I know that reading will click eventually....

[LadyMuck]

...but ds2 has been on the same level 1 readers for over 6 months. I'm getting bored. And I think that we've been through the starting level of every scheme written!

He just isn't getting the hang of decoding. Sigh. I know it will click eventually, it is just there are so many more interesting books to read.

Given we get a book home very day (and he reads to teacher/TA every day), at what point do I get concerned?

I agree he is very young still. Many children are not ready for reading until the age of five. I have July and Aug children, so I know how they can struggle in the early days. However, with parental support they do catch up. If you have any concerns, it would not hurt to take your child to the optician for a check up. My daughter needed glasses and her reading sped up when she got them.

I would drop any attempt to get him to read and read to him for 6 months and then try again. He is only a bay - as I kep saying in a lot of continental European countires he wouldn't be anywhere near going to "proper" school yet. I am a great believer in children learning things when they are ready. It's like potty training - you can start early and it takes 6 months or start later and it takes two days. The same goes for reading - but with less mess!

That would effectively mean that I have to take him out of school which I feel is a bit drastic:- he will be asked to read to teacher/TA daily as well as have a book to take home, and, whilst I am happy to override the school in certain areas if I feel that it is clearly in my children's best interest, I don't think that overriding reading at home for 6 months is a policy I could adhere to whilst remaining at the school. Reading is only one of the things that he is learning at present and as he enjoys school I see no need to change. He isn't showing any signs of frustration at present - it is just me getting bored stiff!

But yes, I totally get the potty training analogy!

Sorry, LadyMuck - I think what I meant was don't do any reading at home - let the school do it if they want to, but spare yourself the frustration by reading to him rather than with him until he's ready. But I am, as usual, teachig my grandmother ot suck eggs!

He will get it..! You'll find many a post from me over the past 12 months about ds1, who struggled more than most to 'get' reading. He definitely didn't get the hang of decoding at all until year 1. And he's old in his year - December baby.

But he's in year 1 now and is racing through level 5 books and in the second to top reading group (which I only know about 'cos dp goes in and reads with the class once a week by the way!). It's amazing - although even with him catching up, simple words like "no" and "was" will still trip him up - he spells out most words and isn't what you'd call fluent - but he understands how to have a go at sounding out words, and so ends up reading them - it's not coming naturally to him but he's getting there.

It's really frustrating when you're waiting for them to understand what it's all about and it's almost too tricky to help them with when they don't get it, 'cos it seems so flipping obvious!

Ds2 seems to be the reverse - he's 3 and has startled us this week by starting to read! Very, very strange after having ds1 - but it just all makes sense to ds2. He knows his letter sounds and can put them together and read and spell simple words. We've not been teaching him.

Soooo, as hard as it is I think it's just patience and the decoding will come - try bribery, star charts - anything that will give ds2 a reward when he gets it right!