Missing reading day due to illness = falling behind, is it fair for me to request....

[Idonthaveenoughtime]

Some advice please ladies!

My ds is sick today. Unfortunately today is his reading day (friday) and they only get one opportunity a week to read. That means he will have TWO weeks (because of half term) with the same book to read, which he is already bored of because it doesn't have words in and he is already at the stage of being able to read words.
To make matters worse he is already a week or two behind the rest of the class as it took him a while to get to grips with phonics, but he's now ploughing ahead. He is an august baby and the youngest in the class and I think being another week (3 weeks) behind the majority of the class is going to mean he will never catch up as they only have that once a week chance to prove they can 'read'.

My partner thinks I should send him in even though he is ill just to do the reading, but that just makes me really angry. My partner seems to think that timetabling will mean the school won't be able to accommodate him reading time on the monday back so he has a school week to get to grips with the bigger book before he has his reading day on friday.

Considering all the issues I have with this school's teaching methods already, if they don't let him read on monday I'm actually at the point I might very well completely lose my rag and demand to speak to the head and / or change schools, I'm that fed up, lol. I remember reading to a teacher twice a week when I was at school, why has the standard of education slipped so much, class sizes haven't changed??

What would you do?
Am I overreacting?

sounds very strange to me, my DCs read every day at school in the early years. Your DC can't be the only one to miss their day.
I would ring the teacher and see if you can't collect a new book for him and do reading at home. Also ask what the plan is for when this happens in future.
If they don't have a plan for accommodating sickness then speak to the head.

Odd to have 1 set day and no other reading ?

I would keep him off. And after half term have a meeting with the teacher about your concerns

I think you are overreacting, but I think there may be more to your dissatisfaction than just the reading.

Of course you shouldn't send him in if he's ill. Could you phone the school and could a friend bring home the next book for him? Could you go to the library when he's better and get something for over the holiday period? Perhaps have a word with his teacher when he goes back and ask if there's a chance he could be heard at a different time. If not, then keep reading with him at home.

How do you know he's a week or two behind the rest of the class? Children make progress in different ways so it's a hard thing to measure, unless you're in the classroom full-time! Formal reading sessions aren't the only time they'll be looking at words and using their reading skills either.

You sound very anxious about the whole reading thing. Please don't be as this could transfer to your DS and turn him off. It sounds as if he's making good progress but that maybe you need to back off a bit. Thinking of moving schools seems very extreme unless, as you've hinted, there are other issues going on.

I think you are overreacting (in the nicest possible way)

His education is not going to be damaged by missing this reading day- im assuming that he also reads books at home?

I would just say "can I have another book". And I would go to the library in half term.

As it is half term next week, can you get to the library and pick up some books for him? He is really very little, and any opportunity you can give him to practise his letters and sounds is useful, even if it is the back of the cereal box, or simple words in a colourful children's magazine...it all counts! Why don't you snuggle down with him today and read him all his favourite stories too, with him pointing out the words and trying to say any words he can recognise or work out from phonetics.

Reading at school can be very limited, and you are right, hearing him read just once a week is not enough. This is where you come in. You need to do most of the reading with him in any week. Every night, sit down with him for just 10-15 min and read a few pages. Go through the sounds he has covered in class before hand, so they are fresh in his memory, and then take each word one at a time. If you do this every night, you will soon read more that one book a week - so you will need to speak to the school about this - or get friendly with your local library - they will be more than happy to help!

Don't worry about missing a little school due to illness. It is only to be expected when they first start school - poor thing has got fresher's 'flu. All the other children will miss days too, so he will not fall behind. He is still a baby, and learning to read is a marathon, not a sprint! (You will still be monitoring his reading in Y5 and beyond!)

Hope your DS gets better soon...and relax and take this time to introduce him to the enjoyable world of books!

Is he in FS2 / reception?
I wouldn't worry I would just share books with him at home and talk about what is happening in the pictures.

My ds (yr2) reads once a week with the teacher so I can tell. However, he does read all week in class. I think they have a guided reading session too (?) where they read in a group.

Do you have a reading diary where you record each time they've read? We have to read 5 x each week to get a bookworm certificate for the week. These can be any books, school books, comics, picture books etc. Our reading diary is our way of communicating with the teacher. For example, my ds hadn't changed a reading level since yr1. Recently I kept writing in the diary that I felt he was reading the level easily. In a couple if weeks the teacher read with him and put him up 3 reading levels.

I've even written in there if I'm confused or a bit worried about something reading related.

I don't quite understand you thinking your ds is 3 weeks behind the rest of the class. All my ds's class are on different reading levels and I have no idea what they are.

I wouldn't change schools (unless there is some other major issues you have). I'd communicate a bit more with the school and say you'd like him to change his book more.

Other than that, just go to the library. I just bought a huge set if Oxford RT chapter books (a level my ds hasn't reached yet) for about £10 from the Book People

Honestly missing a day in Reception is not going to blight his entire school career.

It sounds like your school adopts a policy similar to DD's old one - which means they are very softly softly with the reading at first as they like the children to have built up a good phonics knowledge first. Remember it does not matter in the grand scheme of things whether your child learns to read this week, next week, next term or next year.

If you want him to progress (AND he is ready to do so) work on phonic sounds at home. Get him to read to you (go the library and get books, any books) but also read to him and talk about what you have read.

He will not be behind the class. Everyone will be working at their own pace. And even if he is slightly behind - so what? He's only in Reception and has plenty of time to get there.

