Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Gifted and talented

Talk to other parents about parenting a gifted child on this forum.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

DS turns out to be an early reader. What shall I ask nursery to do?

49 replies

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 10:57

DS is 3.9. He appears to have a knack for reading, and can now pick up anything and read it by himself, or at least give it a go. I haven't really got a way of measuring his ability, but when DD brings home her ORT level 5 books, he sails through them without pausing for breath. We borrow library books for new readers (like 'sprinters', 'blue bananas' series) and he devours them.

he goes 3 afternoons to the nursery attached to the school, and I want to have a talk with them about what kind of support they can give him.
What I think I want is for them to treat him as if he was in (say)yr 1 and learning to read with the others. I mean I want them to assess his reading, identify any bad habits he is getting into, spot any weaknesses, and come up with some kind of structure for developing what he can do, as well as suggesting to me specific things I can do at home with him.

Do you think this is the right way to approach it? Is there something else I should be doing?

OP posts:

quickdrawmcgraw · 31/10/2007 11:00

To me it sounds as if he's doing so well on his own I'm not sure he needs any support yet at all. Do all you're doing with providing him with lots of books that he'd like to read. If he can read level 5 with ease at his age it's doubtful that he's got any bad habits.

Shoelacetripper · 31/10/2007 11:04

No, I think it's best if you let him enjoy nursery in the same way as his peers. Make sure he's got lots of great books at home and don't, whatever else you do, pressurise him or make him read when he doesn't want to. He's got the best reading habit of all - picking up a book, often, when he feels like it and discovering what's inside.

If it's any help I used to run reading for pleasure groups for older kids....

goingfor3 · 31/10/2007 11:06

I would sat carry on with what you are doing and let him do his normal thing at nursery.

RoyKinnear · 31/10/2007 11:07

perlease

this secton should be scrapped it just gets my back up

Original poster

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 11:09

Thanks, those are helpful comments. So once the reading skill is 'up and away', as it were, you think it best just to let the child get on with it? and just provide the opportunity to read a variety?

OP posts:

RoyKinnear · 31/10/2007 11:09

not gifted

Original poster

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 11:11

I don't need a label, RK. That's why I said he 'has a knack' for it.

OP posts:

RoyKinnear · 31/10/2007 11:15

fair enough - put it under education next time

RosaTransylvania · 31/10/2007 11:17

No need to post on this topic RK if you don't like it. The OP's son is clearly considerably in advance of his peers as regards reading and it is perfectly valid for her to look for advice here. There is no point niggling over the precise definition of gifted in the context of this board - it's been done to death.
OP - I would go with the advice others have given. Your DS is clearly one of the lucky children who picks up reading easily, I don't see what the nursery could add to this that you aren't doing at home already. Two of my three have taught themselves to read pretty much like this and all you need to do is keep supplying the books really.

electra · 31/10/2007 11:18

Why should this section be scrapped RK? I think it's reasonable. Sheesh - don't know why some people have to feel insecure about other children.

electra · 31/10/2007 11:19

Very early reading is a sign of G&T anyway.

Original poster

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 11:19

Thanks RosaTransylvania.

OP posts:

Shoelacetripper · 31/10/2007 11:20

Well, it's not so much getting on with it, but giving him lots of books to choose from and the chance to talk about what he's read, what he likes, what he doesn't like and so on. Make it sociable and fun and read lots of his books yourself so you can recommend them to each other. That's the sort of thing that'll turn him into a reader, much more more than trying to dictate what he reads or forcing him to write stupid book reviews (as will happen in the future).

Marina · 31/10/2007 11:28

iheartdusty, ds caught on to reading very fast once at school and I think you've had some good advice here. They are still small children with a very lucky knack so I would focus on all the other exciting new things your ds is learning through play etc at nursery, and ask the school for advice on age-appropriate material for advanced readers
You may find you struggle occasionally to find books with suitable content for younger children - and that's where the school's advice could be helpful
The Usborne Young Readers Series One and Two example here were a big hit and never contained anything unsuitable
COMICS are also fab for little readers IMO

Original poster

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 11:57

Those Usborne books look terrific, Marina.

Thanks all for comments and suggestions.

OP posts:

Carbonel · 31/10/2007 12:53

You my find some of the non fiction sets from the Book People are good - both my dc's love them, but particularly ds, apparantly boys especially like non fiction.

I would suggest the Usborne Young Knowldge or Dorling Kindersley Eye Wonder sets.

Age appropriate books are tricky as there do not seem to be many for boys You could try the Wishing Chair, Faraway tree etc - they have short chapters with a seperate stroy in each so perfect for those just getting into chapter books.

You might find poetry fun too - there are some great children's anthologies around and of course joke books are always a hit even if he does not yet 'get' the jokes!

I think I tend to agree about nursery - they are extremely unlikely to have the resources for such a good early reader anyway - but maybe they could start to look at his writing skills and start to build those up? Also phonics is important when it comes to spelling and decoding longer words so maybe they (or you) could revise those with him.

I fear you will need to pick his school VERY carefully or he will potentially be very bored in Reception .....

RoyKinnear · 31/10/2007 13:43

rosa - how on earth would the op know where his peers are?
I have no idea who can read as well as my children at 3

funnypeculiar · 31/10/2007 13:48

RotKinnear - as mother of a 3.5 yr old, I'd be pretty confident that any 3 yo reading ANYTHING fluently, was in advance of his peers - well done your ds, iheartdusty

RosaTransylvania · 31/10/2007 14:38

Get real RK - a three year old who can pick up an ORT level five book (targeted at Year One, Term Two so meant for a five year old) and read it quickly and fluently is obviously ahead of their peers. Any nursery worker will tell you this is not at all common.

tigermeow · 31/10/2007 15:14

Hi Dusty, my 2yr7m DD is also an early self taught reader. Her reading age (tested by a Dep Head friend of mine) came out at 9yr3m+. She quite likes ORT stage 7 at the moment. She is due to start Nursery in January and the school is already talking about sending her to year 2 to read...I have no idea if this is a good thing. At the moment I am saying 'no' as she hasn't ever been in a school setting before. How she would handle going up to read with children 5yrs older is another worry. I am going to wait and see how she gets on at Nursery part time and then go from there.
At the moment we just let her read whatever she wants (within reason...there is nothing more embarrassing when she is stood in the hunour section of WHSmiths reading the covers of books like '101 cr@p places to live'. She loves to read a lot of non-fiction and has learnt a huge amount, she spouts random useless facts at us on an hourly rate. Just make sure he is reading with expression, intonation and understanding the text. DD maybe able to read words that a 9yr old can read but she certainly doesn't understand them so we explain a lot of words to her. The library has been a fantastic source for her.
Good luck, he sounds like a fab little boy.

RoyKinnear · 31/10/2007 22:09

but how would you know that - i would not know how my son's peers were reading at nursery

TooTicky · 31/10/2007 22:14

Just let him enjoy it.

Original poster

iheartdusty · 31/10/2007 22:35

tigermeow, your DD sounds fantastic!

The consensus here has been not to try to analyse or direct DS's reading, but to encourage it. However it sounds as though your DD's nursery do propose to involve her with the literacy education that the older children get, at least to an extent.

OP posts:

Hallowedam · 31/10/2007 22:45

I suspect his library card will suffer a lot of wear and tear.

His reading is clearly fantastic - my ds is four and has only been decoding simple words for a few months, is way off actually reading a whole book by himself.

ChasingSquirrels · 31/10/2007 22:52

RK - presumably you would know because you talk to other parents, post on forums such as this, and have contact with other children on the same age. It is quite sad that you wouldn't know this really.

Flip

1 2