoy school as much as I did and to end up with jobs that they go to everyday because they love them and not because they have to for the money or societal obligation.

easy to start stressing, isn't it, HMC? dd was 4 in May (starts reception nex week) and doesn't really click with the alphabet - have been doing some Jolly Phonics to help her a bit, still on first group. She can just about write her name (it is long, though). I was starting to worry, esp when her bf at school (who is 2 weeks older) started sounding out and writing words on her own!! Howveer, dd's strengths lie in her imagination and questions she asks. Atm she is obsessed with God and Heaven and whether there is another world somewhere (not sure how she knows about God as me and dh are not exactly practicing Christians!) V reasuring to read all these posts.

My lad was 4 at the end of june he can't read will only write his name when he wishes to doesn't know his A B C can count up to 20, but all through nursery they told me not to worry because he might be learning it wrong then they have to retrain them!!!!!! Don't now about any 1 else i'm dreading him going but looking forward to it as well if you get what i mean.

Haven't read all the thread, so sorry if I'm duplicating what someone ehse has already said. When DS1 started YR he couldn't read or write his name. The teacher said she preferred it that way, so that he could pick up the basics from her, and that would help him build on his learning.

reading is not a sign of intelligence .. early or late or right on cue it makes no difference

by the end of reception they should be able to recognise about 50 words and use phonics

in 'Kindergarten cop' ... ooo yes I am quoting arnie movies now so you can tell how serious I am .. when the baddie looks round the school looking for his son and pretending he has a 6 year old to start in kindergarten he says the child can read ... and the weird old headmistress says that's very unusual at that age

I know that cos I watched it the other night

I think Arnie should have the final say on the matter ... he is after all the governer of California

mwahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaa

chortle

mien coudlnt read eihter

lol at kindergarten cop

just had to explain why i am sniggerinf to dh

me and my sister couldnt read until quite old (8 my mum reckons) and even though i still cant spell we both left school straight A students at gcse level at a rough comp
make of that what you will

and my sister did a levels and everything was A bloody star then her diploma was the toppest, |I have no idea how they grade it

that sounded like a little britain charachter, i do apologise

Whether a child learns to read early has no impact on their academic career whatsoever and is not a sign of intelligence. It just means they're good at the skills required for reading.

my ds1 has just done his first year at school he is an august baby and he is the youngest in the school he couldnt read at all when he first started and now he is already doing books that are a year ahead i cant believe how much they progress dont worry about it

My ds didn't start til he was 6, they all learn at different rates, some teachers like a blank canvass to work with!

Don't worry and enjoy school!

Hmmm...

i can really relate to what people are saying re laziness when it comes too easily- I lost motivation through lack of challenge. The best challenge I've had in recent times was learning a language (Danish) but even that was pretty easy lol. My downfall has always been the sciencey mathsy subjects as I'm just not that interested in them, and they require a totally different skill set (lazy see!). i also understand the negative effect it has on a child when they are constantly praised and appreciated for being clever- i think that affected me a lot too. My brother was the 'funny' one. It caused us both a lot of resentment.

I'm not sure that I agree reading early doesnt affect intelligence or academic performance. I have consistently been measured as having a high IQ. I've seen progs and books that say that the more info you feed a child at a young age, the more their brain develops and learns to learn iyswim. Perhaps reading is not directly related to intelligence but it certainly provides a channel for intelligence and a way to develop intelligence and knowledge. Its not the only way though. The problem I suppose, is that you can never tell in each individual how much was nature and how much was nurture. Its hard to say whether it was a cause or a symptom. Some kids will have prodigious talent despite the odds too. Would Mozart have been a genius had his father not taught him to play?

This is a really interesting thread though- I'm glad other people have had similar experiences to me!!

btw, can't remember who said it but I wasn't 'pushed' at a young age exactly, I just loved reading and learning and I think it developed sort of organically. I decided not to apply to Oxbridge on the basis of my disaffected goth attitude I think- something i have often looked back on with regret, but which I accept wasn't right for me at the time. As for my job, I've just never found anything I particularly wanted to do. I did do tutoring in English for a while and loved it (the kids got fantastic results too, and I'm still in touch with one of them) but its not really a full time career due to its seasonal nature. It was the only job I've had that i found fulfilling though. I don't think I'm cut out to be an academic person (writing all those essays is soooo boring), so much as a problem solver. I'm working on building up my own business at the moment which I love!

Again a rambling post.... my apologies!