Could your child read before starting Reception?

[imaginaryfriend]

Dd (5 in 2 weeks) has just started Reception and they're learning basic words like 'is' 'it' 'in' etc. My mum said to me on the phone last night that I could read the first stage Ladybird books before I went to school and suggested dd was behind.

To be honest I always thought she was pretty bright. She can recognise and write most letters of the alphabet (slower with numbers) apart from lesser used ones like 'j' but she's nowhere near being able to read words yet. She can write my name, her dad's name and odd words she's written a lot on cards like 'me', 'to' and 'love'.

I'm wondering now if she's actually behind her peers at school. I haven't asked the teacher as it seems kind of wrong to ask about what stage your child is in comparison to the others. I'm not competitive, she'll get there when she's ready, just curious.

so I thought I'd ask you guys instead.

I did feel that with ds1, as he is so inattentive that it probably was better that he could already read, that way he didn't fall behind. I do sometimes wonder whether it contributed to his inattentiveness, though.

Both of mine could - ds (started reception at 4.5) had got it mostly down - was fluent by the end of the first term, dd was fluent by 4ish. That didn't make them wildly stand out among their peers - they were just a wee bit ahead.

What does make a vast difference, and I really don't think this is taken nearly enough account of, is what a child chooses to do with its reading ability once it can read. That's what really matters. I imagine there are lots of early-reception readers who "get" the skill and just then level off - and, on the other hand, lots of later readers who catch the bookworm bug and shoot ahead. And everything in between.

I wouldn't stress about your daughter. She seems fine. Dont' know why this country is so obsessed about early reading...it has been shown in studies to not be a good indicator of future potential of children. Other countries don't start reading until later (age 6-7), and those children very quickly catch up/overtake students in this country.

I started reading at 6 years old...normal in the USA, and was/am G&T.

I'm not actually stressing about her - sorry if I gave that impression.

I'm just very interested and genuinely surprised that early reading is the 'norm.'

As I said at the start, dd will do it when she's ready. She's got lots of other strings to her bow at the moment and her creative skills are soaring.

Dp and I were chatting this evening and both decided we'd never have done anything differently with her, it didn't enter our heads to start teaching her to read early although we've 'taught' her all sorts of other things about planets, dinosaurs, plants, colours. I was thrilled for instance in her class when the teacher asked all the children what their favourite colour was and all the girls said 'pink' and dd said 'I like sparkling magical lilac. And sometimes maybe violet.' The teacher mentioned that. And we've always read to her lots and made up stories together.

I don't know why it didn't occur to me to teach her to read, it just genuinely didn't.

if

ime - it is not the norm to teach kids to read pre-school these days. I feel as though I have to constantly justify to friends having done so with my middle one and now my younger one. In fact, many of my friends quote the contintental and US model to me. I don't disagree with them. I just firmly believe that all kids have different needs and development rates for different aspects of their personality and that there is no one perfect route to suit all children. Starting to read at 7 would have suited my son as failing to do so at the required normal age damaged his self-esteem. Delaying the process for my middle one would have frustrated and thwarted her in her approach to the world.

Your daughter sounds as though she is really fun and adventurous in her imaginary skills. How lovely to see a child feel free to express herself as herself in a school setting.

IF remember that when you started school you were probably older than most FS2 pupils are.

I was 5 and a bit, most people I know were. I could read when I started, my big sister taught me.

However none of my 3 could. DD is not 6 and a truly excellent reader. DS2, just started in FS2, is very keen to follow her example but can't actually read more than his name and maybe the odd word (it, in etc).

Most of the kids in our younger FS2 class can barely write their name! There's no way any of them can read.

TBH am a bit at all these parents who say their children can read (mean the others in FS2, IF, not parents on this thread). Can they really? I mean all of mine could read Barbie and Disney and Asda like harpsi's DD. That's not reading tho.

A friend prone to amssive exaggeration claims that when her child started at a local state school (hideous pushy place with not SEN allowed) he was one of only 2 in the class who couldn't read But knowing her it was more likely to be that two of the class could read lol.

sorry for bad typing. My DD is now 6 is what I think I meant.

The headmistress of dd's school held a special meeting on 'reading' before the summer holidays. Her main point was that learning to read is not a race. Obviously there is a great age range in reception. She said that if a child had a real difficulty, the school would pick it up, but otherwise everyone will get there very soon. There was no point in parents coming in to 'help' when they just wanted to spy out the competition, nor forcing unsuitably difficult material on their hapless offspring and claiming they love it.

in answer to the original question - no - none of my 3 could - although the could recognise to varying degrees the alphabet (ages ranged from just 4 to 4.5).

In DD's class, out of the 15 girls only one could read properly before going to school. Some could do the sounding out. Most (all?) could recognise their own name.

A year on all can read to varying degrees, and more importantly most, even those who have found reading a slower progress, are enjoying reading.

dd went to school reading jumped the frist 5 levels (11 in total) of the colour book bands. At the same time her friend started school having just started to learn phonics. They both became freereader about the same time.
If a child is ready and wants to learn they do and very fast, if their not tying to teach them become an uphill struggle.
Some are early learners and others later. A friend ds sruggled all the way thought R/y1/y2 but in y3 he suddenly just took off went for bottom in most thing to middle now near the top in Y4/.
Don't worry about the standard of the other children. Just support your own child after all does it matter in the long run if they read at 4 or later.

