What happens if your child can read before they start school?

[SkyWalker95]

I know most kids learn to read in reception, but what if they can already read independently? Surely they have to teach to their ability and won't make them just sit there while the others are learning their sounds right? But what would they be doing instead? I don't really know how primary education works

I agree with catkind about children being ready to learn. I did very little with dd1 before starting reception we had read the Dr. Seuss ABC book many many times so she could recognise letters, and at nursery they did basic letter sounds, she could read individual three letter words before starting school but that is all, no reading scheme books involved.

I learnt to read in the 80's without any kind of phonics teaching and found the phonics system a bit daunting to start with. But I have learnt along side dd1 and feel confident with the basics now.

Anyway .... dd started reception last September and has just flown through it all. She was obviously just so ready to learn. The whole class do the same phonics work, (10 mins on the carpet each morning plus the occasional related worksheet) they read to the teacher or TA twice a week, they get reading books from year 2 for her and usually brings home 3 a week. She reads to me 6 nights a week. I think being able to read well at a young age is great as it allows them to access so much more for themselves but I'm not up for pushing her, she is 5 and I just want her to enjoy herself.

OP maybe you could focus on a different skill? Start to learn an instrument or something else? Dd1 has been having 15min piano lessons since she was 4 just for fun, she loves it.

I think phrase before yr R is pretty meaningless. It is before x age. As sometimes it is 5 others it is 4. It is hardly surprising if they are reading fluently starting at 5, as a percentage turning 5 in say august will be fluent having done reception.
Dd read cvc words about 3.6yo. Started school at 4.3yo. They redid every single letter. And only gave book out in oct. so 8months later she was started on what she could already read.
They did learn the digraphs and trigraphs so that at least was useful. However following the scheme she only started getting yellow books maybe march.
I would say she is at least purple band now at 5yo. So technically starting school age for 1/12 of the kids.
Actually it is probably easier for kids to learn before school 1-2-1 attention. Less tired. Less interruptions.
So maybe those picking it up quickly in a class of 30 are actually the brightest?
Regarding the naughtiness. Intelligence probably doesnt mean they are naughty. But they can turn their powers to good or evil.
I think dd gets very tired as she is always into everything, never the sort to collapse in a corner.

She has never liked being read to in a group. Partly as she wants to see pictures and words. Maybe so she can question stuff.
So its not exactly boredom necessarily, just that some things dont suit some people.
Why take away what they are good at.

I agree with catkind about children being ready to learn.

I'm not sure you entirely picked up my point though. What I was saying is if they're able and ready, they'll zoom ahead anyway. So they won't be learning together with the class anyway, and you may as well let them learn before school age. It seemed a completely arbitrary division with DS holding off talking about reading before the start of reception then suddenly trying to encourage it. He didn't stay at the same pace as what was being taught in class for more than about 3 weeks anyway. We gained nothing by waiting for school to start.

So with DD we didn't even try. Not that I think she would have waited anyway, she was book obsessed and had a big brother to learn from. I'd rather supervise slightly and ensure a good solid foundation in phonics than let her pick it up haphazard.

What was gained by waiting for school is that dd had a fab 4 and a half years just having fun trying anything and everything that took her interest.

Prior to nursery I doubt she had any idea what reading really was, other than me reading to her. She is not one that picked up reading by herself, but has absolutely loved being taught at school. She has the reading level of a 7/8year old.

There is no right or wrong, everyone does it differently.

And that's another of those annoying things, the assumption that if they're learning to read they're not also doing normal preschool stuff and having fun.

a) Learning to read was what took DD's interest and she did have fun doing it. And a huge amount of fun with being able to read stories for herself. What preschooler wouldn't want basically an unlimited number of bedtime stories?
b) Really, the amount of time it takes is neither here nor there in a preschooler's day. Learning to read takes 10 minutes a day maybe? No more than DD was spending looking at books anyway. If anyone's counting, DD was awake for at least an hour a day longer than any other preschooler we knew, so even with reading she still had more playing time than most.

As I said there is no right or wrong. 10 mins per day is your experience. There will be parents putting in a lot more to achieve reading before school.

Just offering the perspective that if a child is able they can learn quickly whenever.

Sorry if I got your back up catkind - it really wasn't intended.

Thanks golf, it's not you personally really. Just a reaction I've had too many times if people find out DD was reading early. Or on these sorts of threads in MN. A sort of nose in the air "Ah well I didn't teach them to read before school, they should be outside climbing trees and jumping in muddy puddles". As if it's one or the other.

My original point is that if they can learn quickly they will learn quickly whenever. So "don't teach them early so they don't get bored in reception" doesn't work as a strategy. They'll be ahead of the classwork by a few weeks in anyway and whether they're bored or not will still depend on the teacher's ability to differentiate.

