What would you expect an "average" Reception child to be able to do?

[Festivedidi]

My niece is in Reception and is one of the youngest in the class. We spent the day together yesterday and we just happened to be playing with dd2's magnetic letters from the fridge (dd2 was playing with them too). I was quite surprised that dn didn't know many letters, not even the letters in her own name. Dsis keeps telling us that dn is doing well at school and making good progress at reading and writing.

My question is, is this about average for a child at the young end of the yeargroup? It's been a long time since dd1 was in Reception and it wouldn't be a fair comparison anyway as dd1 is a September birthday so was almost a year older when she started Reception that dn is. I've still got a couple of years left before dd2 starts school as well so I can't compare her either. Is there anything anyone can recommend for dsis to do at home with her to bring her on a bit if she is a little bit behind the others?

3 children i look after are very different...
4yrs next week , only just getting the hang of sounding out sounds, can recognise and write her name but thats about it.... Altho has been having very long conversations with adults since 18 months old

Just turned 6 year old: only just in last few weeks can recognise all letters, slow reader, but wasnt meeting physical milestones for a long time, but now nearly caught up

Nearly 6 year old: Can read, write, spell perfectly, has done for a year.. Excellent at maths, and is very clever, remembers events in detail from when he was 2!

8 month old: Doesnt eat, wont sit up..

Every child is different

Yes, sazale, that sounds grim. Glad you got some input from a specialist yourself.

Re your niece OP, the chances are there are no problems, especially as she is young in the year, but personally I would want to make sure my DC knew at least their letters and sounds at this stage. I would think most children this age with the right exposure should be able to do this as they are being taught the letters and sounds at school every day (or should be?).

festivedldl it's very frustrating because if I wasn't in a position to pay for a private assessment they would still have been denying it. I have considered moving him schools but he has social anxiety and finds attending school very difficult to the point he's selectively mute but he speaks to the children in his class now and has lots of friends.

It is something I've got a very close eye on now!

I understand your worry as I worry about my neice's too as if they are my own as we are a very close family. It's nice that you care so much.

Tggr I would want to make sure that my dc could know their sounds and letters too, but I am aware that not all parents are quite so concerned about reading, and that there is a large range in what individual children can do. That was really why I asked my question, as I know there is a big range of normal but I'm not sure when it starts becoming a concern iyswim. I don't know how much letters and sounds they are doing at school because she doesn't tend to talk much about school when I see her, she's much more interested in playing with dd2 and the dolls house. I do sometimes think dsis could be doing more with her but it's not really my place to say unless I'm asked for my opinion. People could easily have said I should have done more with dd1 at that age except she was good at the 'academics', it was her physical abilities that were below average (think of the clumsiest child you know and you are in the right region for dd1)

Your poor ds sazale. All of that sounds like a lot to cope with at such a young age. He's very lucky he's got you to stick up for him.

He does have a lot to cope with, bless him.

He also has hypermobility which is extreme in his hands and makes it very difficult for him to physically write. He can't use a tripod grip otherwise it pops his thumb out! Tied in with his social anxiety, reduced communication, phonological speech disorder (his speech sounds are very good now) and his reading difficulties school is very hard.

However he is as bright as a button, very placid, very caring and at home a cheeky little chappy who loves to make us laugh. When the speech therapist was testing him he scored age 8 for being able to give detail from a picture!! His observational skills are amazing!

Just got to get school working right for him and then hopefully they'll get to see what we see at home.

I think if you push a child too hard academically then it may well back fire. A child who has a happy attitude towards education often does well long term. Sometimes hot housed children lack moviation when there is no one to push them in juniors or secondary.

The OP niece is four years old and four months and has just completed her first term of school. Prehaps her mother feels that it is counter productive to push her to practice letter sounds.

I am sure that in six months time the little girl will be further forward with her reading. Unless there are other problems like known speech issues then its unlikely the little girl has special needs.

Well, we don't really know do we. My niece didn't know her letters at 6 as she wasn't taught them (she's in Scandanavia). I was surprised my sister hadn't taught her but over there it's normal for that age. Over here we do start teaching kids to read in YR- I think this is a bit early for some- but as we do it's as well to know the letters and sounds or you certainly won't be able to read. but then YR is a funny beast. I think we/they give mixed messages about what children are doing. Eg, let's learn through play, but then "oh yes, let's learn our letters and sounds and learn to read and write."

