should they be able to read some basic stuff before reception??

[Nemoandthefishes]

Ds is 5 in oct and starts reception in sept. The past few months he has been reading basic 3 word per page stories which he has really enjoyed however the teacher seemed to think this was very advanced when he told her yesterday. I honestly though all children can read some words. I will say he is good at spelling out words if you say hat, bag, car etc he can spell them out.

[gigglewitch]

DS1 couldn't, DS2 already can and he starts 'proper' school in September. There is probably no rule as such, it is an individual thing imo.

[Clary]

None of mine could read before FS2. DD (6) in partic is very good reader now.

However they were all younger than yr DS will be Nemo (ie summer/April b/day).

IME (experience of helping in FS2 class for last 2 years) not many children can read when they start. This is a nice middle-class area with well read parents too.

Plenty of the children last year (this is summer borns mind you) could not write their name. Some couldn't count beyond 2....

Still if he's interested, go with it.

[lilyelodie]

and if you read about elsewhere (I belive it is Sweden and other nordic countries), they don't even try (formally) until children are 6 or 7 - with much better longer term results. I read with my ds age 5) as and when he is happy to, but certainly don't push him into reading too much - don't want to put him off forever!

[NappiesGalore]

my ds1 is five next week and nearly finished reception. he certainly wasnt reading before reception . in fact, if he can read now, its news to me. i am not at all worried about his progress tho, his teacher seems happy.

[RustyBear]

DS learned to read about a month after his fourth birthday - because his older cousin had been staying with us & DS wanted to 'read like Alex' - he went through the Ladybird Key readers & was reading pretty fluently before he went to school just after he was 5.

DD on the other hand showed absolutely no interest at all & started on the first level of the Roger Red Hat books when she first went to school, but by the time each of them was7 their reading skills were almost exactly the same.

[Enid]

some children find learning to read easier!

[LadyMuck]

Our head practially begs new parents to ensure that their child can get changed from PE and swimming by themselves, use a knife and fork, put on their coat and shoes, and use the toilet by themselves when they start school. If the parents do that then there is plenty of time in class to cover everything else.

[ThingOne]

My DS1's school to be as told us at every opportunity that they do not expect children to be able to read by September and then they tell us again in a different way. We have been told explicitly not to hothouse several times as well. They do understand that some children can already read, though, and they accept that is "normal" too.

[pagwatch]

no they shouldn't. But a couple probably will.
Mine couldn't and actually whilstthey have been doing some reading work and sounds etc that has not actually been the main focus for this first year.
which is partly why i sent her there.

[mrz]

Of the thirty children starting in my reception class 1 can recognise a few words and 5 or 6 can't even talk in sentences ... and one babbles...

[Enid]

dd2 could read some basic words before school (she knew all her phonics sounds and some blends) and they started her further along in the schemes and sent her off to year one. She was also old for her year (oct birthday).

[Romy7]

misdee - DS is like that, but also thinks he doesn't have to do any work as he is naturally brilliant (not that he says that, but I can see what he's thinking) horrible child.

lol drivin - we went through that a bit with DD1 until she realised that Harry Potter was the way to go, and she developed a strong relationship with Hermione... I've been plugging famous five furiously but to no avail. Am I totally tragic? I keep finding myself saying things like 'it didn't do me any harm...' when someone snorts at my fondness for George and Timmy... and I haven't read Harry Potter either ...
I also liked Joyce Stranger for animal stories - always a good girly topic

[drivinmecrazy]

My DD1 is alos really competitive, but now she has passed her 'main competitor' in the reading stakes she has nothing to strive for, so we are now having to find new goals. It's as if she is now so far ahead she thinks she can coast while they catch up. Keeping the momentum going is the hard part. No good having an avid reader at 7 who then rests on her laurels while the others whizz past her. Have got all my old books from loft recently for her to read, because have found selection of books for girls now is all girly and pink, the books aimed at boys seem far more exciting and challenging, but she won't read a book if it appeals to boys. Bring on famous five, and current favourite fantastic mr fox ( she's reading that one for third time)

[misdee]

dd2 is very competative and sulks if she isnt top of the class

[Romy7]

nemo - I do wonder what planet some teachers are on - although I think at this point in the year they have got their minds set on reassuring parents that it doesn't matter one way or the other, particularly if they have parents that are already (and unnecessarily) concerned that their child isn't ready for school - so it slips their mind that come september there will be a huge range of ability in the classroom...

lol Iota - DS1 is feverishly competitive about what reading level he is on, but then forgets he has new school books in his bag and starts reading something else. Woe betide if the girl in the other class that he appears to be racing moves up a level and he doesn't... but I do spend my life saying 'no, only one more page, no, it's bed time, no! I said that's it! Put your book away!'

