Can your reception aged child read?

[theplantlady]

DC1 has just started reception, he'll be 5 in December and DH and I have just had slight cross words over the books DC has brought home from school.

They're picture books. No words. We're to sit with dc and help him to describe what he sees in the images, essentially telling the story through description.

DH is annoyed because he thinks this means that the school thinks our dc is 'stupid'. I've told DH that I don't think many children that have just started reception are fluent readers, but he's telling me I need to work with dc more so they can get to grips with reading properly.

For what it's worth, dc is (I think!) very bright.

He's known the complete alphabet for well over a year now, he can count to 30 with ease, will happily tell you rhyming words, he knows a vast amount of colours ranging from your basic reds, greens, blues etc - to teal, maroon, turquoise, beige, lilac etc.
He knows a plethora of animals and I regularly have to hear about velociraptors, pterodactyls and parasaurolophus dinosaurs - essentially, he knows a lot of big words and has no trouble remembering them!

Dh was a 'child prodigy' in that he apparently skipped 'baby' books and started reading adult fiction at a very young age, so I think he expects the same from our dc. Unfortunately, I don't feel comfortable putting that kind of pressure on a 4 year old, unless of course, it does indeed sound like our dc is behind?

Tizer yes you're right, but OP says they only started school two weeks ago so probably still assessing. Meanwhile maybe the school's strategy is to get parents into the habit of having a book, reading it, commenting in the diary and sending it back in.
For my school we are waiting until we are further into our phonics learning to send scheme books home.

This is MN, where two year olds are reading War and Peace in the original Russian and their parents faux-naively wonder if that’s unusual. In the real world, I would say only a very small minority of a Reception class can read when they start school. In my DS’s outstanding, oversubscribed state primary (so lots of middle class pushy parents) I would say two in his class of thirty could read at the beginning of Reception. My DS could only read his name and now in Year One is going to Year 2 for phonics and reading.

They really do all learn at their own pace and, as others have said, comprehension is so important. We did a lot of the “how do you think x is feeling”, “why do you think that” with the picture books school sent home. Your DS sounds as though he is doing really well. Also, your DH sounds like a bit of an arse, making pronouncements about wanting a genius child which you are responsible for implementing! Tell him to read with the children himself if it’s that important to him!

Staring in reception mine could already read CVC words (cat, dog, pat etc). He just started sounding out letters (that he recognised from watching too much alphablocks) and realized that he could make words. School started with wordless books. He got them for the first week then got moved on but he can (and does) talk for England so I suspect when he was asked by the teacher/TA to talk about his wordless book that he launched into a 15 minute stream of consciousness ramble about page 1 and they decided it would be easier to limit him to a few words to read.

@Felyne
Neither of mine could read at nursery but they did phonics and the school worked closely with nursery. So they knew who was likely to read quickly because they were grasping phonics. It was before phonics was mandatory though. I do agree two weeks is a short time (why ionly 2 weeks?) but the school should have assessed the children by now in my view,especially with nursery assessments to inform.

I think it is worrying that there is a blanket assumption DC can do nothing and all parents need educating about sharing books. Children do develop at different stages and the schools need to be aware of this and teach accordingly. Luckily my DD1 didn’t have whole class teaching in basic phonics. It’s done to pass the test these days. She didn’t have the test and the gifted children in her class didn’t need hours of phonics tuition. However some did. Some children always struggle and do so as adults. That’s why there needs to be differentiation.

Tizer again, I agree. The teacher should differentiate. It's why I'm interested to know if OP's child can actually read at all yet as 'knowing the alphabet' could mean other things. It could be the teacher has assessed this child at lilac level and there isn't a problem with this book for this child. I don't know how their school works, everything I'm saying is because I am trying to understand perhaps what OP's school is doing, and how things go in my own classroom.

In my own experience, my DD could read when she started in reception so her first books being sent home were yellow band. At phonics time she went into the year up as she already knew what was being taught in her current class so didn't get bored. They definitely differentiated.

