Abc mouse has lots of fun pre-reading and reading games and activities. My DD loved it and didn't think it she was learning, just playing games. They usually have promos to get it at a discount.

Let your DD pick her own books, even if that means Frozen etc. Studies show that's a key factor in kids' summer reading:

http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/news/story/index.cfm?id=4326

Anonymous wrote:As a parent of a dyslexic child, it's hard for me to read all the "don't worry". Maybe she's fine, and it will click next year, but maybe there is something to worry about. Much of what is here includes great suggestions about keeping reading fun, that's definitely the goal, and reading together or reading to her can help with that, but do keep an eye on it to see how she improves next year. If she likes playing computer games, you may want to reach out to your school's IT coordinator for a list of good apps that might have some fun reading games.

I agree. I am the mother of a dyslexic as well. My DC was not diagnosed until 4th grade because everyone kept telling me not to worry and that "some kids are just average." I'm not saying worry. I am saying not to be complacent. Make reading fun. At that age, I think reading to your child is best. Make her love reading. But definitely keep an eye out next year and make sure she is progressing.

Anonymous wrote:DO NOT WORRY. She is in kindergarten. I teach first grade and I do not expect that students will come in the door reading. If they know the letters and letter sounds, and are starting to put them together that's perfect.
For a very large number of first graders, the "light comes on" sometime during the first half of the school year. Sometimes it happens over winter break. But it usually happens. If your daughter is at a "C" she is already doing the things I mentioned above. If she gets frustrated do more reading TO her than having her read. The down side of the early levels is that the text they can read is super boring. Does she like to play on the computer or tablet? I love starfall.com and the starfall apps for beginning readers. It works on beginning sight words and basic decoding. Read to and with her. Read her a chapter book such as my father's dragon or charlotte's web and discuss what is happening in the story. Work on comprehension and identifying things like beginning, middle, and end and cause and effect.
We talk about strategies when you come to a word you don't know. Many early and struggling readers just randomly guess when they come to a word they don't know. We talk about if their guess makes sense- does it start with the same letter as the unknown word? Does it have the same sounds? Does it make sense in the sentence?

I wouldn't push her- you don't want her to dislike reading. I would do lots of reading type activities without pushing her to hard to actually have to do the reading.
If she is struggling in first grade, her teacher will have strategies and programs to help her. Many many schools (every one I've taught at thus far) have first grade specific programs for struggling readers.
But really, there's no need to panic- as a rising first grader your daughter actually sounds quite typical. There's a very wide range of normal at this age and it's hard not to feel like your kid is a failure because they aren't reading Harry Potter yet. But she'll get there!

Unless her teacher has said something different, listen to this one. At this point, I'd be most worried about pushing her too much and turning her off reading.

My son is finishing first grade and is reading slightly above grade level after starting at near nothing at the beginning of the year, which seems to be quite typical. But he loved listening to books so was appropriately motivated.

I vote for taking her to library - you can get tons of books and most kids love to pick out books when there is almost no limit on how many you can get. Even if she never reads them, once a week you go and exchange and by virtue of being there, she will do a bit of reading and one or two might spike her interest. Let her pick out picture books and board books and anything else that looks easy and fun

Another vote for taking yourself out of the "teaching" role. As much as you're trying to help, there's a good chance she's picking up on your expectations and hopes that she will soon be a better reader. Some kids might be motivated by that, but rarely when it's a parent in that role. There are other ways to help that allow you to "just be the mom" and not the teacher.

Our DD really loves Raz Kids. It's a program they use on the computer at school, and each kid has a free login and password to use at home. We're not big on screen time, but we like this program because it gives DD autonomy. She can set her own pace and pick her own books. Also, there's a mode where it reads to her while lighting up each word, which is a great way to teach word recognition. And of course, no one is watching so she doesn't feel judged. There are lots of other great reading apps and programs, too. Ask her kindergarten teacher or the school librarian for ideas. Or just Google around. Kids REALLY love reading games or programs on the computer. Especially if they don't get a lot of screen time otherwise.

In terms of her reading out loud, it really will come in time. Some kids are totally comfortable trying even though they know they're getting lots of the words wrong. Other kids are little perfectionists -- unless they know they can read something well, they won't even try reading it out loud. Our DD was like that. She NEVER wanted to read out loud, but she "read" to herself a bunch. We had no clue what she could read until one day we heard her reading fluently to her younger sibling. It's like she had been working on it in her own head for months and then "unveiled" the final product. But until that point, there's no way she would have practiced with DH or I. (I think that changed when she got to Level L or so. Basically, when she felt really confident.)

So find fun ways for her to practice by herself, and just continue to read to her every night and any other time she wants you to read. Point to the words as you're reading them (studies show that helps), but don't force her to read out loud to you. Give her a break on all that stuff and see what happens in a month.