Give me a break...tired of hearing people go on about reading levels!!!

[sereka]

"My DD or My DS can read before starting reception." or "The teacher is sending home books which are too easy." Oh spare me. Children develop at different paces and if your child can read dont worry about the books the teacher sends home. Read books at home and join the local library where you can choose books which interest your child.

My DD is starting reception next week and I am very happy with her progress. Just enjoy your kids. I am so excited about her start at "big" school and she is likewise very excited.

is she your first child?

I agree. DS1s classmates' mums are more interested in his reading levels/ORT colour than we are. They are so competitive. A friend of mine whose children don't even go to the same school approached me at a party over the summer, saying, "I hear DS1 is on ORT x", so-and-so told me". I nearly dropped my drink. Can everyone not just chill out a bit?

Yes she is my first child. I use to come on the site and be comparing her to others but she is actually above her expected level in most areas.

LOL @ littlecheese.... I know exactly how you feel. I work full time so all my free time i try to spend with my DD. She loves her books and writing but i never force her.

As long as our kids are happy

My son is starting school tomorrow and I'm now worrying as he can't read!! He loves being read to but he can't read himself. Oh well, I guess there will be more kids that can't read either.

Funnily enough once I announced dcs were free readers no-one asked again . Now if I were awful I would have lied .

Agreed!!! DS was above his expected levels for everything in reception. I didn't tell any of the other parents but their children were always commenting on something he'd done to amaze them. Now he's in year one all I get is people asking me what reading level he's on or what maths and spellings he's brought home so they can see where their child is in comparison. I just feign ignorance and say I don't know.

They're 5! Who cares what they can or cannot do right now?!

Gosh no one ever asks that sort of thing at our school.

Why do people get in such a to do about reading levels do we think?

I think with their first child people are generally anxious that their children are doing ok. Like you checking out the site and doing it yourself lol

I am glad I came on here and checked myself as I had a nagging suspicion that not all was well at my DD1's first school - reading was only ONE of the many many factors, but if your child is not being progressed at school then I think it's healthy to take an interest in it.

Also, with early readers it is sometimes difficult to find books that they are able to read themselves..I found in the first few months my DD1 didn't have the confidence to read most books but was much happier reading her school books. So we were a bit stuck really.

It can be disheartening for the child when they do not make progress at school - at whatever stage.

exactly Emy.
No-one ever discusses this kind of thing at my school either and tbh I wish they did a bit more - it took a very very long time for a completely useless teacher to be got rid of and only then because the head was leaned on by Ofsted.
My dd has just started year 1 and having been very chilled about reading in theory, in practice I have had 2 issues in the course of the year, neither of which I made a fuss about though I think in future I would: the first one was that they gave her those ORT books without words for weeks and weeks when she was keen to get going on actual reading (she didn't start reception able to read!) and she used to come home disappointed week after week because there weren't any words in her books, which got her off to a negative start. Then she had finished level 3 a few weeks before the end of the summer term so they started sending her home with level 2 books and she confided to me that maybe they thought she was getting worse at reading - actually I think it was simply that they would have had to go to another classroom to get the level 4 books. If you have a child who is eager to make progress and the school isn't going at their speed for organisational or ideological or clueless teacher reasons, it is frustrating - and yes you can do reading with them outside school, but you still have to do the blinking reading books and if the child isn't motivated it can be a struggle to get them to do it! Some days we would spend 40 minutes trying to get her to do the damn things then 10 mins to actually do it. Then when she went up a level she would be all keen and happy and motivated and her homework would be fun to do.

Sereka welcome to the world of school! you will probably find that the vast majority of people, myself included, get very little communication from the school or from the DDs themselves (What was the best thing about school today? "Pudding") and book levels do give you something concrete to go on regarding progress. I personally couldn't give a monkeys about the rest of the class though - my own DC's are my only concern.

I didn't notice any particulary nosines at our school. Perhaps I'm not paying attention. I'm going to be the devel's advocate here.

DD is quite a reluctant reader but I have a good friend whose ds was a free reader in reception. I can well understand a parent's concerns tbh. Why read school Biff and Chip at schol (which are very popular in our house, actually) when they can ready and comprehend fluently?

Just because it's not a problem for my child doesn't mean I can't comprehend how the parent of a different child might have concerns.

Nosiness and open competition among mums is utterly bad form but having concerns, seeking advice and trying to improve things for your dc - what's wrong with that? Better ask here, maybe, than in the playground.

There is NOTHING more interesting than reading levels. What is wrong with you?

What about the mums who have said on here before, that when a child visits for tea after school, they have a pry into their book bag to see what level said child is on! Cracks me up that does!

We should sart putting extra reading books in the book bags - something to make them gasp with envy

I think the reason there are so many posts on here about it is that in many playgrounds it's not the done thing to ask the other mums.

Sounds like in some schools it is and they do swap notes though.

I agree with Acin - there's nothing wrong with having questions and concerns about levels and books - after all reading is central to the early years of school.

acinonyx - may just have to plant 'war and peace' in ds's bag.

....with a carefully placed bookmark just a couple of chapters from the end.

And "GCSE English Literature Study Guide Notes to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice"

Sereka - you've just blown it by telling us your child is above average, so you are comparing her to others. It's very easy not to worry when your child is ahead.

I have 4 children and the first struggled with reading. I don't remember anyone asking what colour books he was reading. I was worried, but it all evened out in the end.

The only time I've heard about levels is when a child comes running out of school saying "I've moved up to silver books".

The fact you've told us that your child is above average suggests you might be as competitive as the rest.

I keep saying this on MN.

They all learn to read in the end. And once they do, they don't get any better at it.

So CHILL

yeah but Squeaver, the process of getting there can be more or less long, short, painful, enjoyable etc. I am sure you are right that in the long term it is not something to worry about, but in the short term it is a big part of your life, specially if you have several children at that stage.