Should I be worried that reception ds won't read?

[Snowcherriesfromfrance]

He is nearly 5 and reading a stage 3 but very very grudgingly. Writing is actually better than reading - example sentence 'Won sunee dai the snail went aut. He maid a trail. It was curthvee. (curvy)' which I don't think is too bad. Handwriting is big but finger spaces, capitals and full stops.
Numeracy ok too.

But reading, omg! It's like he's being tortured. He will voluntarily write but reading is like pulling teeth. He loves being read to and comprehension is spot on but he's becoming less and less willing to actually read himself.
Any advice? Or will it just happen? I'm not pushing it too much as I think it's counterproductive.

Have you asked him what it feels like when he reads?

It's perfectly possible that reading gives him sore eyes or even a headache.

Also ask him if the letters move when he reads.....

It could very easily be that they've moved his stage on before he's ready and it being difficult is putting him off.

has he had an eye test? DD was like this, I took her to the opticians because DS(10) was due an eye test and I suddenly realised she'd not had one, turns out the poor child has quite bad eye sight which I hadn't noticed, since getting her glasses she's more willing, apparently reading made her eyes ache without them (which she only bothered to tell me after she got her glasses)

Yes. His sight is awful, he's a +8 in one eye and a + 5 in the other. We are patching as soon as he comes home from school so he has to read in the mornings before school.

The hospital advised to patch at home rather than as his weak eye is so bad he has very very limited vision and they said it might be dangerous as he could fall down stairs etc.

He does know his phonics ok though and recognises all of the reception hfw and some y1 / 2.
He just doesn't seem to want to do it and now we have limited time to practice because he has to wear the patch 4 hours a day so when he gets home at 3.15 it goes on immediately until he goes to bed. So we basically have weekends and 10 mins in the mornings.

What does he say about it?

Possible eyesight problems aside... When DS was not yet into reading he sometimes preferred to play reading games (we did stuff with flash cards, sending each other messages, writing on the fridge etc). More recently sometimes he prefers to read alternate pages with us in a more interesting book (we do Elmer the elephant, Winnie the Witch, that sort of thing) rather than be responsible for a whole book on his own.
Or you could just insist on a minimal amount, say 2 pages, then let him stop when he wants so there's less pressure.

Agree no point pushing it and putting him off.

DS was slow to read. Luckily for him I assumed he wasn't academic so he didn't get all the nagging to revise/ study throughout his school days that is DSis got.
He got a masters at uni in the end, was just a slow starter. (I presume - as I didn't get any tests done or anything else 'special')

He says it's boring.
Apparently writing is interesting but reading is boring.

See apart from the reading id say he was average in ability, maybe slightly above in some areas.
Numeracy seems to be a strong point. He can play top trumps and has been playing for about a year. He's quite capable at reading the numbers and has I think just memorised the category orders in each set we have but he's very good at choosing the best thing off the card.
He can half / double / add and subtract with numbers up to at least 100. Maybe beyond, haven't checked.

But he still can't read.

Is it just that the books are boring? If he likes it when you read to him then could you just ask him to read odd words/short sentences that you think he could manage? Thats what I did with DS (also 5) when he was learning to read. Then he built up to paragraphs/pages - now he can read the whole book if he choses, but I think its easier for him to let us do it! So we do the alternate pages someone else suggested.

The turning point for DS was getting one of the little Usbourne books on the solar system. He really wanted to read it, so put the effort in and I was amazed at some of the words he could read (e.g. gradually, flare, asteroid) when he chose.

Sorry in 1st paragraph that should have been odd words... in more exciting books that he's chosen. :)

I'd second you reading to him and then getting him to just read a few bits. Or you read the sentence first and then he reads it back to you - takes the pressure off him being expected to decode or remember each word.

And try different books especially no fiction to see if there is something that he doesn't think is boring and inspires him to try. I would suspect that he's possibly not ready for stage 3 books and if the storied aren't interesting to him there's no reason for him to try.

Maybe but he was reading stage 2 very easily. And he started the stage 3 ok. For some reason it seems to have got worse since just before half term.

Tonight he's written: we have a bees nest at ower (our) howse. The bees go buzz lowdlee.'

Surely if he can write ok he should be able to make a reasonable stab at stage 3 books?!

I wouldn't push it. Perhaps read one page each? Or just do a couple of pages a night? The most important thing is he enjoys being read to...as long as he is getting enjoyment from books he will start to want to read them himself.

Have you tried comics? Boys that are reluctant to read sometimes prefer that format. Or you can try kids magazines (National Geographic for kids, etc) maybe something will get his interest up. It doesn't matter what he reads, as long as he keeps reading something!
Also, there are some reading schemes that are targeted for boys specifically. Project X is one of them, and I can't remember others but there are definitely there.
I'd try different books with him to see if it is really the reading or the school's reading books that he finds boring.

Actually comics are a good idea.

I think I might give it a go. They might seem less "overwhelming".

My DD is the same OP...but she's in year one and her weak eye was discovered in reception. It's not quite patching level but almost. I promise he will catch up as his eye improves and it improves FAST once they're being treated.

Don't pressure him but just tell him he's doing marvelously. My DD is often too tired at night to read so I don't make her...but she's imroving all the time.

My y1 dd would not read to me at all when she was in reception. I think a combination of being tired after school and the effort required for the reward of the dull story wasn't worth it for her.

I did speak to her teacher who said she was doing OK and to not make her read. She currently has reading age of 8 and is not yet 6 so seems to have worked out. Is your ds teacher concerned with his progress?

My DD was not a keen reader and now, aged 10 , she still isn't. She can read very easily, just doesn't enjoy it and doesn't want to do it voluntarily. She writes fantastic stories. Her brother reads everything and anything, just like I did (and still do!).

I stopped worrying about getting DD to read from her conventional story books as it was waaaay too stressful for us both. Instead, we would look at other written material together but not do it as reading time - recipe books 'oh, how many eggs do I need?' shopping lists 'what's next on the list' signs in the shops 'which sign says milk?' ...that sort of thing. School knew she didn't enjoy reading for me (but would happily do it in school the little minx!) and knew how I was 'doing' reading with her.

I did continue to read to her, which she loved, and still do.

I must agree that some of the books that the DCs used to bring home from school were beyond dull, so maybe your son does have a good point there Maybe trips to the library might help inspire him.

Good luck!

Sympathies. Swimming thru treacle indeed (DS now in yr1). I'm hoping he'll get it by start of yr3.