Does your year 1 child read to themselves at home?

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DD is year 1 but summer born so still 5.

We have read to her all her life.

She reads her school books at home (they have to read 5 per week). She reads the Oxford Reading Tree books (Biff, Chip Kipper etc) and is on level 6 (orange label). She seems to find these ok, probably one or two “new” or tricky words for her in each book.

She is so reluctant to read the school books it is painful. I have come to hate it but obviously try to be jolly & encouraging.

She is totally reluctant to read anything else for herself out of school. She likes being read to. she has a book shelf of beautiful books.

If we are out and about, she will say “what does that sign say” and refuses to read it herself.

The other year one parents say their kids are reading Roald Dahl, David Walliams, Worst Witch etc which is so far ahead of DD’s level

Should I be worried?

I have tried to make sure they see me reading for pleasure (best excuse for sitting and reading!) as well, so it seems like a thing people do

I think this is a really interesting one - as a child I saw my parents reading for pleasure a lot. My DC don't see me/DH reading for pleasure very often, so it's not 'normalised' for them in the same way.

Yes I thought this too. This isn’t helpful for their fluency at all! I’d be interested to know what phonics scheme the school is using. The children in my school read the same book for a week - we read it in school 3x and then (hopefully) they’ll read at home too. By the end of the week the children are pretty much fluent from all the repetition!

No don’t worry at all! They all learn at different paces but school like to make you think they need to be at certain points by certain ages.

My daughter absolutely hated the school books, as did I. Had no interest in learning to read and couldn’t see the point. We pulled her out of school to home educate and she taught herself to read within a few weeks once the pressure of it all was off.

I honestly wouldn’t worry at all. Personally I’d stick with books you know she enjoys and pretend she’s read the school ones.

I don't think any children enjoy those school reading books to be honest, they're pretty dull! I wouldn't worry too much about her reading for pleasure at her age and don't compare her to others (those parents are probably exaggerating anyway!) Just continue reading to her at bedtime and finding stories that she enjoys. Mine used to love a trip to the library to pick out a book or two as well. Comics are good for little ones too. You could have a quiet reading time at home once or twice a week. Just a half hour where you all just have a quiet time reading/looking at your own books. I think seeing you reading for pleasure does rub off eventually. My boys are all adults now and their interest in reading did wane once they were old enough for xbox games 🙄 but they still read music/football biographies etc.

Have both an August born (DD) and September born (DS). DD learnt to read at own pace (IE never forced to read 5 different books a week) and was a real book worm. Now in Y4 and really dislikes reading for various reasons..... just going with the flow.
DS is Y1 and a total book worm - he was reading 5 school books+ a week generally as that was the right pace for him initially. School now usually read school books with him and he just reads whatever he chooses to at home. This is a range of books, that he is interested in and school seems more than happy as he is interested and engaged.
Personally I would push back at the school and work through the books at your DDs pace. If she doesn't enjoy the reading process it will become harder. A few pages every day that she happily reads is so much more positive. If she then enjoys other books or reading IE signs then that will benefit her long term. From my experience your DD will already be working hard as a summer born and additional pressure won't help!

Don't worry and don't show your concern to her. Encourage her to read other things that are not challenging to begin with and try and follow her interests, whatever they are. School reading books are merely a contrivance to make reading levels and metered vocabulary input. They are not the reason for learning to read. Enjoyment and skill are the real reasons so try and work on that. Never make a conflict situation out of 'the reading book' it really is not worth it.

Oh and don't listen to other mums !

Don't worry. As an ex-Year One teacher, her level is very appropriate, especially as a younger member of the class. It's a shame she's not enjoying reading much at the moment, but as others have said, the reading scheme books are not the most exciting. As she gets onto more interesting books, hopefully she'll get into it much more. Also, 5 books a week is a lot. I never expected mine to read that much at home. Maybe 2 books a week - I would set around 6ish pages a day at home, depending on how wordy they were, on top of our reading together at school. Just a bit, little and often, at that age, is key, with parents reading other things to them as well. As for the other children reading David Walliams etc, I doubt that. Maybe one or two might be pushed to attempt it, but as another teacher on this thread pointed out, it's a waste at that age. Wait until they're a bit older and will actually understand and appreciate the stories. Everyone will get there in their own time.

