kindergarten and your early reader

Parenting and Education (Other) After Early Learning
1

It’s been a long time since I have used this forum but I wanted to see from those who have also taught their children to read using this program how you felt kindergarten was going.

My dd has been reading (thanks much to this program) since she was 1.5. She is 5 now and reads at a 4-5 grade level. Aside from the challenges of feeding her monster reading habit we have now encountered a fit problem at school. We have recently been admonished for not practicing our sight words which all her classmates are working on. I figured it was something we did every day by reading books and playing games but apparently I am supposed to be drilling dd. This is clearly not a serious problem but something about it bugs me. It’s as if I am supposed to hold dd at the kindergarten reading level drilling her on words she already knows while the others catch up. Maybe I am being to sensitive.

Have any of you found fit problems in school once your early reader starts up? How have you met with those challenges and do you have any tips on solutions?
TIA for any advice.

2

Thank you for this topic. I was just thinking to write about the same thing. My son is 4 now and reading at about 2-3 grade level. I don’t know exactly, because I have no idea how to measure it. I just go to the library and try to choose a big variety of books for him.
He started K3 full day in a charter kinda school last september. The teacher found out quickly how advanced he was and offered us an option to have reading lesssons with the school reading specialist. We were really happy that they were so flexible. Since then he still have a 15-20 minute lesson every day learning mostly the first grade grammar/ spelling…he also brings home a little home work every day so I can see where they are.
I am really impressed with the school that they are willing to deal with advanced kids.
About your problem: have you talked to her teacher? We did and asked their help…and I also try everything I can to make him work more at school. He just found a book a few days ago and he loves it so I didn’t have to encourage him too much to bring that book to school so he could read the story to his friends ( I asked the teacher about it and she was partner again) and then they could play it out.

3

My son is the same age and I believe similar reading level. Luckily he loves school. We too are getting the sight word cards to practice. We went over them once and haven’t touched them since. The thing that is annoying to me is they send home his assessment and each time it says he needs to work on his vowel letter sounds. What they want for him to say A says ahh like in cat. Well he reads A in many other words where it sounds different than ahh and he’s also reading in Spanish. It’s like really?? He’s reading as well as he does and you are stuck on the fact that he mixes up which A sound you’re looking for? I think he’s just messing with them. I’m pretty sure I would be too. He passed the end of kindergarten reading assessment during the first weeks of school. It’s irritating to me, but I don’t really confront the teacher too much because my son loves school so much and I just keep doing our thing at home.

4

I know how you both feel. Sophia is now at school and came home with Lvl 15 reading books when she is at lvl 26. Now I know we just had a 7 week break but I don’t believe that equates to an 11 lvl drop over the school holidays when she was reading chapter books at home. Sigh. This is the most frustrating thing about school!!! I don’t make her read anything to me that is under lvl 25. It is just a case of training the teacher and working with them as a team. Unfortunatley you will get teachers who are prepared to work with you and teachers who aren’t.

My dd loves school but at the price I pay for her to go there the teacher can work with me. I will continue to work with my dd at home but when my child knows what she knows I will not subject her to boring lower reading levels and boring grammar work especially if the teacher knows that she can read.

Also if you have a problem with what the teacher is doing just ask for a meeting with teacher explain where your child is at. If the teacher is unwilling to work with you go and see the principal. Once your child is in the school system you really have to advocate for them and almost train the teacher into what you want.

ARGHHH I know how you feel.

Kimba

5

We are on the same boat! My son is 4 and we have been doing LR and some phonic based approaches since he was 1.5 years old. He is in Montessori school. I never mentioned to his teacher that he could read. Just like Stodd, I don’t know what grade level he is at. I don’t know how to measure it.

He’s got great remarks and comments (reading) on his report cards. They are teaching basic letter sounds in the class. They are not blending or making words yet!! I used to ask the school about their approaches in dealing with advanced children. They just told me there are many kids they have to take care of. They can give him extra works and I would have to work with him at home. :ohmy:

We are transferring him to a public school this September. I am planning to enroll him into some long distance learning program which will be supplementary to the public school curriculum.

6

Octaviaorca - how do they know you are not practising the sight words? If she can read them then you would think they had presumed she was practising them - or maybe they actually asked her? I am homeschooling my DD as here in kindergarten they teach letter sounds and then blending only by the end of kindergarten and my DD is reading at about a 4th grade level though still without a 4th grade stamina though this is slowly improving. What I have found is that while my DD works at a high level in both Math and Reading, her writing is only about 6-12 months (or 1.5-2 years if you consider that she would only be in kindergarten this fall in America as she misses the cutoff in most states by 14 days) ahead of where it should be and that makes things difficult. Also she is still 5 and seems to have the attention and concentration of a 5 year old for most things. She still throws temper tantrums occassionally and doesn’t eat well enough to keep up with the academics that she could do if her sugar levels were more even so I have to work around this too. I think I would be very frustrated if my DD was in kindergarten repeating much of what she has known since 18 months, but at the same time I do still have to look at what kindergarteners are doing non-academically to make sure my DD can do those things (like skipping with a rope or various arts and crafts, how well she should be cutting with scissors and so on).

