I always question these responses. My kids both read before kindergarten. Both were pulled out for extra services along with 1 other kid (w/my son) and 2 other kids my daughter. This was out of 30 kids. So VERY difficult to believe all these kids are reading. I'm guessing many are "reading." And the person who said he kid read H.Potter as a first grader... I just grabbed out copy and flipped through it. He understood: chortle, apothecary, swarthy, prefect, smarmy, hygienic...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes- my daughter started reading a few months before we started kindergarten. They worked on that stuff in her preschool.

She's at the top of her class right now. The kids are all at various levels. Our school puts a very big emphasis on reading.

Parent like you give me heartburn. No one cares she is at the top of her grade.

Actually, I do care. I want to encourage early reading so that my DC can experience being at the top of his class and want to work to stay there. Academics are important to me and to DH.

NP: right, you and your husband care but no one else does (as hard as that may be to believe). Telling us your kid is Einstein was non responsive. Indeed, your first sentence, penultimate and last sentences to your post were responsive. The rest was either a dig (second sentence) or a brag (third sentence).

Reading is one of those milestones, like walking, that some kids got really early all on their own but isn't necessarily an indicator of anything bigger. Just like all (typical) kids eventually eventually walk and once they're 2 nobody really can tell or care who walked first, all kids eventually learn to read by about 6 or 7. At which point they've caught up to the early readers and unless the early readers are truly gifted and are now reading at a 5th/6th+ grade level, everything has leveled out. If your K kid can read, cool. If not, don't stress- they will get there and in a year or two nobody will know or care whose kid read first because they will all be reading.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes- my daughter started reading a few months before we started kindergarten. They worked on that stuff in her preschool.

She's at the top of her class right now. The kids are all at various levels. Our school puts a very big emphasis on reading.

Parent like you give me heartburn. No one cares she is at the top of her grade.

Actually, I do care. I want to encourage early reading so that my DC can experience being at the top of his class and want to work to stay there. Academics are important to me and to DH.

My kid is in K and seems to be an emergent reader as others have described above - knows a fair number of sight words and can sound out other words (if in the mood). His teacher said that the red flag is no reading by the end of 1st grade - so don't worry yet!

My almost 6yo kindergarten son is not yet reading. I have read to him since he was in my womb. We go to the library weekly. He loves books but does not yet get it. I was concerned but I am trying to let it not bother me so much. I don't want to pressure him and just want to keep him interested in the books.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, my DD taught herself to read before K but it would have been much better if she hadn't.

Could you say why? (I have an early reader; K year will be next year.)

Not PP but I agree with this. My early reader is bored to tears in K and it's starting to manifest itself in behavior issues.

It really depends on the kid. DD was a strong and confident reader at the start of K and truly fluent by Christmas break. She was way ahead of all but one classmate but wasn't the least bit bored.

Part of it is her personality, I think. She's pretty go-with-the-flow, and at that stage was far too much of a rule-follower to act out or have behavior issues at school.

Also, I think she actually enjoyed the time spent on the the easier reading work. It gave her a break between the more advanced writing and spelling work that challenged her.

She's in public school and was lucky to have a teacher who was quick to personalize the classroom work. While the rest of the class matched pictures with their first letter (and later the phonics), DD and the other fluent reader in the class worked together to figure out how to spell those words in full. Same with writing assignments. DD and her peer were encouraged to write longer pieces with more detail, which definitely challenged them as much as their classmates were challenged with their work. And they were pulled out to a side table from time to time to take turns reading out loud to each other, which was great experience.

Meanwhile, there was a huge range of reading ability in the rest of the class, with everyone making huge gains by the end of the year. It's a very exciting time, developmentally.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, the goal is to have the child reading at a level 4 by end of K, but secretly, they want the kids at a level 6.

My DD was an emergent reader at the start of K. At the parent teacher conference, she was at a level 4. This is in November. By the end of K, she was reading at level I (end of 1st grade level?).

But, there are plenty of kids that don't read until 1st grade. Just read to your DC at home everyday. They will pick it up.

+1 I'm a children's librarian and, not surprisingly, read to my kids all the time, from birth. One was a good reader before K while the other wasn't interested and it didn't really click until 1st grade. You aren't doing something "wrong" if your kid isn't reading before or even in kindergarten.

+2 My DS could barely read when he entered kindergarten. He loved being read to but didn't seem very interested in reading. Towards the end of kindergarten, however, it all clicked for him. He's in first grade now and reading chapter books.

I would definitely not stress about it too much at this point.

Anonymous wrote:In MCPS, the goal is to have the child reading at a level 4 by end of K, but secretly, they want the kids at a level 6.

My DD was an emergent reader at the start of K. At the parent teacher conference, she was at a level 4. This is in November. By the end of K, she was reading at level I (end of 1st grade level?).

But, there are plenty of kids that don't read until 1st grade. Just read to your DC at home everyday. They will pick it up.

+1 I'm a children's librarian and, not surprisingly, read to my kids all the time, from birth. One was a good reader before K while the other wasn't interested and it didn't really click until 1st grade. You aren't doing something "wrong" if your kid isn't reading before or even in kindergarten.

My child taught herself to read in the womb. She entered the world at a grade one reading level and now at the age of two has finally finished the last Harry Potter book. I was worried that she would never finish! I might enroll her into Kumon so that she doesn't fall behind.

In MCPS, the goal is to have the child reading at a level 4 by end of K, but secretly, they want the kids at a level 6.

My DD was an emergent reader at the start of K. At the parent teacher conference, she was at a level 4. This is in November. By the end of K, she was reading at level I (end of 1st grade level?).

But, there are plenty of kids that don't read until 1st grade. Just read to your DC at home everyday. They will pick it up.

Yes. Just assessed last week at Level i, which is just on the cusp of 2nd grade level.

My DD taught herself to read at 3YO and now, in Kindergarden, is reading at the third grade target level. So, she's a really advanced reader and not typical.

Anonymous wrote:Yes- my daughter started reading a few months before we started kindergarten. They worked on that stuff in her preschool.

She's at the top of her class right now. The kids are all at various levels. Our school puts a very big emphasis on reading.

Parent like you give me heartburn. No one cares she is at the top of her grade.

Yes- my daughter started reading a few months before we started kindergarten. They worked on that stuff in her preschool.

She's at the top of her class right now. The kids are all at various levels. Our school puts a very big emphasis on reading.