Describing pictures and telling a story from looking at a picture book is a skill too, and an important one. I never understood why so many parents seemed to think their child had to be able to read before they even started school. My DDs couldn’t read, some of their peers could. By year one the DDs had ‘overtaken’ everyone else for want of a better word. They are now at a super selective grammar school. DD1 tells me now (10 years later) that it did bother her to start with that the teacher didn’t think she was ‘one of the clever ones’, but it didn’t do her any long term harm .

Just give it time. As they make their journey through school, they will all find their own pace.

Wordless books don’t teach children to read words. I would have signed up to Reading Chest by this point and be teaching my children (using phonics) myself. Your DH is right. Literacy is not an area where I’d be happy to compromise.

@Felyne Hi! No it's fine, that isn't patronising at all!

Dc can count objects up to 30 - tbh he could probably do more than that but lining up more than 30 things takes up a lot of room! He can also recognise every letter in the alphabet, and we taught him to recognise and say the letters as they are, so he says and recognises 'b' not 'buh' if that makes sense!
If he sees his name, for example, on a piece paper, he'll be able to point to each letter and tell us that he can see xyz

The key to learning to read for the vast majority of children is knowing what sound the letters make and how to blend these into words, rather than knowing the names of the letters.

I would do lots of listening to sounds and identifying them - not just letter sounds but sounds all around them.

So he hasn’t blended phonics into sounds and then recognise the letters. My DD did quite a lot of this at nursery and quickly learnt what the YR teacher called “breakthrough words”. 120 of them. Different styles of teaching back then but most DC flourished.

No need for anyone to be sent to the year above. Not even the Oxbridge bound ones! High quality teaching and assessment meant everyone progressed very well except a few who struggled with everything.

[quote theplantlady]@Felyne Hi! No it's fine, that isn't patronising at all!

Dc can count objects up to 30 - tbh he could probably do more than that but lining up more than 30 things takes up a lot of room! He can also recognise every letter in the alphabet, and we taught him to recognise and say the letters as they are, so he says and recognises 'b' not 'buh' if that makes sense!
If he sees his name, for example, on a piece paper, he'll be able to point to each letter and tell us that he can see xyz[/quote]
You're going to have to wait til the teacher has taught him enough phonics and how to read words before he can actually read a book then.

My DD is autistic and self taught to read at around aged 3.

I was a bit gutted when she came home from her first week in reception with just picture books. I wanted her to show what she could do.

I learnt that comprehension is just as important as the reading.

No point being able to read the words if you can't define them. Storytelling isn't just reading.

My DD started reception in September and she's still on the picture books. She's starting to recognise letters and is getting there with her phonics but we're not rushing anything. However, her story telling skills are great. She is getting 2/3 new books a week as she's really good at recognising what's going on, reading facial expressions etc to tell a story so we're just focusing on that atm. They all get there in their own time!

Mine could sound out words and read simple setences when she started reception (she's an October birthday and was keen when we stuck at home during lockdown).

School sent home pink level books for all the children in her class and the teacher kept saying how they were for us to read the child.... mine could read them, so I just kept noting in her reading log that she was reading them well... her teacher last year was amazing and picked up on her abilities and really challenged her.

She's no genius, but she is very bright, able and keen to learn and do well.

My ds has been reading from age 3. He's just started reception and can read stories like The Hungry Caterpillar or the Owl Babies by himself. I was ready to send my little genius off to Oxbridge until his nursery teacher pointed out that he can't grasp the nuances of a story or understand why the characters act the way they do. He can only read off the words verbatim.

So a high reading level is not necessarily a good thing. Ds also struggles with social skills, transitions, loud noises and regulating his emotions. I'm currently waiting on an assessment for sn. He can tell you every state capital in the US though

Dd had books with sentences from the off and never had flash cards. Do had just started cn recognise and blend about 6 letters and has come home with his first book ( short sentances) and some flash cards which he is getting the hang of. I haven't done anything different with either of them as far as I know, they are simply different people.

Dc3 is 4, in Reception. He recognises all the letters and is able to read simple words like 'an' 'at' 'cat' etc...all the simple phonetic ones. Some of the kids in his class are bringing home reading books...he's not, his teacher says he's not yet ready.

