What do teachers do with children who can read when they enter reception?

[iamnotreallyhere2]

My daughter is starting in reception in September. She has learnt to read alongside her older brother, and is currently quite able to read books in the Oxford Reading Tree level 4 - I daresay she'll be reading level 5 or 6 by the time September comes. Waah - what a boastful mother I am! ;) She's just a keen bean who will get my son's phonic books out to work through them on her own. And she's been a big fan of starfall.com for a while now.

Anyway, I'm just wondering what other's experiences are of having a child who is a confident reader when they go into reception. I'm almost certain that she will be the only reading children in her class at that point. Obviously I will ask the teachers what they'll be doing with her and how they plan to stretch her. But have other people found that that their reading child is given something else to do during the times when they the rest of the class is being taught phonics formally?

Insomnia, Have you read Mindset, Carol Dweck? Examines your experience plus more. Stresses the importance of a growth mindset. You are doing the right thing with your DDs.

I was at sports day recently and was struck by how many parents have already decided on their child's 'gifts' or lack thereof very young 'look at him, not an athletic bone in his body'. 'Oh yes my other son is very academic', 'couldn't let him be in the play with a speaking part, he's not theatrical' and so on.

I hate 'ability' being discussed in the infants in particular, it's all about current attainment. If we fix on 'high' or 'low' ability these labels can be very sticky.

thinking11 i hope my dc get a teacher like you in reception

Thanks Cortina. No I haven't read that, sounds interesting though. I did watch a program by Robert Winston on a similar subject a couple of years ago.

So much more interesting to hear DD1 read now she can pick books from the library instead of ORT.

My daughter was at the same position at the start of Reception. She could read at about Level 5/6 at home. They didn't start giving books out until after half term and they started her on level 2. It gave her a great confidence boost to be able to whizz through them and understand them well. She is now coming to the end of Reception and hasn't been moved above level 8/9 (she gets a mixture of books). They are easy enough for her but introduce some different themes. The teacher helpfully gave me 2 pages of questions/discussion starters so that we can really analyse the books afterwards. I think they won't let her go above level 9 now, but that's fine. She is reading lots of different books at home, but doesn't really have the interest/attention span for chapter books yet.
We've focused on other things this year - maths, writing, spelling and socialising.

ds2 is in the same position but has an august birthday and is a baby in a lot of other ways so he will have other things to concentrate on in reception. The teacher at his school let ds1 go at his own pace after a while so I have every hope for ds2.

I would expand her reading breadthwise.ORT books are hghly predictable when you get used to them, and many children have read high up the scheme and then found they can't read anything else!

Insomnia11 - thank you for your post! I have always tried to follow my instincts on this one, but it is so good to hear it from a teacher who really knows!

I find it a really hard balance between praising DS1 for doing well, and showing him that is actually okay to get things wrong. Spellings, for example - he gets ten a week, consistently gets all ten correct. As a result, he is terrified of getting one wrong! I just cannot work out the balance between praising him for doing well, when he has worked hard, and saying "it's okay" if he does make a mistake.

They simply cater for those who can read and those who can't. It's certainly not unusual for some to be reading and writing when they start.
They are all at different levels and a good teachers can differentiate appropriately to suit.