I kind of agree ReallyTired. I think we'd do better without any formal stuff in YR, it can wait until Y1 (at least). Just I bet no one dares suggest that (government types).

Sazale - your poor DS. My DD is hypermobile too but actually seems ok (ish) with writing but it affects her ankles, legs a lot more so she finds the playground and PE tricky

If you turn the question on it's head, ie how many five year olds would be able to understand a lime level book being read to them?

It depends what you mean by understand. Many would have a basic understanding in line with their age and level of maturity, few would have the higher level inferential skills to understand beyond the literal

Really?

Few 7 year olds have the higher order understanding expected from lime level. They may well read the words fluently and be able to discuss the story but that isn't enough.

Few 7 year olds, really???

So what type of things do they need to be able to do then??

I can understand not many 5 yr olds reading lime but thought it would be easy for a 7 year old tbh....

(having said that most of the yr2s I read with are on stage 7...)

Mrz, you would agree that there are a few though? I've noticed DS is getting a lot more out of his books these days. He's probably reading similar things to 3-6 months ago but he seems to follow the nuances of the story much better. Mostly he's enjoying humorous boy books so perhaps they don't stretch those higher skills so much! Equally perhaps this is a good match for his maturity at the moment (just 6).

My dd was July baby and was the same. As many have said children are varied and many cannot even pronounce all the letters until age 5 so phonics for many is not on at that age.

"So what type of things do they need to be able to do then??"

*Its knowledge and understanding of the world. Realising that text can communicate an indirect meaning. Ie. if the writer talks about "Waves" to realise that the character may well be at the seaside or possibly by or on a lake.

*To realise that punctuation or the style of writing, omomatopedia can hold as much information as the words themselves.

*The ablity to link the plot in the previous chapter to what is being read.

I think children should sometimes take a book to stretch comprehension skills and sometimes to stretch decoding skills. Parents need more information on how to nuture comprehension skills. For example the Ruth Miskin books have questions which really helped my son.

If a seven year old reaches lime level and fails to get a level 3 in reading in the year 2 SATs then something is seriously wrong with the teaching.

Some teachers need to grow a pair and be prepared to put children down a level if they do not show decent comprehension skills. Ideally it would be a different reading scheme with no sticker so the child does not realise they have been put on white.

simpson the 7 year olds can read them but struggle with understanding beyond the literal. Why did a character act in a certain way or say what they said. Deduce why events happened as they did (often based on information not in the text ) interpret ideas and information. Referring to the text and quoting to support their views.

Lots of children can read more difficult books for pleasure simply because no one expects them to be able analyse what they are reading.

ReallyTired I inherited a child this year who had been pushed far beyond her level of understanding (strange that her mum volunteered to hear readers 3 times a week must just be a coincidence) and I've put her back from lime to orange level. Mum is refusing to read the books at home

(strange that her mum volunteered to hear readers 3 times a week in reception must just be a coincidence)

Festive. My ds also summer born could only read a few letters in reception, did not learn to read fluently until 7/8 and now a level 6b at the end of year 7 in English so I would not worry. He reads constantly now. had to tell him off at 11.30 last night because he was trying to finish his book. Children change so much between reception and secondary.

Mrz agree. One child was a level 8 in OLT at the beginning of Year 1 from a pushy school and was put back to level 4 at my dcs school at her mum's request (deputy head at a primary) who felt the other school pushed her dc too much and she was beginning to hate reading. Her dd was September born.

That is a big leap backwards and must feel very demoralising for the child. If the child was aware that they had been put down several levels then it becomes cruel. I suppose the cruety was the previous teacher who didn't have the balls to refuse to put the child up a level.

I am a weirdo parent in that I actually asked for my son to be put back a level. The school had a seperate reading scheme with no stickers on so my son had no clue what was going on and his feelings weren't hurt.

My august born dd is in reception. She knows her letter sound and letter names. Doesnt know the alphabet in order.

She can write most letters but not very neatly at all. Is on word book 4 if thst means anything outside of her school (prob not) and is on lilac (i think - either the bottom or 2nd bottom level) books in ort.

Teacher has no concerns about her. I would say she's average?

Sorry meant i would say my dd is averagel compared to what very litle i have seen of her peers (wouldnt be surprised if my dd had the poorest handwriting of the class though)

Your dn sounds perfectly within the realms of normal to me.

Fwiw i am august born myself and struggled for quite a few years, got decent gcses and then straight as at a level. I think in a lot of ways it took me til teen years to catch up, but once i did it was fine.