DD did, but then she loved a book, as did I. My brother on he other hand loathed reading right up until about age 11 when he discovered the sports pages in the newspaper, at which point he started getting up earlier so he could get through them before school.

Not everyone enjoys reading for the sake of it, some times it takes finding a subject they're really interested in.

DD1 was reading the easier Roald Dahl books by the end of y1. She was a bookworm from the get go though - still is now as a teen. DD2 - would flick through books at that age but was mainly looking at the pictures, despite being greater depth for reading by the end of Y1 - will still take or leave it depending on if it contains Pokemon.

I'm a teacher of 26 years. We've destroyed the love of reading with the current emphasis on phonics. Go at her place, let her read what she enjoys, phonics is not the be all and end all.

Don’t listen to these Mums! The year 1s reading at that level will be the minority, mine isn’t and isn’t interested in that level of stories yet. She likes books with pictures.
My yr3 doesn’t read for fun yet, though she enjoys those kind of books being read to her. There’s no point in pushing them. 5 books a week is so much, we have 1 a week.

Mines a 5 year who reads books designed for 10 year old to herself. But I didn't do anything different to you. She just picked it up. She'll take herself off to read. Her school however, just have one book to read a week. They recommended them reading one or two pages at a time to begin with.

I don’t believe them! People lie! Don’t let people who brag about their kids make you feel bad. Speak to her teacher see what she says and listen to her advice. Find something your daughter is really into and read it together taking a page each maybe. But try not to worry plenty of other five year olds are the same once it clicks you will notice her making fast progress. Watch what you say in her hearing to because you might knock her confidence and maybe she already feels bad that she doesn’t read as well as some of the older children. But I don’t see many 5 year olds being cuddled up reading a Roald Dahl book!

The OP's child is 5, but her classmates may well be six and a half: surely a perfectly reasonable age for a top-quartile child to be free-reading that sort of book.

My son hated the school reading books at that age - dull as ditchwater.

We bought him lots of non-fiction picture books and he really enjoyed them.

ViscountessMelbourne Maybe, but she is only 5 and it’s the 5 year old children I was talking about. I not saying that the older children wouldn’t be reading to that standard. I’m saying that at 5 it’s more common for them not to be.

My DD (age 5 reception) will not allow me to read to her anymore - she wants to read everything herself and will stay up after I've put her to bed reading the books that her school provides, or words she can pick out from her own books

You said that she shouldn't believe the classmates' parents because most five year olds can't read like that. I was pointing out that most of the OP's child's classmates aren't actually five.

Wow that’s a lot per week! My 6 yr old has one reading book and an extra free choice book - his reading is pretty good now so I must admit I don’t push the school books, he reads signs, shopping lists, recipes etc. he def wouldn’t be reading roald Dahl tho other children I’ve looked after have at this age, he’s just not all that interested.

The phonics books are pretty boring! Especially if they like stories and being read to.Can you mix it up with comics and more interesting ones like Horrid Henry, the Usbourne Greek Mythologies, Usbourne Arabian nights? She might not grasp all the words but at least it's a good story.

Comics and graphic novels (Bunny Vs Monkey, Looshkin, Dog Man) were real game changers for my Y1. My kids have a subscription to the Phoenix comic and it's fought over when it arrives.

My DD did not start reading for pleasure until year 5. She was a competant reader, but just never found pleasure it in. Then it just ‘clicked’ when she found books like interested her. Now she is a bookworm with her nose in a book every night.

I certainly wouldn’t worry in year 1, and I would not believe parents who say that their kids are reading David Walliams /Harry Potter etc in Year 1. Yes, a very very small proportion may be capable of reading at that level - the vast majority will be struggling along with Biff and Chip.

I buy my kids those hideously expensive magazines for treats instead of sweets. They both love them and don’t realise they’re being tricked into reading.

Forget what other parents are doing/saying.
But definitely encourage her to read with you/someone else. Don't put the pressure of X amount of books a week or she will associate it with pressure. Use it as bonding time, 30 mins a day, in a cosy spot, maybe even in the garden now the weather is getting better.