I would not drill the sight words, but perhaps talk to the teacher and find out why she thinks the drilling is necessary - what signs is your DD showing in class that warrant that comment or is it just something she thinks should be done regardless.

7

It’s an endless test of your negotiation skills to get what you want from the education system. :yes:
So for the Sightwords, firstly your child will be tested on these and those tests will become a part of their grade. Children who can read cannot always read sight words out of context. ( my own son can’t read all his sight words out of context) you may think well why would they need to? Well they need to be able to to survive school! They need to be able to locate the sight words on a word wall and they need to be able to isolate them in order to spell them and to write them. If you child can read them awesome. Check that they are reading them instantly if they are then talk to the teacher and have them assessed to the end of year standard requirements. That way they can be signed off on them and you aren’t wasting your time or theirs.
For books for your children in kindergarten I recommend you provide your own. Send a box full and leave them at school or even send in a kindle full if they don’t need colour. No kindergarten I have ever seen has enough books for a 3/4 grade reading level 4/5 year old. Even mine! :slight_smile:
Your problem is not unique and that should encourage you to stand up and fight for your kids. I told my own children’s teachers today that I don’t want them reading the schools allocated novels because I don’t approve of the content. ( harmless but full of burps and farts!) One teacher said once they have read them all they have free choice to read whatever. So I just told them that free choice starts now, thanks for understanding. :biggrin: The other teacher said my daughter would enjoy some of the stories, to which I replied fine send home 2 at a time and I will proof read and approve or deny access accordingly. She agreed knwing i would substitute something even better in quality and challenge anyway. i think she just wanted to make sure my daughter read some “normal” books this year! :laugh:
My sons teacher hasn’t yet realised he can actually read ( its only week 2 of the school year here, I want to see how long it takes them to figure it all out And see what they do about it lol ) I should mention that I have been actively working this school and these teachers for 4 years now and after many conflicts and negotiations they are finally at the point where what I say is taken seriously. It’s a long road. :wacko: but worth it in the end.
One teacher actually asked me today " should I test your daughters reading level or would you like to tell me what level to give her?" That’s what 4 years of negotiating gets you! Even I was surprised at that one! :biggrin:
One important thing to remember all the time is that " the school is not my child’s only source of education! The school is not my child’s only source of books!" This is what I always tell parents who are disappointed with their child’s reading levels. It doesn’t matter if they get the levels right or not. What they supply isn’t enough for what we are aiming for anyway so consider it plain ice cream and go find your own toppings. :slight_smile:

8

@Mandabplus3…in my case, they never found out he could read. He went to that school for 2 years. Interesting! :confused:

9

I waited until the end of this semester until I asked the teacher if DD had ever read for them. They looked surprised and said no, I said I was just curious. Later at home I asked Lily why she didn’t read at school (during book time I’m sure they assume she is looking at the pictures) and she said…“I don’t know the words. I don’t know how to read.” :dry: yeah, right! haha. We explained that it’s fine for now but in the future, a teacher may ask her to read as part of her lessons and she will be expected to go along with it. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. She really loves going to school though, I’m not sure what the future holds.

10

Hmm never finding out they can read is pretty sad. Even not accidentally figuring it out is pretty sad. I had a boy in my class I figured out could subtilise large numbers, by accident mind you! His parents never mentioned it and I am not sure they even knew! I spoke to them a few times about teaching him Cantonese and starting Now not after he learns English reading. I kept at them :biggrin: knowing he could easily handle both languages. I do hope they listened.
Anyway I am not concerned if he doesn’t learn much reading at school this year. Their focus is on sight words, writing and later in the year spelling those sight words so he will get something of benefit from his time there. The reading I will continue at home, I have plenty of resources :biggrin:
Jaykob also thinks he can’t read. It’s apparently not uncommon. He brings me books and says " mummy I am going to read this too you" but then when I say " why don’t you read it and figure it out for yourself" later in the day he say " but I can’t read mum!" His older sister was exactly the same, she could read novels before it clicked to her that she could read environmental print ( like the cereal box or cooking recipes!)
I still recommend you make sure there are enough books in the classroom to ensure your child has reading books at their level. A shelf full of picture books can ALL be the wrong level for your child so just check or send some in their bag each day.

11

How strange. Why do they do that? Anyone have any theories? Is it that they take in the expectations of their teacher?

12

Oddly enough if you don’t tell your kids they can read they just won’t know! They are just not putting two and two together that’s all. I had to tell my daughter: “Look you’re reading!” before she finally got it and it clicked for her.
I have a question: Why wouldn’t you tell the school/teacher your child can read? Wouldn’t it be detrimental to the childs learning curve and everything you’ve worked towards? Teachers and schools deal with 20 kids per class. The kids are not given a reading test when they start school. The whole school system assumes your kids CAN’T read. So that is where they begin, with kids who can not read. And so they start teaching the building blocks so the kids can start to read. Also your kids are not being given any opportunities to read in kindergarten, again because the teacher assumes they can’t read. So why would they bother to give kids books and say: “Read this.” They won’t.
My son loves to read but tends to be lazy about it sometimes and picks books below his reading level. I agree about having to be on the school all the time to make sure my kids are being challenged. It’s very frustrating!