So I'd just go for following the child's interests, support them if they want to read, leave them be until school if they don't.

Why do you advice not to teach if you didn't actively teach your dc?

Because some people do. It's not that hard to understand what I meant, surely?

Wait really? Kids are only given one book a week and only read it once at school? That sounds ridiculous, my son easily reads 50 books a week. How are they meant to learn if they only have 1?

It depends on school, I think. My ds's reception teacher allowed ds to take 3 books a day. Also they may also use online reading.
But you won't need so many books soon enough, I am sure he can't read 50 chapter books a week. (Or can he?)

I would say based on experience of our group of mums that child is not noticed to be a reader on entry unless parents flag it.

Often readers then seem to be deliberately started on school scheme books much lower than where they are so they don't end up tooo far ahead at the end of the year. Also enables the schools to show great progress has been made for that child by the end of the year!

Eg year R teacher doesn't let them go above a certain bookband however far ahead they are.

They will be heard to read occasionally but not every day and possibl only in a group.

On average one book a week goes home.

I've only ever heard of schools sending home 1 book a week on here.

I don't actually know of any school in RL that does this. I don't think it's that common at all.

"child is not noticed to be a reader on entry unless parents flag it."

Not at our school. Teacher asked us to bring in the books the children read at home at the beginning of reception. I assumed it was to check the abilities of children.
And I agree school may cap the level they can go up to in KS1(our school does), but in reality, the children are actually allowed to read any books they like as a homework reading.

So there may be school like ours which is not so rigid.

We only have one book a week. Common in our area full of very high performing schools. Parents are encouraged to read to their DC and get DC to read other books. Most DC in our area do 3-4 extra curricular activites and most parents work so DC in after school clubs etc
Common schedule - DC in school then after school club / CM. Pick up and take to sports / drama / gym / beavers / rainbows / cubs / brownies etc Home by 7. Bath, Reading - maybe 10-15 mins???
Those that I know that get a book a day say that 1/2 the time its not read - the idea of 50 books a week every week is unusual at age 5.
By 7 - yes they may read 5 chapters a night max?

In the end it matters not one whit. Parents can read anything they want with their children at home, The school will ensure the child moves through the reading programme, properly assessing all aspects, and identifying remedying any gaps. Two completely different roles. Of course the school reading should be behind the home reading

My dd is 4 and in reception. She brings home 2 books a week. This is plenty as they are chapter books. She also does ballet, gymnastics and swimming and loves to go to the park with her friends. She simply doesn't have time to read 50 books, although she does choose to read stories in choosing time and will read bedtime stories to her little brother as well. She loves to do writing projects so will quite often sit down at the table before tea and write several sentences about her day or her plans.

I also give her lots of opportunity for real world reading, so she will be 'in charge' of reading recipes when we cook or bake, she reads her own menu in restaurants and orders her own meal, she will write down the things we need from the shop etc. There are so many things to do that it doesn't really matter what level or reading scheme she is on.

She was put with yr1 for phonics and guided reading from early on and is now with yr2 for some lessons. She is never naughty or rude (her teachers say).

His key person is very good at finding ways to keep his mind occupied but half the time he is made to do group activities. Like listen to a story being read but they have to go slow for the kids who barely understand English. And he can often see the page so he's read it or he'll remember the rest of the book. So he wonders off alot and sometimes brakes things to see how they work and things like that.

You seem to be sniffing at the idea of group activities.

Don't.

The social and emotional aspects of early years education are just as important as the academic elements.

Your DS should not break things. He should not wander off from the group. You need to teach him that group activities are important and that he needs to behave himself in school, and that breaking things is not ok because when they are broken nobody gets to use them and enjoy them, and that is not fair.

You need to stop giving him the impression that the other children who are slower or who do not understand English do not matter as much as he does.

Your child needs to spend time with other children, not reading 50 books per week. It would be a very good idea to get him involved in some group or team activity like a sport or dance where he has to listen to the teacher/coach and do what all the other children do. If he is not naturally sporty or graceful then so much the better. He will learn that everyone has their strong points, and he will learn how to stick at something he does not shine at, and also behaviour regulation.

At about age 7 all of the other children will have caught up in reading - some may have surpassed him - and some will be shining at arithmetic too (and most of them will have better social skills than it appears your DS is set to achieve).

If he is absorbing the notion that you seem to hold, that his identity and behaviour are all about being different or superior or in some way set apart from the rest of the children, he will suffer a huge fall at that point, a crisis of identity.

Don't saddle him with this burdensome identity. Make him branch out. Pay a lot of attention to his poor behaviour. Do not contribute to it.

And my son must be dumb because he doesn't like to participate in things that he finds too easy.

You need to train your DS to participate in activities that do not give him an immediate and obvious payoff.

