When did your kid read pretty fluently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Age 4, maybe, started reading at 3. You have to put a heavy focus on reading at home. Some kids start very young and some don't start till older. Come mid-1st I'd worry and get an evaluation.

No. Reading doesn’t click for some kids until at least 7 or 8, no matter how much practice & input. Mid first grade is too early to worry about what OP describes.

[Anonymous]

My kid was beyond Elephant and Piggy before end of K but still doesn’t read for pleasure. She’s a great reader. She just doesn’t love doing it.

[Anonymous]

Reading for pleasure? 3rd or 4th grade. That's when their decoding skills caught up with their comprehension. And I have two kids who are "smart" (in FCPS AAP) and we read a ton at home.

Reading alone for pleasure happens a lot later for most kids than DCUM would have you believe.

[Anonymous]

My DD was barely 5 when she started K. She knew letter sounds and could sight a handful of words. By Christmas she was reading Bob Books. By end of K, she was probably at a Guided Reading Level E? Now at the end of 1st, she can read up to a level Q independently. She’s on the 90s percentile on MAP tests and DIBELS test (for whatever that’s worth).

All this to say, she started a little “behind” but has totally taking off. For her, there was definitely an “aha!” moment in kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

DS did some phonics during K, but wasn't reading any books. That summer, as he turned 6, we did Bob books casually - maybe twice a week for 15 minutes. Something clicked as we were finishing the second set of Bob books. We returned the third set. He just got it - no more sounding out. His 1st grade teacher tested kids with 12 lists of sight words at the beginning of the year - and he knew them all. He started reading chapter books the fall of 1st grade. He pretty much skipped early reader books. He just finished third grade and is reading several grades ahead - and LOVES reading. I worry that if we'd pushed it when he was 3-5, he wouldn't be so hooked on it. Lesson here - he's a super fantastic reader without early pressure to read.

My 3 year old is at a different day care and they push early reading. I think it's garbage for most kids. They should be focused on social/emotional skills and play, not letter recognition and writing. We're moving to a different day care for the fall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to practice with them everyday, just what they do in school will not be enough at this age. I taught mine reading and writing at 3-4.

That wasn’t helpful and may have been harmful. OP, don’t do this.

This was very helpful when dc were in school and very common. At least half of every class of about 50 started kindergarten knowing how to read and write (this is true for all dc). Back then they had half day kindergarten and schools didn’t focus on reading until second grade. Kindergarten was more like preschool. For my youngest they had to test everyone in the kindergarten class going into first because there were so many readers in kindergarten they didn’t know how to divide into 2 classes. Their entire class tested above grade level and were taught using second and third grade curriculum. The teacher had to fight the boe several times just to keep teaching on their level. At one point they stopped letting her move ahead and instead she put together a very elaborate play. It was lovely and the kids had a great time. One of my dc even won the state handwriting contest in first grade. They were so good that the people judging the contest didn’t believe they did it themselves and had to drive 5 hours to come observe them in class.

One of dc had some issues that today would have labels and IEPs attached but being able to read and write allowed them to stay in an accelerated class and keep up academically until halfway through the 3rd grade. At that point they really struggled with reading comprehension questions in paragraphs and processing information when it was presented orally. They had to move to a lower class for 1 year of focused attention in that area and then they were placed back in the accelerated class for 5th and did great. They graduated high school in the top 10% and hold a Masters Degree Summa Cum Laude. I think if they hadn’t known to read and write so well at an early age this issue wouldn’t have been identified in 3rd and academically they would have struggled much more.

Teaching reading and writing is definitely not as common as it was 40 years ago but that doesn’t make it harmful. What a silly idea. My one dc was definitely helped by it. It seems to me that parent priorities have changed and people depend much more on schools now than they did just a couple generations ago.

[Anonymous]

Around age 9. She has dyslexia and some vision issues. Her first grade teacher scolded us for not reading with her at home lol. We were reading with her every. single. night. She's enjoying reading now, which we love. Hopefully it'll become even easier once her vision troubles are corrected.

[Anonymous]

My kid did Kindergarten last year - so in virtual - and didn't learn a whole lot beyond Bob books and beginning readers. However, when we had the first grade orientation in September, one of the teachers said that it often clicks in first grade: kids go from barely reading to reading chapter books by the end of first. We are seeing this in our first grader. He's improved a lot, especially in the last couple of months. We read to him nightly and he reads to us many days of the week. He's a little behind a lot of his classmates, but is improving quickly. We find him reading on his own during quiet time now. So, generally, first grade.

[Anonymous]

Eldest dd, didn't start reading fluently until summer before 3rd grade, she was 7 (turned 8 in October of 3rd grade). She was diagnosed with ADHD (and 2e) in 3rd but has never had much intervention other than executive functioning help in 3rd-5th grade. Finishing 7th now and is an excellent reader and critical thinker. Her reading comprehension was always off the charts, her decoding just took time to catch up.

Middle dd didn't start reading fluently until midway through 2nd grade, when Covid hit. Basically she had nothing to do so she started reading more and got hooked. She's a big reader now but cannot spell to save her life. I blame covid and lack of in-person school for 1.5 years for that, I tried but she would not practice spelling with me and her teacher didn't care. She's now been told to rely on spell check when she writes on the computer. Oh well...

Youngest ds started reading summer before K, with basically no instruction or help other than being read to a lot and having older sisters who were reading/learning to read. I'm so grateful he could read (fluently, things like Dragon Masters, Ivy & Bean) in the middle of K when covid hit. It was a huge help to just tell all my kids to go read a book and they actually could do it! He's finishing 2nd grade now and is reading HP5 and is obsessed with greek mythology. He also is a much better writer and speller than his older sister, though she's now a great reader too.

[Anonymous]

Never

[Anonymous]

Both my kids, including the one with special needs, read fluently by the beginning of first grade (things like the first Harry Potters, or The Hobbit). But there is a huge range, and your child is well within it. Try to make reading fun at home - short session where she reads for a bit, and you read the rest. Read to her - things that are above her reading level, where you do all the voices, and make it really dramatic and exciting. My kids loved that.

[Anonymous]

My youngest was reading chapter books by kindergarten.