Reception reading levels - should I be concerned DS is still not getting books with words?

[Living]

DS (4) comes home with an ORT book a week but so far they've all been the ones without words. Is this normal for this point in reception or should I be getting worried?

I've been taking the attitude that 'he'll get there when he get's there' and DS is young for the year (he won't be 5 until September). Just wondering whether I should be doing more with him at home to encourage the reading. We read loads of picture books together but I'm not doing any work with his actual reading / phonics. He seems to know all the phonics sounds though.

I don't actually know whether he's ready for the next level up or not as I don't have any way of testing. I'm finding myself trying to get a sneaky peak at the books coming home with other children to see whether its just him and I really do not want to be THAT mother! I'm concerned the teacher will think I'm being pushy if I suggest it to her (particularly if she thinks he's not ready).

Not in the UK so can't just go an borrow a book from the library and see how he gets on or I'd do that.

[mrz]

global.oup.com/education/product/9780198483687?region=uk

[simpson]

All about making money

[addictedtosugar]

Can I ask a related question, please?
How do I show DS how to blend?
We have been sent home 45 cards with words to memorise on, and have been getting books (with words) since September, but if I ask him what letters are in a word, and what word it makes he will (for example) say "W-A-S" "of". So he really hasn't got the idea, in my opinion.
He has obviously been taught some letters go together to make a sound, but how do I know where to break a word? Personally I have to say the word in my head to know what sounds are in there (I'm dyslexic, DH has English as a second language, we're both struggling!). i can't see how to dismantle the word without knowing what the word is (so how do I read????)
Thank-you

[addictedtosugar]

I asked the same thing, as at the start of the year, he didn't even know his alphabet.....
Apparently its just the way they do it at that school.
I suspect we are one of the schools who Mrz will not be overly impressed with as they do a mixture of everything. I've been lurking on the what reception kids can do, and have been getting more and more worried about what others seem to be doing, and then thinking hes 4 and a half. don't stress, hes just young.
I'm considering buying the books on how to teach him myself, but not sure I'll be able to do it - as in be able to read the sounds, not show him.

[addictedtosugar]

Oh, and I suspect he could do everything is your first post, Euphemia, with the possible exception of the making up stories, but suspect I just have too great an idea of what that entails, and he does do it to some extent.

[simpson]

But you don't need wordless books to do that Euphemia you could use any book (parent reading to the child).

[mrz]

and there are lots of lovely wordless books without buying sets of ORT

[simpson]

I think to me its a way that ORT can make money by adding a level of no word books that a child has to do before they can progress to actual words iyswim.

[columngollum]

For tens of thousands of years in pre-history Early Man used to sit around camp fires saying I wish ORT would invent wordless books and then we can tell each other stories.

[KateAdiesEarrings]

addictedtosugar 'W-A-S' 'of' made me as it's so familiar! ds would do that too but it just suddenly clicked so try not to worry about it.
I know with my friend's ds, having cards with the letters helped him to make the connection between sounding out letters and the word sound iyswim. Placing the letter cards beside each other seemed to help him to translate the letter sounds to word sounds.

[Living]

Addicted DS is getting there with blending but I was similarly confused. Looked up various videos on you tube but ended up more confused. I pretty much have up and DS seems to have gotten there on his own (when he can be bothered) well I say 'on his own' - I'm guessing the teacher helped a tad!

It will probably just click for your DS one day.

We're going away this weekend with friends who have a DS in a more academic school (much higher percentage of native English speakers) so I might investigate how fast they're going.

[Living]

This is just because I'm nosy btw. Doesn't actually matter!