The phonics sessions in Reception are really short; they don't sit for extended periods studying. It will consolidate skills and fill gaps. I was amazed by the breadth of the curriculum and the varied things they studied - outdoor learning, science, history, all sorts of interesting stuff. There were lots of stimulating activities in the classroom and all sorts going on. I'd be amazed by a child getting bored in a Reception classroom. Reading, writing and maths are just part of an array of things they are learning. Of course school can't send home 50 books a week but there is nothing to stop you from reading as much as you like at home. I was an early reader and academically ahead throughout school but I didn't get bored and I didn't misbehave either. I don't think it's really an excuse!

People like to say that schools allow every child to progress at their own pace and there isn't any cap or limit on progress.....but we see time and time again, that often there is.

I have heard of schools which won't allow children in a certain year to move beyond a certain level of books, of schools saying children must read all 200 books in a certain level before they can move on and certainly trying to prevent a bigger gap growing between the top readers and next levels down. It happens.

Yes, parents of able readers can and often do give their children access to lots of other books and their children continue to fly with their reading. However, not all parents are interested enough or able to do this and so some children are prevented from progressing at a rate they could by schools.

And it has been my experience too, that parents need to flag their reading child if they want suitable provision made. I understand that teachers might not spot them in the first week of Reception and lots is going on, but weeks can pass before a quiet child who just sits and does the phonics and looks and picture books is recognised as being a fluent reader if parents don't say. And it's always with some awkwardness that those conversations happen and then need to re-happen through the year.

We always hear that it'n not just decoding, but understanding and comprehension too. Yes, we know and those things of course are really important....but there are small children out there who can do those things and are ready to move forward and sometimes don't get the opportunities to progress at a rate suitable for them.

I learned to read without being taught. I still sat through the "a for apple" stuff with everyone else. But at reading time when the class had moved on, they borrowed books for me from higher up in the school, as I could read them.
It didn't make me better, just as my friend who was always the fastest runner wasn't better. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses.

So I hate all the "kids who can read before starting school are being hothoused" crap that always comes out on here, I most definitely wasn't but I learned from following the words in the books I was read. But this is MN primary education board, so mention that a nursery age kid can read is always called "hothousing" by those who can't accept that some people find it easy to learn, just like some find climbing or racing or making models easy.

I don't get why people feel the need to hate on a 3 year old just because he likes to learn. Quite frankly it's pathetic. Anyway thanks anyone that said something useful, much appreciated

OP My kids choose to read for a couple of hours a day (activities permitting, but pretty much always at least an hour in the early morning). They no longer regularly get through 50 books a week, but in the holidays we often max out our library cards (20 books) and then go back again a few days later for more. They were both early and able readers, reading cvc words before school and then just flying in YR. My aim has always been to provide lots of interesting and varied books at home, and only to talk to school if there's a problem.

So when my Y1 child refused to read to the TA, I a) made her write an apology and b) had a series of chats with her teacher about why it was (and it was because she was by far the most able reader in the class and was reading individually - which she hated - so she's now doing alternate weeks individual reading and back in a group at a much lower bookband, but which she enjoys because of the group aspect). I'm going to make sure next year's teacher knows of this arrangement, and why it came about, and then leave it at that. A sort of 'she can read and loves it, so I only talk to school if there's a problem' approach.

Rafa My Y1 child gets one book a week (less, on average, since some weeks she doesn't get one) from school. So I supplement from the library, and secondhand book shops, which I'm happy to do. My Y4 child gets a chapter book which she is not allowed to read all of, so that lasts over a term sometimes. She finds it quite frustrating, but is clear that she can't read ahead because they have to predict what's going to happen, and it's cheating to read ahead. Problem is, she tends to hate the book after a term of reading it in tiny chunks, which is a shame.

Cinderella that seems bonkers to hand out chapter books then forbid them to read ahead, I would hate that as an adult! My dd has chapter books but regularly reads 3 or 4 chapters a day depending on other activities.

sky ultimately it doesn't do any good to worry about this ahead of time. Maybe contact the school and ask to arrange an put of hours meeting with the new class teacher? Or see if there are any new starters evening where you can meet the staff. Our school offered these options and I found them useful. Although the teachers still had to do their own assessments at the start of term they were prepared to look for more in my dd.

In the meantime I genuinely would work with your son on finding the enjoyment in group activities, whether that is working to help others or in looking for ways to expand the activity, for example, my dd's class are asked to write a sentence about their weekend. My dd will make sure to use capital letters, full stops, describing words and focus on making her letters really even. In guided reading she will look for meanings in the words, predicting what will happen next, why characters think/feel the way they do. My dd makes up alternate endings for stories.

Although my dd is managing well ahead of typical reception work she has loved reception year and enjoyed learning to interact with and relate to her peers.