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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.