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

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

1 2

Original poster

Do you think the teacher will mind if we take a break from reading?

26 replies

wigglywoowoo · 21/11/2012 21:40

I'm seriously thinking of asking this and just wondered whether she is going to think I'm crazy.

I am talking only about the reading scheme books as it is a battle with dd to read them at the moment, even though she picks them herself. We'll still continue reading other books though.

She is a good reader and is in all the top groups (teacher advised me of this) so she is doing well. I have been asked not to write about anything other than school books in her reading diary.

Would this be a real issue for the teacher If I said we're taking a break until say January?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

wigglywoowoo · 21/11/2012 21:41

Should have mentioned that DD is in year 1.

OP posts:

madwomanintheattic · 21/11/2012 21:46

I think it would be more beneficial to work out why she's being avoidant, if she's happy to read other stuff.

Are they too hard? Too easy? Stupid fairy books when she wants to read about whales?

Tbh I'm largely in favour of kids learning to do stuff that isn't their choice, if they are going to be schooled and institutionalised (lol) so I wouldn't just let her say she isn't going to do it.

These things usually only take about four minutes max anyway, so I'd be more inclined to hold the oak she wants to read in reserve until she's done her homework.

Depends what the issue with the books is though. I wouldn't just say 'oh, you don't want to. Ok. ' I'd be asking why she doesn't want to read them. She'll get a break from crappy reading scheme books over Christmas anyway.

You need to find a balance to keep her love of reading though. Whilst keeping your end of the home/ school bargain.

madwomanintheattic · 21/11/2012 21:50

As she's yr 1, I'd be asking even more questions.

Presumably if she is still on a reading scheme, then she is used to the requirements of such, etc etc.

So why the reluctance?

Definitely time for bribery, and / or a bit of straight talking. Not acceptable to just choose not to read without knowing what the problem is.

PopMusicShoobyDoobyDoA · 21/11/2012 21:57

Well, I'm a teacher with a reception child of my own who refuses to read at home. I would just leave it for now as forcing them is counter productive, I think.

As long as she is reading with you etc, it's fine. Mine will have a go at reading other words/sentences in books that we read together. He also has a go at reading signs, shop names etc. Just let the teacher know, I put a post it note in his reading record and she was very understanding but i wasn't expecting anything different. And tbh, I would be too if a parent said the same thing to me.

LifeIsBetterInFlipFlops · 21/11/2012 22:01

TBH I wouldn't stick my head above the parapet for this; probably best to just get on and do it, without making an issue of it to DC of course.

Durab · 21/11/2012 22:24

I don't think you need to tell the teacher particularly, unless you want to talk about the refusal itself - you won't be the only parent not doing the reading. My DS2 won the prize last month (a couple of comics) with 23 reads in a month.

If you are reading other material at home then make a note of that in the reading diary - or bribe negotiate that you read just one page a day

Original poster

wigglywoowoo · 21/11/2012 22:27

She wants to read, just not the scheme books and when I say the scheme books it is a mixture of ORT, Rigby, Big Cat etc. that she brings home. She wants to read the books on oxford owl mainly Project X(which they don't have at school).

I think the issue for me is that we currently read everyday and if I suddenly stop writing in the book, then I think the teacher will question it.

DD will read anything and everything willingly except her school books. She has always been like this and with the exception of a break about a year ago, we've continued to read the books daily.

OP posts:

Durab · 21/11/2012 22:30

Teacher have always told me that it doesn't matter what they read, as long as they are reading, so just put a note in the book along the lines of what you've just said and then record what she does read daily.

learnandsay · 21/11/2012 22:37

I've had a very similar issue; I've been asked not to write about library books in the school diary even though library books are 90% of our reading diet. In our case the phonics readers were too basic and in that sense they were useless.

How to resolve this problem? I stuck a note on the front of the reading diary, (I'm not too sure that all internal comments were being read.) And in that note I asked for a combination of simple and difficult phonics readers to be sent home. The teacher didn't like that idea and sent home non decodable readers instead. (I'm far happier with those.) So, in the end, I don't have a solution for you. But telling the teacher how you feel might have an unexpected beneficial effect.

Tgger · 21/11/2012 22:43

It can get a bit tedious reading books you aren't interested in EVERY DAY. I think that's the key.... you shouldn't need to read the school books every day, especially if she's not that into them and wants to read other stuff as well.

How about coming to a compromise. Read the school books twice/three times a week and your own stuff the rest of the time and as others have said note down what she reads so the teacher can see you are reading every day (if that's what she wants).
With DS also Y1 we get the school books on Mondays and Fridays then read his other stuff the rest of the time (and he reads to himself everyday too). His teacher has worked hard to find him interesting and the right level books, but tbh he would rather read dirty bertie, horrid henry, kaye umansky (latest favourite, good rhymes by the way) or the ha ha bonk book . He is slowly reading through the latest school book though and it's good for him to broaden his horizons .

maizieD · 21/11/2012 22:49

Whole generations of children (my own generation included) managed to learn to read very competently without a single book being sent home from school.

