When do you supplement?

[Anonymous]

In K, reading aloud is valuable and totally counts. You can also try to work more aural wordplay and phonemic awareness into your life with rhyming games etc. can do this while driving or walking or whatever.

If you wanted to add 10 minutes each day the kid does not have school (so weekends and holidays) that would be reasonable. Really think about what you are doing, maybe consult with the teacher, so that this time targets the most important skill your child needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

LITERALLY the first response is that all OP should do is read to him. Literally. "Just read" the thread to see that you are incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

LITERALLY the first response is that all OP should do is read to him. Literally. "Just read" the thread to see that you are incorrect.

Maybe you're reading for not enough time, or not engaging his interest enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

LITERALLY the first response is that all OP should do is read to him. Literally. "Just read" the thread to see that you are incorrect.

DP. Agree, the “just read” doesn’t exactly teach kids to read, at least, not all. BUT, it is still extremely important to learning and developing, even once kids already know how to read. You should read to your kids every night regardless of their reading ability. And if you don’t have time to fit in any formal supplementing- at least they still benefit in many ways from nightly reading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

Have you spoken with the teacher? We have been at two different DCPS and they have phonics based instruction for that age. My younger child didn't really read fluently until early 1st, but the building blocks were definitely there.

[Anonymous]

We've always done reading and a little math at the end of the day. Some days, they read to me. Other days, I read to them. Some days, we do Beast Academy or flashcards. Other days, I make up math story problems for them to answer in bed as I'm tucking them in. It's about a 20-30 minute commitment, and it's a great bonding time. It doesn't have to be drudgery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

I found the summer between kindergarten and first grade to be the best time to really target reading. They have more background knowledge and free time in the summer to hit it hard. We made huge progress that summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

You taught the summer after kindergarten - OP Isn't there yet. Don't exhaust or confuse your kids about a skill they shouldn't even have yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean on an everyday and logistics/scheduling basis. My kids are in K and preK3. Not worried as much about the younger one, but see already that we should be supplementing reading instruction for the older. They go to aftercare so they get home about 530/6 and go to bed at 730/8. Bob books seem like a lot on top of an already long day? Once they’re home, decompressed, and fed - it’s pretty much time for bath and bed. Are we supposed to do this instead of aftercare? Hire a tutor?

That should be happening in after care if they are staying until 6 pm most days. Are they just playing and running around screaming the whole time? If you are paying a non-zero amount for this service there should be some quiet sit-down time where kids do homework or read or be read to. Can you switch provider to one that offers academic support? Otherwise you're just going to have to supplement on the weekend.

[Anonymous]

We read to DS every day when he was a toddler until 4th grade. If he brought us a book, we read to him. That introduced him to sounds and sentences and reading comprehension and it was just good family time. We bought the Bob books in pre-K and would work with those whenever he brought them to us. It wasn’t something that we did on a schedule but when he showed interest. He was reading in K, at a public school, and reading chapter books by the end of K.

Some of his classmates who had parents reading to them didn’t read solo until 1st or 2nd grade, kids brains develop differently. The schools know that. A few had dyslexia but that was caught early and the parents needed to get IEPs at school and private tutoring to help their kids.

If reading at home is supplementing, then do that if you are not already doing that. If your kid likes working with you on Bob books or Hooked on Phonics or whatever program you want to do, then great. do that. Otherwise you risk making something that is fun and enjoyable painful. School is a long day for a 5 year old, they might be burnt out from sitting still and listening and doing academic work to have the ability to do “just” 10 minutes at home. It is ok to listen to your kids cues.

[Anonymous]

I think its really hard to do here. I previously lived elsewhere where the school ran 8-2 and so there was a lot of time in the afternoon. Here, my kids don't get home until 4 so we are one of the earlier elementaries, but even then, they are DONE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

You taught the summer after kindergarten - OP Isn't there yet. Don't exhaust or confuse your kids about a skill they shouldn't even have yet.

What do you mean “shouldn’t” have yet? Its not at all developmentally unusual to read at five, and OP doesn’t mention her kid being young for K.

The summer before first grade is the last chance. Once a kid is in first, differentiation will begin. OP’s kid will either be spending their days with children who are either naturally talented/have involved parents who were invested in their literacy OR kids who cannot read for a whole host of reasons. Their school experience is probably better if they’re in the former group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I do that already. The child still can’t read on his own. I don’t think he’s actually being taught to read at school (DCPS)

He isn't, I'm sorry to say. I did the "just read to them every day and they'll pick it up" thing advised by PPs and it was wrong. I taught my K kid to read in about three weeks over the summer after kindergarten -- every single day she had to read to *me* for 20 minutes. We still did plenty of reading from me to her, at bedtime or any other time she asked, but she had to be the one reading for a solid 20 minutes. It was torture at first because she hated feeling like she was doing something poorly (no practice at school! Only the kids who knew how to read at the beginning of the year were ever called on, so she thought she was uniquely dumb or something for not having any reading fluency), but it only took a few weeks of consistency for her to pick it up. But it was the extra time in the summer that made it possible.

Now I work hard on reading with her, we find new series that she's interested in and read together all the time. DH supplements with math and telling time on an analog clock because he's just more interested in that. I will probably teach her cursive, and I'm in charge of making her practice her instrument.

Nobody is saying just read to him. I'm saying that reading to him is helpful and PP shouldn't feel like she isn't doing anything. He's not outside the norm for halfway through K, and it's ok to do bedtime reading on the weekdays and save more targeted interventions for non-school days.

You taught the summer after kindergarten - OP Isn't there yet. Don't exhaust or confuse your kids about a skill they shouldn't even have yet.

What do you mean “shouldn’t” have yet? Its not at all developmentally unusual to read at five, and OP doesn’t mention her kid being young for K.

The summer before first grade is the last chance. Once a kid is in first, differentiation will begin. OP’s kid will either be spending their days with children who are either naturally talented/have involved parents who were invested in their literacy OR kids who cannot read for a whole host of reasons. Their school experience is probably better if they’re in the former group.

DP

DH and I did our best to play games, read BOB books, etc. during kindergarten, but DD (currently 1st grade) was resistant and our efforts felt counterproductive. You want kids to want to read and not make it a chore or a source of tension. DD has made really fast progress since we hired a OG reading tutor this year. Maybe if we had hired the tutor earlier she would have learned earlier, but some kids are not developmentally ready to read until ages 6 or 7. First grade is really the key year where if they don't have foundational reading skills things will get harder and harder. I do think the school curricula are so focused on getting kids to read early they do a disservice to the kids that aren't ready at 5. Our tutor is basically catching DD up to what her class is doing, which is easy now but would be harder later.