Dd going straight into year one- unable to read. How likely is it I can catch her up over the summer??

[littlelamb]

Dd was meant to start school in January, but we were only offered a place at a failing school, so we held out and now have been allocated our first choice. Dd will start in September, but go straight into year 1. I am worrying about how far behind she will be. I spoke to one of the other mums todya an she said they will all be able to read by the end of reception. Dd cannot read. She is very good at recognising her letters as her nursery were really good at introducing phonics, but I'm now worried that she will start at a real disadvantage. They do Oxford Reading Tree, should I try and get hold of some books and start doing a 'lesson' every day over the summer? Do you think the school would lend us the books over the summer? We are going to speak to the headteacher on Friday and it's my main concern really. Just how possible is it that I can catch dd up to a good level before September??

As well as US spellings the programme uses US terms and syntax which differ from UK English

Some, but as I said, not an issue with me or with my work in the field of communication and literacy.

Of more importance than whether one says 'full stop' or 'period' is knowing how well designed and data driven a reading programme is nad this one fits the bill in that respect.

Something else you might try is Kumon. They have a math programme and an english programme. My DD does the math one and I'm very happy with it. I plan to enroll DS in the English programme in September when he will be in reception.

i really wouldnt worry about this

dd couldnt read after reception class... is much better now but cant read freely

I wouldn't do anything other than read to her, which I presume you are doing already.

I know I do Lockets.

I am, rest assured a public health service drone but evidence based data driven educational practice is the subject of my reading and guess which programme ticks all the boxes?

Sorry, I mean subject of my MSc (and will be of my PhD)

I agree that not all kids can read by year one, maybe by the end of yr 2

DD nov birthday at end of reception could read, DS August birthday just coming to end of reception can sound out 3 letter words recognises 100 key words can not read fluently there is arange

dont get a tutor its not necessary
help your DD yourself by getting the ORT books, reading anything and everything around the home.
definately go into the school and ask what they can give you to help her before she starts in sept.

my DS is in yr2 [age 7] and i listen to his class read once a week. mostly they are good readers but perhaps 5/30 need extra help.
my DD is in reception now and only half of the class can read - the others are still on sounds & phonics.
once she starts reading its lovely coz theres no stopping them!
also in her reception class they have 5 spellings each week [easy words-said, go, going, she, can, because]

dont worry am sure you will do fantastic before starts school. good for you waiting for the place you wanted!

I think whether she can read or not when she starts is really not what you should be focussing on. She will as others have said catch up and learn to read when she is there and when she is ready. There are children in my dd's year R class who ahve started part way through the year not speaking any english who can now read a bit, so rest assured children can learn really quickly if its the right time.

However she is going to need to spend the first term at least just settling in to being at school and getting used to everything and everyone. So I would just concentrate on the basics, being able to recognise her name so she can find her peg/tray etc, knowing what to do when she gets into the classroom, knowing what to expect about school and so on. And be wary of putting any pressure on about learning to read as she will be too busy learning about being at school at first.

If she knows her phonics really well, she should pick up reading fairly soon. No way can every child read by the end of reception in my experience (been teaching 15 years). Don't try to catch her up over summer and remember that the first term of year one is now much more recption based. Find out if school use Jolly Phonics or similar and if you both feel like it, have a go over the summer. Have a chat with the teacher and see what she would expect her to know. If she's been in a good nursery following Early Years Foundation stage, she should have (in theory) had the same experience as the reception kids anyway - 80 percent child directed etc. Also, don't expect her to start school and get straight on the road to being a reader, she'll have more important things to do at first, like making frineds, learning routines etc. I really don't think she'll be at a disadvantage.

I agree don't get a tutor (or Headsprout or Kumon or ORT books) find out from the school what they do and if your daughter wants to do a little in the holidays gently introduce some in a fun way ... don't give her the idea that it is a matter of life and death that she catches up a years work in a few weeks. Have fun and enjoy your time together before school starts.

my dd3 is this age and after 2 terms of reception, you might say she's reading, loosely speaking, but only at a very basic level. at her school (close to Littlelamb's school, same LEA, and probably similar in approach, they tend to be round here) they banged on about Phonics Phonics Phonics rather than reading per se, and (conveniently for those of us who aren't that diligent on doing work with our chidren) they discouraged parents from doing too much at home beforehand in case we got the phonics etc wrong.

so I'd guess, lots of Jolly phonics, if you want her to fit in with what the others have been doing, and perhaps a few very easy readers.

Littlelamb, I have a few ORT level 2 and 3 you can have over the summer, I got them when dd1 was this age and had seemingly learned nothing in reception - and now at 9 she's a very good keen reader, always got her nose in a book, good at literacy in general, but at just 5 she didn't read).

I love the remark about it being only on mn that everybody's child reads at 4. I've just been reading this hilarious thread about teeth falling out and reading age and everybody's child seems to have taught themselves to read aged 2. One person says "my 8 year old has a reading age of 10 and 4 months". I just love that 4 months...
Anyway, my ds is in reception and I really wouldn't say he's "reading" yet as he's not particularly interested and I don't want to turn something as wonderful as books into a chore.
I think more than your daughter, you may have learnt a very valuable lesson about school - never ask another mother what level their child is!

My dc has only really properly 'got' reading (chapter books to herself) at 8.6

I'd rather she loved reading for the rest of her life and so have sat on my hands and been as relaxed about it as I could manage.

The library runs a 'Team Read' challenge through the summer holidays. The challenge is to read up to 6 books over 6 weeks and at the end of the scheme the children are awarded medals and certificates - which are handed out by local celebrities or in our case the mayor.

Ds would get 2 books a week and each time the books are returned my ds would speak to the librarian about what he had read. Ds was awarded stickers and worksheets. My ds was a reluctant reader but he loved the incentive of getting an award at the end of it. I got him to choose picture books at first with just a few words to read and as his confidence increased he was reading books with more text.

When ds went back to school he went up a reading level

DD1 could "read" after a fashion by the end of reception, but promptly forgot it all over the summer as we were too busy making mud pies to practise reading . The first few weeks of Yr 1 were a struggle, but suddenly at about October half term it just "clicked" and she could do it.

I would concentrate on trying to make contact with a few of the children from her new school over the summer, so they are not all strange faces in Sept.

Congratulations btw, on having got a place!

Absolutely, debinewberry, it's one of my favourite bits of parenthood, when they start devouring chapter books, especially the ones I read and loved as a child. No matter what age, that's the bit of learning to read which I'm aiming for. My older two are bookworms now though one was slow to read in reception, and the other fast and young (mumsnet-style ) - they are similarly bookwormish now.

My ds is a December born and therefore one of the eldest in his class. He will be starting year 1 unable to read.

Like others have said: don't panic!
And take it slowly - if you rush her, you run the danger of putting her off.
Read to her daily if you can and then after a while ask her what certain (simple!) words are - so she's helping you to read the book.
Good luck!

Fennel, if we could borrow them over the summer that would be fabtastic, thank you. I do hope dd will be bookish. SHe loves being read to and has bookshelves groaning under the weight of all her books. I know what you mean about cater books too- I have my Malory Towers and Noel Streatfields all ready to pass on, just as my mum passed them on to me when I was about 8 I think

fabtastic?! What a great word that is. I meant fantastic obviously