Thanks for these replies, I'm really enjoying reading this thread and realising how many opinions there are on this.

Hulababy I know the girls in dd's class very well as they were all previously in the school nursery together and I can think of one who may be able to read a bit, maybe another too. They can all recognise their name and I think they can probably all write their name. But I doubt the younger January intake can all do that yet. And this is a school in SE London with a great ofsted and generally very good results especially compared with other London primary schools.

fircone - I'm interested in your head saying reading shouldn't be a race because that's what I keep wondering. Is it all down to competition? To wanting to have the only child in the class who can read? Or is there genuinely a real benefit to learning early?

lexcat, you answered my question! I'm happy with how dd's doing at the moment. She's an all-rounder and to be honest her shyness is a more major concern of mine in general so I'm hoping Reception will help her to speak out a bit more.

if - dd'S SCHOOL DOESN'T HAVE jANUARY INTAKE. hOWEVER NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLDER AND YOUNGER FROM WHATW E CAN SEE. tHE FLUENT READER IS ACTUALLY AN aPRIL BABY, SO WOULD BE A jANUARY INTAKE IN STATE SCHOOLS LOCALLY.

Ooops - soory for caps!

Ah, ok. And have the others caught up with the fluent reader now? Has she had any advantage over the others long-term?

Sorry, haven't read the thread, but yes, my ds was reading basic stuff before he started reception and was fluent by year one.

IF - they are only just into Y1 so there is still a large gap beltween the most fluent reader and those finiding reading a but harder. The fluent reader is at the moment far ahead re reading. However not with regards other parts of the curriculum. I do expect this gap to gradually fade away though so in a few years it will not be apparant at all.

I think reading properly before school is far less common than this thread suggests - presumably most people who've posted on here have been the parents of the somewhat rarer children who COULD read.

In DS1's class 2 children could read quite well when they started. DS1 couldn't read at all, but by Y1 was in a reading group with the 2 who could.

I taught DS2, who was reading relatively fluently by the beginning of reception. His teacher, in an affluent SW London state school with lots of pushy parents like me, said she had 'never seen anything like it' - she meant fluent reading with appropriate expression and full comprehension. There were however several other children in the class who could read a bit - first stage reading books, some sight words, sounding out CVC words. So perhaps their parents say they could read when they started Reception.

My SIL says her DD1 could read when she started school, but I wouldn't say so - I would say she was beginning to learn to read. On the other hand, my other SIL's DD1 really was a proper 'reader' when she started school.

I think many of our parents have a somewhat inaccurate memory of the past. I remember when I started primary school 2 of us could read a bit, but not really fluently.

My parents were both in education, and so into books big time for us - my sister was a really good reader before she went to school. I, on the other hand, apparently (in keeping with lazy-arse attitude that I have maintained to this day) refused point blank to learn until I went to school (on my 5th birthday! sob...). Then I picked it up pretty quickly, and ended up being more academic than my sister. But she's prettier... I did, however love books and stories, and I reckon that's the key to good reading later.

Dd really loves stories - I have to say that she's as happy to have a story made up by she and I as she is to have a story from a book. So maybe that partly explains her lack of impetus to read. She focuses her language skills into speech a lot and can make fabulous rhymes up.

I did a small experiment with her yesterday - I wrote "it is a bum" on the blackboard to see if she actually could read those two-letter words (I know I shouldn't encourage the use of the word bum which I'm continually trying to suppress in her but I thought it would work). She sounded out 'it is a' very easily. Then she said 'bum looks like mum but begins with b ...' When she realised what it said she completely cracked up. so she can do it when there's a bit of fun attached.

Sorry, not advocating this as a method.

My son knew his letters and numbers to ten, but couldn't read a word (he could recognise his own name though).

He goes to quite a pushy state primary where a lot of the other children could read when they started, but it was all so new and interesting to him that he caught them up immediately and has been fine. I think some of the others were bored at school because they could read already and this is certainly the experience a friend's daughter is currently having.

I wouldn't worry.

In fact, I have just remembered, I think we were asked not to encourage them to read as they wanted to do so a specific way.

crayon, I wondered about that actually, if the kids who can read already don't get bored by going through the basics phonetically!

No and she can't read now either (Year 1, aged 5.2) - although she is getting there with distinct progress (albeit slow progress)now evident

Ds2 has just started reception and he has been able to read for about the last 6 months (they did Jolly Phonics in pre-school and he picked up straight away on 'blending' so he can read simple, phonetically regular words but he has also learned quite a few sight words) - he is already on reading books in school.

Ds1 is in year 2 now - he couldn't read at all before he started reception but once he learnt the phonics he also picked up blending really quickly and was on year 2 books by half way through reception.

There were some children still struggling at the start of year 1 but who came on leaps and bounds during that year and were pretty good readers by the end of year 1 (I go in and read every week).

I don't think it matters if they can read or not when they start. Ds3 is 29th Aug and starts reception next Sept - I can't see him being able to read AT ALL when he starts!!