If your child is reading confidently and accurately (that is really important) and enjoys a wide variety of books she will come to absolutely no harm if she doesn't read the school readers.

Just don't do it and don't beat yourself up over it.

You lot are just too conscientious

Tgger · 21/11/2012 22:51

We just like to do as we are told maizieD!

slipslider · 21/11/2012 22:54

I would suggest that if you do say to your child that it is ok not to read the books the teacher has asked then this is sending mixed messages to your daughter. It is suggesting that it doesn't matter what the teacher has asked her to do. I would explain that the teacher has requested that she does this reading but that if she likes you can share a book of her choice when she has finished. Also if she has a diary she keeps for just her school books and she wishes to write about her own choice of books then why not purchase a small scrap book she can fill with her own ideas and then periodically she can show the teacher her independent work. She will see you are reinforcing what the teacher has asked her to do.

Tgger · 21/11/2012 22:56

Ah yes, slipslider the voice of reason. BUT.... perhaps you could ask the teacher not to send home a book everyday so that she has a bit more freedom to read her own books. That's got to be win win?

learnandsay · 21/11/2012 22:56

maisied, I think that's a bit unfair. I can't stand the ORT readers that my daughter has been sent home, but I do my level best to keep up with them and put comments in the diary. I'd hate to think that my reticence was harming my daughter in any way. But given an inch of leeway I'd put a match to the whole of the ORT reading scheme that I've seen so far in a heartbeat.

Tgger · 21/11/2012 22:57

Burn burn burn!!! (although DS liked the Magic Key . The ones before that can go...

NonnoMum · 21/11/2012 23:02

Agree with MaizieD.

I think it's important to keep reading (storybooks/bedtime books etc etc) without beating yourself up over the school reading books...

Original poster

wigglywoowoo · 21/11/2012 23:21

I have been told not to write about any books other than the school ones. So if we stop reading the school books the reading log is going to look very empty.

Over the week we were getting 4 books so she wasn't reading the same thing everyday but this has recently gone down to two, due to the length of the books increasing.

maizieD She doesn't (in my opinion) read accurately but is very confident and will self correct 95% of the time.

I think I will mention it to the teacher and see what she says, I wouldn't want them thinking that we've stopped reading at home.

OP posts:

slipslider · 21/11/2012 23:22

She doesn't have to read a whole book a day.....maybe a few pages each day so she is still reading what is being expected but also it is not too much for her . She could also write why she dislikes the books in her diary instead of saying which bit she liked. I encourage children to give their opinions and that it is ok to dislike something so long as they have a valid reason why.

Original poster

wigglywoowoo · 21/11/2012 23:39

She has been encouraged to write in the log since the start of of Y1 and she does this enthusiastically. She has only ever written about what she liked but I will try and get her to write about what she dislikes about the current book.

OP posts:

jomidmum · 22/11/2012 08:55

We had a similar challenge with DD when she was in year 1. She was having huge "melt downs" when it came to her school reading books, that I just decided we weren't going to have that battle at home any more. We didn't want that atmosphere in our family home. I told her teacher that we weren't doing it any more, and she was fine with it; totally understood. We just carried on getting library books out, which I read to DD, so she could carry on enjoying books.
A love of reading is what we're trying to encourage. She's only young, go with what you as her parent thinks is best.

redskyatnight · 22/11/2012 09:26

I did this in Y1 as I refused to have a battle every night. I would read the reading book to DS - encouraging him to have a go at words I thought he should be able to "get". And explaining how I would work out what some words said. Some days he basically read nothing, other days he got more enthusiastic and read quite a bit - but I think it helped that the pressure was off. He was one of the top reader in his year by the end of Y2, so it evidently didn't hold him back at all.

Acinonyx · 22/11/2012 10:19

There is no way dd would have read one of those wretched books every day. We aimed for once or twice a week - I take the point about not just letting them off the hook completely. Read tons of other stuff though and her reading progressed well - which is what matters in the end. In R and yr 1 I sometimes wrote 'refused to read this book'. Chocolate buttons helped.

maizieD · 22/11/2012 17:39

learnandsay
maisied, I think that's a bit unfair. I can't stand the ORT readers that my daughter has been sent home, but I do my level best to keep up with them and put comments in the diary. I'd hate to think that my reticence was harming my daughter in any way.

But you don't have to like the books. The important point is, is your child happy to read them? OP's clearly isn't. But she is happy to read other books; which is excellent. Why flog her through a book she dislikes, and which may be adding nothing to her reading skill?

I take the point slipsider makes about giving mixed messages, but if the OP can agree an amnesty with her dd's teacher I think it would be fine.

I would be concerned if the child didn't want to read anything.

rotavirusrita · 22/11/2012 17:49

What is the teachers going to do ig you dont write in the book? Its surely more important that she has a real love of books? Ds1 is now 8. I gave up trying to get him yo read school books in yr 1. Instead i spent time ay bedtime sharing a book. He started reading the title... And he recrntly read and loved the hobbit. I'd read a bit until i got a sore throat then he'd take over.
Its a marathon mot a sprint.... In a few yrs you wont remember what "purple band" or whatever even means

Flip

1 2