13

I can tell you why I do not speak about about our grandchild reading in my workplace.

I am posting here because I think it is important not to deny how vehemently opposed so many people are to EL.

I have been strongly lectured on the damage that will be caused to the child if she reads early.
(Note denial that she can!)
And on the social isolation she will now have to face at school.
(Unless we somehow turn her learning off I suppose.)

I was shocked at the arrogance and ignorance.
All this without any curiosity from my work colleagues about how she is learning or knowledge about what a happy sociable little child she is.

So I am protecting me now.

Cost benefit ratio.

I suppose if you figure that adults who are a daily part of your child’s life, teachers, friends, family may react in this negative way you had better protect your child from them too.

You would not want them “proving” how wrong you are and subjecting a young child to scrutiny and testing.

Very few of our friends and family show any curiosity except a wonderful solid little core of us that support her mum unconditionally and share the joy.

Oh by the way Mrs Obedih -last night I listened to a BBC Radio 4 podcast interview with a psychologist studying brain development in children.
She referred to the fact that babies can learn very early.

The attention grabber was that computer programs developed to engage the child’s attention, with tracking across the screen, for example was not a bad thing after all.
In fact positive.
Contrary to previous warnings from The American Acaedemy of Paediatrics on too much TV.

She also mentioned how children apparently forget or appear to go backwards.
She describes this as children learn and then impose their own theories on the world despite feedback to the contrary.
Later they catch up.

I understood from the interview that she thought it was an error to teach babies content.
I did not understand why she held that view.
She mentioned visual and auditory stimulation and repetition.

She declared her own interest as a consultant for “Baby Bright” which I have not looked up yet.

The podcast :-
From The Life Scientific
Anette Karmiloff-Smith
22.01.13
Should babies under two watch TV? Developmental psychologist,Annette Karmiloff-Smith,discusses how with the right subject matter a TV screen can be better for a baby than a book.

Typical headline this dosn’t represent the content of the interview.

For the full interview
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/tls/tls_20130121-1216a.mp3

14

Macanese has it spot on. If you don’t tell then they may not figure it out. Also if they always sit on your lap to read a book they may not realise they can read without sitting on your lap. If they learn on the computer you may have to point out familiar words in environmental print to make some connections. I just ended up telling them all " hey you know you can read why don’t you try it yourself!" Until eventually they believed me and did it automatically.
Why don’t I tell the school he can read? Well I absolutely recommend ALL of you tell the school they can read! Without a doubt it is a waste of their time not to. Personally I have had a lot to do with the school and teachers where my son goes and I know telling them he can read now isn’t going to do him any favours until next term. Reading books don’t come home until term 2. In the mean time I will continue reading with him at home. Please remember I am a teacher, so I know what to expect/demand/anticipate. I also know the curriculum they are doing just by casually glancing around the room. I can see what he IS learning.
What I was hoping was that at some point this term they would be able to get my son to demonstrate his knowledge. If they don’t then I will know that that is something they can work on and I will tell them so! They have figured out there is a child in the class who can read ( she reads just above Jaykobs level) but she is proud of her skill, my boy is still in denial. I have time before I need to tell them and I will further develop his skills before then. So he doesn’t have any weaknesses they can hold him back on.
They also do reading in class already. They do whole group reading so he is getting some practice each day on top of the book/s I do with him each day.
My experiment means their discovery may be a happy surprise to them. lol I don’t recommend you do it at all! :nowink:

15

My daughter came home insisting that she learned a new important skill called “sounding it out.” Then she demonstrated that it is better to read “cuh- aaaaaaah - tuh” instead of “cat”. We don’t practice the sight words either. The teacher said that she reads at a second grade level. We think it is really about a third grade level because of the reading levels listed on the back of her library books. I think reading books is practicing sight words.
Good luck, Lori

16

llala, thx so much for that bbc link, amazing!!! I really needed this, I still feel so guilty about any screentime with children even though I am now suspecting it can be excellent. It’s very reassuring!

17

Give me a clue?
What link?

18

llala:

[i]The podcast :-
From The Life Scientific
Anette Karmiloff-Smith
22.01.13
Should babies under two watch TV? Developmental psychologist,Annette Karmiloff-Smith,discusses how with the right subject matter a TV screen can be better for a baby than a book.

Typical headline this dosn’t represent the content of the interview.

For the full interview
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/radio4/tls/tls_20130121-1216a.mp3[/i]

but I must admit now that I have listened to the talk, her arguments weren’t that convincing (she just said it’s unrealistic for children not to watch TV in our society and since they are watching anyway let’s make sure it’s good, she didn’t actually make a strong case). I looked at the videos she’s helped create (Babybright) but wasn’t too impressed, they are focused on visual / audio stimulation, not delivering actual learning.