My elder two were pretty fluent at his age, certainly far far further along than he is. They're both excellent readers now at a technical level but at age 13 and 11 have no real interest in or joy from books and rarely choose to read, even though we did everything 'right'. I'm an avid reader so am really sad that they're not.

Anyway, point being it really doesn't matter at age 4. Early reading makes no difference in the long run.

It just depends on the child and the school.
Neither of mine could read / blend before starting school.
DDs first book had words.
DS has just started reception and he came home with two picture books, he's now moved on to stage 1 with simple words which are mainly Biff, Chip, Kipper - how they reach them to recognise those words so quickly in the beginning I don't know!

I had three, they all read and did everything else at different ages! It's almost like they are pre programmed and they should be allowed to lead the way in what interests them at the time. My first was unbelievably reading words whilst still 1 year old. I didn't realise it was strange as he was my first until people started staring in the supermarket as he sat in the trolley and read the signs. (tea, sugar ect over the aisles) he was also very late growing hair so looked younger than he was👶😂 at 10 months he held himself up on a footstool watching snooker saying the colours of the balls 'blue gone' as it went down the hole. He learnt his letters from blockbusters himself. However he couldn't ride a bike til he was 7 and it nearly killed me teaching him! My second jumped on a bike at 4 and road off without any effort on my part but was not a fluent reader until 8-9 years old when a particular series grabbed his interest. They are all different so please relax and enjoy watching your son develop at his own pace without pressure.

Dgs2 started Reception last month and bought home his first picture book last week. We had a meeting after school with Reception teacher to explain phonics and how the school taught children to read (I went because DD was waiting in for the Midwife). It was fascinating and the importance of picture books was explained and how children will receive books with words when they are ready and secure with the necessary phonics. Some parents not happy but teacher was firm, knowledgeable and enthusiastic. Lots of tips on what to do, and not to do, at home to support the learning. She even explained why they tend not to correct spelling if theletter sound is correct, which had puzzled me with other children in the family, and how they show the DC that the s sound in circle is not written the same as the s in sun.
Fascinating insight into how complicated it is to teach children from just 4 to just 5 with different abilities to read. Glad I don't have to do it.

Our school starts with wordless books to build literacy skills, but they prepared is with that with a letter and optional workshop about reading. It's a shame the school havent informed you about the approach so DH would feel less stressed.

This is actually a really interesting thread about the broad range of expectations and indeed abilities.

My eldest is 3 in November, she does all the things described in OP. Dinosaurs, counting, alphabet etc etc. BUT she never said a bloody word until maybe February, not a word. 25 months. Had we not been in a pandemic we no doubt would have had a speech therapist referral. But nobody ever saw her.

She seems to be the type of child who doesn't do something until they can actually do it. Won't keep trying, just waits.

Interesting as my late mother said I never spoke then one day just did.

As a whatsapp mum group example she was last to do everything, still is in nappies, still a poor sleeper yet she suddenly "gets" something and takes off. One mum looked at me aghast the other day that she was doing her alphabet, the mum of a child who was talking fluently not long after first birthday. They are just all different.

My kids all brought these books home. Just whizz through and then do something more challenging if they’re capable or spend more time on them if they’re not surely?

@stripetop

This is actually a really interesting thread about the broad range of expectations and indeed abilities.

My eldest is 3 in November, she does all the things described in OP. Dinosaurs, counting, alphabet etc etc. BUT she never said a bloody word until maybe February, not a word. 25 months. Had we not been in a pandemic we no doubt would have had a speech therapist referral. But nobody ever saw her.

She seems to be the type of child who doesn't do something until they can actually do it. Won't keep trying, just waits.

Interesting as my late mother said I never spoke then one day just did.

As a whatsapp mum group example she was last to do everything, still is in nappies, still a poor sleeper yet she suddenly "gets" something and takes off. One mum looked at me aghast the other day that she was doing her alphabet, the mum of a child who was talking fluently not long after first birthday. They are just all different.

That’s so funny my eldest was a bit like that barely moved as a baby, no crawling, no bum shuffling, walked just before he was one. No tentative toddling either was really steady can’t recall him ever landing on his bum once he started.

DD could recognise some letters but not really read when started, DS not at all. Both started with wordless books like rest of class.