LTBernard Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 First off, has anyone used the site letsgolearn.com to help assess where your child(ren) are in reading/comprehension/spelling? I have often been asked at what level my children read and while I know what level the books are that they read I didn't really know how to answer the question. So I purchased an assessment for each of my children. They are not too expensive and I really was curious. Secondly, wow can 2 kids from the same house be different (and yet so alike)! We had co-op today and then headed to the park to enjoy the nice weather so we did not have time to get both kiddos assessed, but I did get my daughter (4 years old) to do hers. When it comes to her personality concerning school her and my son are very different. My DS has always pushed me to work with him. From before he could walk he would drag books to me to read to him over and over. Then at 2 he told me he wanted to learn to read all by himself. He is now almost 6 and still loves to know stuff and mostly loves to let others know he knows stuff. When DD came along I knew they would not be exactly the same, but I was surprised when she didn't want me to read to her. In fact, when I tried to read to her she would purposefully move away from me with the book and just go look at it by herself. She would sit for an hour at a time well before a year old and "read" books, but would NOT let me read to her. As she got older and I mentioned to her learning to read and she would look at me and just say, "I will learn when I am 4." She wasn't upset by the idea of learning or of DS being able to and her not. She just didn't care to do it and didn't seem at all worried that it wouldn't happen when it should. When she was about 3.5 I happened on a free app for my phone that teaches reading that normally costs almost $50 so I bought it and figured she would use it after she turned 4 (since that is when she was telling me she would learn to read). I showed it to her and she was all of a sudden a reader. Since that time she has started reading more and more, but still is not to chapter books that much. She also spent the first semester of this year coloring and playing instead of formal schooling because that is simply what she wanted to do and I didn't want to push a preschooler. So now I am about to brag big time so if you don't want to read that part just stop now :)My sweet, loving little girl kicked the assessment's tail! She scored the maximum score (goes K-3rd) for High Frequency Words Word Recognition she got High 6th!!! Phonics she got Low 4th! Phonemic Awareness she got Good (possible was Good/ Poor/ Not Tested) Spelling she got mid 1stOral Vocabulary she got mid 2ndReading Comprehension she got high 1stI am SOOOO proud! I think it makes it more so because people always comment about my DS and it hurts me that she gets overlooked. My MIL (sadly in front of her) even said once, "she just isn't as smart as G." As their mother I think they are both the most amazing little people. I am proud of both of my kiddos and want them both to be there best them they can be, but sometimes I hope that DD beats DS in things so that she can shine more than him for at least a minute. Okay I will end rant now, sorry for the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joyoustxmama Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 First- Congrats!!! how totally rewarding for you and she both :) Second- eww!!! re: your MIL's comment. Yuck! Your daughter sure proved her wrong. I bet as they get older they will both shine in ways too unique to ever predict during these early years... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThoughtfulMama Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yes, I did it with DS when he was 4. I think it was a very interesting analysis - it was especially interesting to watch him take it. I think that with kids as young/advanced as this the test is even harder. It took a long time in the first sections to start to find answers that he couldn't master easily, but then by the time we finally got to spelling it started at such a high level that he got frustrated. I understand the sibling thing too! My younger is only 2, but I really hope that she doesn't stay in her brother's shadow and finds her own strengths. Right now she is following his path and teaching herself to read, but their personalities are so different from each other that I can't predict where this will end up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTBernard Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Thanks! No matter what they do in life, they will always shine in my eyes :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTBernard Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 Yes, I did it with DS when he was 4. I think it was a very interesting analysis - it was especially interesting to watch him take it. I think that with kids as young/advanced as this the test is even harder. It took a long time in the first sections to start to find answers that he couldn't master easily, but then by the time we finally got to spelling it started at such a high level that he got frustrated. I understand the sibling thing too! My younger is only 2, but I really hope that she doesn't stay in her brother's shadow and finds her own strengths. Right now she is following his path and teaching herself to read, but their personalities are so different from each other that I can't predict where this will end up. That is funny because DD is same age as your son was when he took his and also she had the same problem. I thought she was never going to get done with the test and when we got to spelling I was like, "wow those are some hard words!" I even mentioned that to DH tonight at dinner. One of the words it asked before it gave up and gave her easier words was cautiously - she had no idea. Also I think since the comprehension was the last thing I really wish I would have stopped and given her a break and come back tomorrow or something to do that part. She might still not have done any better on it, but at that point her brain was pretty fried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted January 21, 2015 Share Posted January 21, 2015 That's great! (Your dd's test not your mil's comment) My ds and dd are like yours except she will let me read to her. I chalk it up to that she's not as competitive as my ds. I have to teach her separately. she does better when we are one on one. Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Congrats! It always feels so good to be so validated! And now I want to know what app your daughter used. I have a 3yo who asks me to teach him to read, but I'm not feeling it since I just taught his sister. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LTBernard Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Congrats! It always feels so good to be so validated! And now I want to know what app your daughter used. I have a 3yo who asks me to teach him to read, but I'm not feeling it since I just taught his sister. The app I used was Hooked on Phonics Learn to Read Classroom Edition. It is normally right at $50! Last year for teacher appreciation week (sometime in May) they had it for free to download that week. With my DS I used the book Teach Your Child to Read in 10 Minutes a day. I had no intention of teaching a 2 year old to read, but since he asked I did. I tried this same book/method with DD and she was NOT into it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Yes, I gave the DORA to my kids last year. I think part of it taking so long is it takes a while for them to hit their level! I'm hoping this second time around it will start them higher than their grade level so that it won't take so long. My 4 year old got similar results to the OP's. If anyone is interested, I wrote a blog post on some tips based on our experience if you're going to give it to a young kid.And your MIL: UGH! WHY do people not THINK about what they are saying in front of children?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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