Take heart everyone, if your Kindergartener is not reading yet there is hope.

My DC is now a first grader, but starting K DC could barely read and didn't have the patience for it. The first half of the K year was miserable for us, as we tried everything. But something just clicked starting in January and DC finished the year at level 15, which is right about where first graders should be at the end of first grade.

So don't worry, it will happen for you too. I promise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the W school kids are reading at 18 by 1st grade.

My kid is reading Judy Blume which has a DRA of 40.

In kindergarten?

yes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1

My kid refused to read. Now he's starting and picking it up really fast.

Kids read when they are ready. I'm not concerned that he's on 1. Most kids are not very high- some are, most are not, All we can do is support them where they are are.

I agree. Early reading means almost nothing. Other kids will catch up when their brians are ready. Personally I oppose teaching reading in K. Its a waste of time. Kids should be learning other things that grow their brain power.

Anonymous wrote:

The first BOB in the series. How I hated those. I can now recommend MUCH BETTER for the K set:
1. Ms Rhonda's readers. Like BOB, except pleasant.
2. The whole series of Toon Books, which - gasp - even have guided reading levels on them (1 to 3 I believe). There are some real works of art in there, and they're all interesting.

Thank you for this recommendation! Each of the 8 set-1 books are available for Kindle for $.99. I don't know if it's the novelty of Kindle or that the books are that much better, but my son is voraciously reading Ms. Rhonda's books whereas he felt the BOB books to be a chore.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of the W school kids are reading at 18 by 1st grade.

My kid is reading Judy Blume which has a DRA of 40.

In kindergarten?

Anonymous wrote:Most of the W school kids are reading at 18 by 1st grade.

My kid is reading Judy Blume which has a DRA of 40.

Anonymous wrote:Kids are all over the place in K. A great teacher makes a lot of difference. Right now my dd is in 1st, and the bottom 2 groups get special pull outs with the reading specialist.

You know what else makes a huge difference? Parent involvement and parent volunteers!

For the first time in my 3 children's schooling, I'm in a position to volunteer at the school. I go in 3 days a week for 1 - 1.5 hours right before kids' lunch (so during my lunch hour-ish) and help 4-5 kids in 15-20 minute segments. I don't begin to take all the credit, but I can tell this extra one-on-one time they are getting weekly (along with everything their own parents and wonderful teacher are doing) has helped tremendously. I encourage any parent who has time, to volunteer a little at the school, because you can really make a difference!!

Another side effect is it gives me a gauge of where my own son's strengths and weaknesses lie, both academically and socially. The little girl I worked with this morning could tell a story like an adult - she has great communication skills, she just has a little more trouble slowing down and actually reading the word as written. My son can't tell a story to save his life - he's jumping around from middle to beginning to end to beginning, even though he can read almost anything (reasonable) put in front of him.

To answer OP's question, it really is over the charts at K. I'm working with kids who are still trying to recognize letters all the way to some who are reading at the highest level readers available in their classroom.