[OrmIrian]

No. Some can and some can't.

[Nemoandthefishes]

thanks all
Of course I dont think he is a genius he is just my little boy but it was the teacher being surprised that shocked me iykwim. Have always been told ds was bright and can see it now as dd1 has such a laid back approach to life she can only just tell you her name..lol where ds always thrived on learning and is always asking whats this, how do these work etc. I just hope he continues as both dh and I were like this as children but then we hit the teen years

[drivinmecrazy]

DD had no interest in reading before school. Her nursery strongly believed in preparing a child to learn to read when they started reception, i.e. developing a love of books as objects and entertainment, and the concept of letters and sounds making up words. When she started reception many of her class mates could read slightly because their nurseries spent time stressing it. Much prefered my DD spending her pre-school years building up confidence, enjoying her self and just playing. Within half a term she was way ahead of her class mates, and at 7 still is. i belive this is because her nursery did so much work on preparing them to learn rather than teaching them. DD2 now goes to same nursery, and I'm shocked at how much testing and assesing goes on, she's only 2. The nursery would rather spend that time on other life skills but are bound by these stupid targets set by government. I hope she will not be reading before she starts school because there are many other things she should be enjoying.

[Iota]

Romy7 my ds2 has just cottoned on to the fact that the more he reads at home the faster he goes up the levels We used to do about half a dozen pages a night - now he insists on reading a whole 25 page book

[Romy7]

not that I've got anything against JW per se, it's just that I'm not overly keen on truanting and divorce and extra-marital affairs being taught in infants...

[Romy7]

and at our nursery they aren't allowed to teach them to read, which horrifies me for the ones who are desperate to , as it upsets the applecart at school.
clearly I hothouse furiously at home in response
seriously, reading will be done two or three times a week 1-1 with TA, and he'll (within the first month usually) start bringing home books at an appropriate level for you to do the hard work at home!!
it took us a little while to get the level right with DS1, but after the first parent's evening (nov-ish?) they re-assessed him and started him appropriately
then they troll through the whole reading list in their own time - so you can speed them up by reading every night if you are so inclined, or take a more leisurely view. Here once they pop out onto the free-readers I spend my life removing Jacqueline Wilson from the book bag, so I'm not in so much of a hurry this time - whether DD" will listen or not is another matter

[BagelBird]

just not that big a deal one way or the other. They are all individuals and all learn different skills and different speeds. Your child is great at letters at the moment, might continue or might find it slows down for a while and has a learning spurt later. You can never really tell.
My DD1 started off ahead of the game in reception - similar level to your child and then went downhill throughout reception with low confidence. She finds maths difficult and that coloured her whole attitude to school for a while. Even went into a special group to help boost her skills. She is now 7 and once again almost back at the top of the group again in both maths and english. After stressing and worrying in both directions - is she being stretched enough? concerns and then "oh no! she is falling behind and losing self confidence" phase I can honestly say it all works out in the end regardless of the worry!

[Marina]

Ditto mine Iota
I don't think it matters though Nemo - your ds was obviously very keen to get started and he will be oldish in the year group. Well done him.

[Romy7]

at our school they do an assessment in the first few weeks to work out which books to start them on - some start with no words for ore-reading skills, some on ORT 5 (as then they pick up the first 'magic key' book - otherwise the rest of the stories don't quite make sense... I'm guessing he's about ORT1+, but don't quote me! Best thing to do is not to focus on the words overly (let him do that at his own pace) but ask lots of questions about the pictures and the story - what's going to happen next etc - that way you know his comprehension is keeping up with his reading etc

[Niecie]

My DS2 is 5 in September and doesn't know a single word. He is bright too - praised heaped on him at nursery about how exceptional he is but not in the least bit interested in learning to read.

Can't work out if he is lazy, he is a lot less bright than everybody has been telling me or whether he is perhaps dyslexic (family history of that).

We shall see, I am not pushing it.

There is no requirement to know anything when they start school - they don't assume that the children can read at all and will start from scratch and gauge each child's capabilities and take it from there.

I wouldn't say it is particularly exceptional to be reading 3 word books at his age (although it is very good) but there are children who start reception at just gone 4 who will be reading harder books at his age. However, he is doing well if he has picked it up without formal teaching and it bodes well for his future.