First grade teacher. Please don't tutor your child. Read, read, read. Talk about the pictures and ask him questions about them. What will happen next? That type of thing. Read rhyming books and alphabet books, too.

Children that are being tutored into reading too early end up disliking reading and dumping it later on. Around age 10-11 children who started reading at age 5 are not ahead anymore, compared to children who started at age 7. Reading earlier is proven to NOT translate to reading better later or liking reading later on. The opposite is true. Children who read when they are ready for it have a deeper love for reading and do better in later grades. Trust your child's natural development.

Anonymous wrote:We did a trial of an online reading program called study dog - very reasonable. We then did it for a total of two months twice a week. My son is now one if the advanced reader. He has an older sibling so he is also highly motivated to read. The website is nicely done and engaging (we tried a few but this one our son preferred).

typos due to typing on new ipad..

We did a trial of an online reading program called study dog - very reasonable. We then did it for a total of two months twice a week. My son is now one if the advanced reader. He has an older sibling so he is also highly motivated to read. The website is nicely done and engaging (we tried a few but this one our son preferred).

Anonymous wrote:Get the book, "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons"
and spend 10 minutes a day doing a lesson or two.

This. Or nothing. Nothing is better. Seriously.

--High achieving and over anxious mom learning to CTFD.

I'm a teacher and I think that if we waited to teach kids to read until age 7 or so, we would save a TON of money on remediation/special education services. The kids we fret about because they aren't reading by halfway through first grade usually end up reading in second grade. But because the expectations are so high, those kids are considered "behind." Not everyone can learn to read in kindergarten. I don't even think they should teach kids to read before first grade. I learned how to read in first grade and I ended up with 2 Master's degrees. One of my second graders just learned to read within the last month or so. My son learned to read when he was around 3.5 yrs old. Most kids fall somewhere in between. For the OP, just read a lot to your child. An enjoyment of reading is what she needs now. Learning to read can be very hard work so she needs to have an enjoyment of reading so she will be motivated to learn.

Absolutely right. I taught first grade and K and I totally agree. Not only that, when we focus so much on decoding--which is necessary--we are missing thinking and reasoning skills.

I'm a teacher and I think that if we waited to teach kids to read until age 7 or so, we would save a TON of money on remediation/special education services. The kids we fret about because they aren't reading by halfway through first grade usually end up reading in second grade. But because the expectations are so high, those kids are considered "behind." Not everyone can learn to read in kindergarten. I don't even think they should teach kids to read before first grade. I learned how to read in first grade and I ended up with 2 Master's degrees. One of my second graders just learned to read within the last month or so. My son learned to read when he was around 3.5 yrs old. Most kids fall somewhere in between. For the OP, just read a lot to your child. An enjoyment of reading is what she needs now. Learning to read can be very hard work so she needs to have an enjoyment of reading so she will be motivated to learn.

Back in the day, "reading readiness" was a big deal. It was not equated with IQ. It just related to what it says. Now, every child is being pushed to read earlier. I don't think that is a good idea.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not read in K and started reading in first grade. By the end of 2nd, she was far ahead of most everyone else in her class.

This.

Even later here. DD didn't read fluently until midway through 2nd grade. I wasn't panicked but was starting to get concerned. She just wasn't ready. By third grade she'd caught up and passed kids and now as a 6th grader reads every second she gets and writes beautifully. There is such a rush to push kids! We read every night (in fact we still read every night together) and she always looked at books, but it just took her time.

My exact experience as well. Kids were not ready till 3rd grade and so we had to read every night to them - until they fell asleep. Now, they are avid readers and love to write.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not read in K and started reading in first grade. By the end of 2nd, she was far ahead of most everyone else in her class.

This.

Even later here. DD didn't read fluently until midway through 2nd grade. I wasn't panicked but was starting to get concerned. She just wasn't ready. By third grade she'd caught up and passed kids and now as a 6th grader reads every second she gets and writes beautifully. There is such a rush to push kids! We read every night (in fact we still read every night together) and she always looked at books, but it just took her time.

Anonymous wrote:My daughter did not read in K and started reading in first grade. By the end of 2nd, she was far ahead of most everyone else in her class.

This.

My daughter did not read in K and started reading in first grade. By the end of 2nd, she was far ahead of most everyone else in her class.

I wish I had done it for my kid Pre-K. Yes, she learned to read but the truth - she was behind and she is on grade level but all her friends are in higher reading groups now. Those kids didn't have to focus on the basics so they had the opportunity to read and gain instruction in K in comprehension and other reading areas.

Reading in pre-k does not necessarily translate into better reading later. Don't worry about competition from her friends. First grade teacher.

I wish I had done it for my kid Pre-K. Yes, she learned to read but the truth - she was behind and she is on grade level but all her friends are in higher reading groups now. Those kids didn't have to focus on the basics so they had the opportunity to read and gain instruction in K in comprehension and other reading areas.

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Your child's school teacher in the fall. As long as you're reading to your child now, your kid will read when he reads.

+1

Read to your kid.

Relax. Many kids can't read when they get to first grade, let alone kindergarten. It says nothing NOTHING about their intelligence, at all.