crying at the library

[Anonymous]

[My dad has a suspected reading disability; we're in the process of going through testing, but she's in 1st grade, struggling to sound out CVC words and has made little progress since the beginning of the year. I'm at the library looking through their early readers. Even o those labeled level 1, half are too hard. Of the rest, we've been at this level for so long, we've read almost all of them. It makes me so sad to see her struggle over something that brings me so much pleasure. I'm just feeling sorry for myself.

[Anonymous]

We've all been there but you have every reason to be hopeful. First of all you are getting her evaluated early. Most parents don't identify and address reading issues until the end of 2nd grade. She'll be able to get the specific support she needs and in a few years you won't even know she lagged.

[Anonymous]

I'm really sorry about your dad. Maybe your mom can help him?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm really sorry about your dad. Maybe your mom can help him?

Damn autocorrect. I meant dd (daughter).

[Anonymous]

As you have seen, every publisher defines level one differently. Your best bet is to find a book she can read comfortably and then check out all the books at that level by the same publisher.

You can also ask her teacher or Google around to find printable books on the right level. They won't be very long, but they will help build confidence because they will be books she can read instead of books she will struggle with. Scholastic.com might also be a good resource for you, once you have defined a good level for her.

Don't be afraid to ask the reading specialist at school for help/suggestions, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've all been there but you have every reason to be hopeful. First of all you are getting her evaluated early. Most parents don't identify and address reading issues until the end of 2nd grade. She'll be able to get the specific support she needs and in a few years you won't even know she lagged.

+1. Is your assessment by the county school system or outside/private? I would really lean toward the latter. IME, the county systems often don't have a very good grip on dyslexia. This is particularly true for MCPS and DCPS, not as sure for VA schools.

If she is in first grade now, you have the chance to do intensive reading over the summer and through second grade, etc. Choose a clear phonics-based system like Wilson, Phonographix, Orton-Gillingham, etc. and your child will have a very good chance at this young age catching up in reading. You are lucky you are catching this young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've all been there but you have every reason to be hopeful. First of all you are getting her evaluated early. Most parents don't identify and address reading issues until the end of 2nd grade. She'll be able to get the specific support she needs and in a few years you won't even know she lagged.

+1. Is your assessment by the county school system or outside/private? I would really lean toward the latter. IME, the county systems often don't have a very good grip on dyslexia. This is particularly true for MCPS and DCPS, not as sure for VA schools.

If she is in first grade now, you have the chance to do intensive reading over the summer and through second grade, etc. Choose a clear phonics-based system like Wilson, Phonographix, Orton-Gillingham, etc. and your child will have a very good chance at this young age catching up in reading. You are lucky you are catching this young.

Private. Even with no diagnosis, her school has been using phonographix since kindergarten.

The printable books suggestion from another pp was great -- she'll love helping to pick them out. Is there any particular website you recommend?

[Anonymous]

The Level 1 readers drive me NUTS. They have a random combination of very simple words with words that are REALLY hard to read. I found the Piggy and Elephant ones to be a bit easier than most of the "Early Reader" ones. Some of the Dr. Seuss ones aren't too bad either. Also, I ended up writing short books for my children, using words that I know they knew and similar phonics. They really liked it because I could focus on topics they were interested in, and they were not at all critical of my stick figure illustrations! Another thing I did was to make a matching game with words that I knew were within their reading level -- e.g., a picture of a hat and the word hat. I set it up like a board, like a memory match game. Again, they liked it because it was specially made for them. It took like 20 minutes to make, while I was on the metro.
Also, I highly recommend an old computer game called Reader Rabbit. You can still buy it on Amazon, but unfortunately, you will need an old operating system to run it, so dig out your antique computer from 10 years ago.

[Anonymous]

My son is in 1st and has dyslexia, and I hear you! A couple of things: after I was sure he was getting what he needed in school I stopped insisting he read BOOKS with me at home. I read whatever he wanted out loud (we've been making our way through Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series), and for his reading used iPad apps for him to read words to me. We did this because even the early reader books were too hard - we tried those superhero ones, and they were the WORST. It just made him feel badly. Elephant and Piggie has been a godsend. My son loves, loves, loves them. He started the winter struggling with CVC words, and now can easily read Dr Sues, Elephant and Piggie, and the like, and actually (sort of) enjoys it. Good luck! She'll get there!

[Anonymous]

Please know that you are not alone, OP. I also have a first grader who is struggling to read.

[Anonymous]

My child is in 1st and reading those readers etc. Go to other libraries in your system. I also go to regular picture books and look at the words to see which he might be able to read. He seems to enjoy the picture books more, it is more of a sense of accomplishment, fewer words, etc. Like the Elephant and Piggy Books, Fly Guy, some Dr. Seuss, If you Give a Mouse a ... , Just go (by yourself) and look at picture books and select a dozen you think (with a little help) that she might be able to read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The printable books suggestion from another pp was great -- she'll love helping to pick them out. Is there any particular website you recommend?

Try Starfall. http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/onlinebooks.htm?n=downloadcenter

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The printable books suggestion from another pp was great -- she'll love helping to pick them out. Is there any particular website you recommend?

Try Starfall. http://www.starfall.com/n/N-info/onlinebooks.htm?n=downloadcenter

I love starfall!

[Anonymous]

I really like the old school Beginner Books for kids struggling to read. Go, Dog, Go, Put Me in the Zoo, Big Dog, Little Dog, and some of the best: He Bear, She Bear, Inside Outside Upside Down and Old Hat New Hat. The rythym and rhymes really kept my child engaged. We would alternate pages. I also like the Now I'm Reading series for phonics type work. Start at the very beginning. Level 1. They have stickers for reading each book (up to 4 times) and were much more engaging from my persective than Bob books.

[Anonymous]

My child has issues other than reading, but I have a few things to share..

-When you get more and more intervention and you see your kid feeling more confident with something that made her miserable. for lack of better words to express the feeling...it is such an intoxicating high for both of you. Even if the child is still behind peers, seeing the lightbulb go on and the attitude change, it is they type of thing that makes me so happy I get tears in my eyes.

-Yes it is painful seeing your child struggle with things that came easily to you, but you will discover things that come easily to your child that weren't easy for you-maybe in the academic domain, maybe in the social domain or athletics or maybe you'll see personality traits in your child you wish you had.