5 year old reading "Little House on the Prairie"

[Anonymous]

What a glass-half-empty viewpoint! So she doesn't fully appreciate it yet... still, good for her (and her parents) for starting young and being interested in reading good books already. If she likes Little House as much as most children do, she can read it again later and fall in love all over again, and learn something new each time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why rush childhood? I read LHOP in third grade, as did all the other girls in my class. Psychological and emotional development levels are just as important as reading levels, IMO. Not that there's anything damaging in LHOP (except when they get snowed in without their parents and burn all their furniture to stay warm, maybe...) but a six year old just can't enjoy the series as thoroughly as an older child can, even if they can read it. Seems like a shame to me.

What would you suggest as an alternative? How would you present it to your child who is BEGGING for books at a higher level. Bear in mind that a 5 or 6 year old reading at a 5-6th grade level isn't going to be interested in or satisfied by Biscuit books or any other age-based recommended early readers. I'd love your suggestions.

[Anonymous]

ITA, 13:34!! I loved reading the same books more than once as a child. I was a very avid reader as a child and was very comforted reading books, reading favorite books and favorite parts of books over again. I read many LHOP books multiple times and even read a few of them to my little sister.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why rush childhood? I read LHOP in third grade, as did all the other girls in my class. Psychological and emotional development levels are just as important as reading levels, IMO. Not that there's anything damaging in LHOP (except when they get snowed in without their parents and burn all their furniture to stay warm, maybe...) but a six year old just can't enjoy the series as thoroughly as an older child can, even if they can read it. Seems like a shame to me.

What would you suggest as an alternative? How would you present it to your child who is BEGGING for books at a higher level. Bear in mind that a 5 or 6 year old reading at a 5-6th grade level isn't going to be interested in or satisfied by Biscuit books or any other age-based recommended early readers. I'd love your suggestions.

Yes, do let us know. I tend to think that many of the popular books geared toward 5- and 6-year-olds rush children toward tweendom more quickly than Little House on the Prairie does. But I'm always happy for new ideas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend just told me her 5 year old is reading the Little House on the Prairie Books! This seems young......well, she is almost 6......anyone have any thoughts?

I guess a few of the scenes are a bit scary, but generally it's an appropriate book for a 5-almost-6-year-old. The more old-fashioned books are often a good choice for early reader because the language/message/behavior are not inappropriate.

Ecept that I was was reading the compendium of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books that also include the Little House in The Big Woods and It was very awkward when we got to the long poem at he end of one of the chapters with all of it's references to "loyal darkies" . I am black my children are black and that just was awkward. I know the book's language has a historical context, etc. but it was a downer.

[Anonymous]

pp-here that's "Except" and "its" not "it's". sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend just told me her 5 year old is reading the Little House on the Prairie Books! This seems young......well, she is almost 6......anyone have any thoughts?

I guess a few of the scenes are a bit scary, but generally it's an appropriate book for a 5-almost-6-year-old. The more old-fashioned books are often a good choice for early reader because the language/message/behavior are not inappropriate.

Ecept that I was was reading the compendium of Laura Ingalls Wilder's books that also include the Little House in The Big Woods and It was very awkward when we got to the long poem at he end of one of the chapters with all of it's references to "loyal darkies" . I am black my children are black and that just was awkward. I know the book's language has a historical context, etc. but it was a downer.

Good point, and one that I wasn't thinking about when I posted. I guess it helps to have books you have read and remember, so that you can preview issues that may come up. I know I steered my Jewish children away from books that included the Holacaust until I thought they were old enough to deal with it.

[Anonymous]

There is so much bragging on this board about DC who was reading Shakespeare's sonnets in utero. Calm down, people. If the kid understands the book, fine, if not, why are you pushing your child to read books s/he's not mature enough for?

As for OP's friend: Do you feel competitive with this person? Are you concerned your pathetic 6 y.o. barely knows the alphabet? Relax, hon. It's perfectly NORMAL for a child to read at age 7, not 6 or 5 or 2. Parents who rush their kids to read and brag about it are using their children ad little accessories. Sad.

[Anonymous]

It's perfectly NORMAL for a child to read at age 7, not 6 or 5 or 2.

Really? Seven seems late to me.

[Anonymous]

My 99.9 percentile child (for whatever those things are worth - I don't think much) really did not start "reallyl" reading (ie: little chapter books) until 7.

[Anonymous]

That's about the age at which I discovered -- and subsequently inhaled -- the Little House books. Rock on, Half Pint!

[Anonymous]

15:30 here again. Meant to say that 5 (which was then first grade), not the PP's 7, was the age at which my obsession began. I think the original little girl is right on track.

[Anonymous]

13:22 here. I didn't mean to push anyone's buttons with my comment, but I stand by it. BTW, I read above grade level throughout school, my DC tested in the 99.5th percentile, and I am a member of Mensa. I still think that emotional and psychological needs are as important as intellectual ones. I can't recommend other books as an alternative to LHOP because my brilliant DC doesn't read yet, at the ripe old age of FIVE. Maybe you should check out the thread about all the adults who were labeled 'Gifted' as children. It might help you lighten up a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What a glass-half-empty viewpoint! So she doesn't fully appreciate it yet... still, good for her (and her parents) for starting young and being interested in reading good books already. If she likes Little House as much as most children do, she can read it again later and fall in love all over again, and learn something new each time.

There's no sense in giving a child a book to read if the story goes over his/her head. You may as well just wave flashcards in front of his/her face. I am being practical, not negative. After doing an initial reading level test with my students, I then decide which texts are appropriate for the majority of the students. For those at the extremes, there are always alternatives, too.

Kids learn to read at different ages. Although word recognition and fluency are strong, inference skills - which require abstract thinking to kick in - may be week, thus affecting how well a student understands the story. Students with a strong ability to make inferences are better able to FULLY digest a book.

[Anonymous]

PP here -
"may be week,"

may be weak - it's been a long week!