Just to compare: my DS was the very last child in his peer group to learn to walk and a full 8 months behind some of this friends. Does this make a jot of difference, now he is 9? Of course it doesn't.

my ds is only two so I don't have experience from a personal perspective, but pre dc I taught secondary but elements of my training were done in primary, from the snap shot I got my feeling is that children who only 'read' the books from the reading scheme will be easily bored, I am sure things may have improved since I was taught to read, but I have memories of finding Mrs blue hat incredibly tedious!
I think reading lots at home and trips to the library are brilliant ways to 'top up' and will also encourage a love of reading which I fail to see a reading scheme doing.
I would ve really surprised to think the school your ds attends is so fixed that they would only hear him read today, if I were you I would call the school to ask for two or three books to be left at reception for you to collect for half term reading. I really can't see why a teacher wouldn't be pleased at you being proactive.

Can you pop and just get DS's book changed? In my DD's school she has the chance to change her reading book every day. Perhaps you could ask the teacher about more frequent book changes in future. In our school their simply have a box of books for each book band and the children can help themselves to a new one each morning so it's not hard for the teachers to operate.

I suspect from what I know of reception classes that they do phonics every day and sort of whole class reading and then as they are still just getting started they may only read to a teacher individually once a week (my daughter's school is twice a week in reception, 3 times in Yr1)

If he is getting books with no words then does it matter if he misses one of them? I agree, go to the library and get some from there, get him to help sound out words in your normal story books when you read with him and don't worry about it.

I don't understand how he is 2 weeks behind the others either. My daughter does a sound every day or 4 days a week or something, so whilst some of them have learned them and are blending or reading in their reading books, others have probably not learned any of them and just sit listening in class when they do them. My daughter reads harder books at home to what she brings home (last year her sister was bringing home books 3 levels below what she was reading easily at home for quite a long time) so we just do the school book quickly, write it down, do our own books and write them down too.

It really doesn't matter at this stage, they will be revising the phonics constantly and he certainly shouldn't go into school if he is ill, a because he will feel rubbish and it isn't fair to him and b because it isn't fair to his classmates and staff because they don't want to spend half term ill.

How do you know the rest of the class are ahead of him? I haven't the faintest idea what the rest of DS's class are doing, they could be reading Harry Potter for all I know.

Get to the library, they have loads of early reading books. My DS is also getting the ones with no words, so we do those, fill in the journal and then spend the rest of the week reading other stuff. He can read books with words in, but interestingly, has found the ones with no words quite challenging. Telling a story, trying to decide how certain characters are feeling about each other etc is something he definitely needs to work on. He has been read to loads and I always assumed he understood what was going on, character motivations, but it seems not. So I'm not bothered by the no word books when he can read because they have been useful.

It's a marathon, not a race, and one week will not make a difference in the long run. If your DS makes loads of progress over half term, then they're not going to artificially hold him back just because he missed a day.

What issues do you have with their teaching methods?

Why can't you find a book yourself to read with him?
You should be doing this anyway...
Reading with the teachers won't actually imbue him with the ability to read, you know? To imagine he will "never catch up" because he missed a session of guided reading sounds hysterical and ridiculous

I think you're completely over reacting. He can't be the first, and he won't be the last, child to miss reading day. I assume the teacher has a schedule, so no she won't be able to do it on the Monday or someone else will miss their turn.

And he won't be 3 weeks behind as everyone miss their session during half term.

I don't know what your issues are with the school, but if you went in all guns blazing over this then you'd look like you'd lost the plot. You're only 7 weeks into his entire school life- do you really want to completely destroy your relationship with the school this early?

Reading once a week will be a school policy. Ask someone to explain the logic behind it. It's what lots of schools do now.

Make a trip to the library in half term and do some reading together over the holiday - it will be far more useful than sending him in to school for a 5 min reading session.

BTW - he won't be falling behind other children in the class, I'm pretty certain that the range of reading abilities will be huge. There won't be a level that most of the children are reaching while your DS falls behind, they will all be working at their own pace.

is there a special reason why you can't read with him to 'make up' for the missed reading day? You are massively overreacting by the way. Is this a joke thread?

At our school the children in reception read to an adult twice a day. They did this by using volunteers of parents and grandparents. There was a volunteer listening to a child read all day everyday. If they only listen to them once a week then I would do the majority at home.

You are completely overreacting, to the point that you sound totally panicked.
Its nothing that a trip to the library won't sort out and why would reading with a teacher be any different to reading at home?

As for the comment about him being born in August, my DS was and he's doing well. You sound like you want there to be a problem.

Another vote for the public library.
We are lucky to have an adult at home, and frequently I go in and absolutely raid the books for whatever colour DS is on. But library is good, too.

Agree with almost everyone else.
You are getting this so called 'reading day' out of proportion. They will be doing reading in all sorts of ways throughout the week.
Regardless of whether it is his reading day or not, you should be sharing books with him - you know, for fun! - because it's lovely to snuggle up with a book. If you get books off his shelf, or toddle off down to the library, you can read 3x a day, every day with him if you want to. This learning is about partnership you know, not a once a week session with the teacher.

When my DD was in reception she was only heard read on her own 4 times in the whole year..........................They did say they did guided reading but I never found out how often...still have no idea. We do loads of reading at home (she loves to read!!)

Books from school are fine, but books from the library work just as well :)

DS's both only read to the teacher once a week and get their reading book changed at the same time. DS2 read twice the week before this but then didn't read at all this week. He got very easy first sentence type books which he reads fluently once and then has memorised anyway.
What I do though is let him read the school books once or twice then find him something else to read that is more his level. I also record the extra reading I give him in his reading diary. We have some suitable books at home or you could go to the library.