This is true for me as well. I can see the entire paragraph and even recognize what it say, but hear word by word. I always get impatient at museums and exhibits and such when my husband seems to take a ridiculously long time to read what I read in seconds.

Gosh I can see why you'd feel so negatively then! That sounds like a rough experience. Yes, our choices are all charter schools. One is a well established one with another sister school that's hitting its 20 year mark. The other two are newer. We have the best odds of getting into the older one. We shall see. I love and hate the school choice system in Colorado.

Thanks! Dad has seen her read and she will read to me in front of him. However, that even took a few months! She initially would clam up if dad came in the room while she was reading. The video is a good idea and as the assessments get closer I will definitely keep that in mind. She loved her preschool teacher and has known her outside of school and still got a bit hung up on the assessments for her. I think we will have her read to grandparents too. We see them about once a month and she adores them. I've been hesitant to push her to read for others because I didn't want her to feel pressured to perform, but it might help her come out of her shell. The progressive phonics books are nice because she only reads a few words per page and the adult reads the rest b

I don't think they'll change. They've used Riggs since starting 10 years ago and the parent school also uses Riggs. But, you make a good point in that things can change. Dd could also change and the issue could become a non issue. There is some planning ahead that is required though. We're required to attend a parent information meeting and sign a lette of intent. Also, our state is a school choice state and we must fill out the school choice form 8 months before the school year actually starts. So some planning is actually required on our end for practical purposes.

Dd is 4 and seems to be somewhat of a perfectionist. Gets upset if she can't do something exactly right. It Is self-driven and I try to assure her that she's doing a good job and things take practice. Let her see me make mistakes and such. One thing I've noticed recently is that she will only do certain things with me. We first noticed it when she had a pre-k assessment. She missed some things (letters, numbers, etc) that I knew that she knew well. She is a somewhat reserved, non-assertive, and not a performer. So we chalked it up to personality and being nervous. Recently we noticed that she struggles to read aloud with DH. They have a great relationship and he's the more laid back parent. We usually read progressive phonics once a day and today DH offered to do it with her. It was words she's seen and read before but instead of blending them, she'd say "/l/ /o/ /t/ um I can't read that alone." Usually she'll sound it and blend it. When I asked her what was wrong she says "I just like reading with you only". I know this is a personality thing and something she will grow out of, but is there anything we can do to encourage her? We plan to have her regularly read aloud with DH from now on. My only concern is that we are planning to do a charter school and they informed me they do test to assess where each kindergartener is at. My concern is that she will test well below where she is at and then be placed at a lower level for reading groups and such. The assessment is done with the kindergartener teacher and is somewhat informal wth just the teacher and child interacting. It's not written, other than the child having to demonstrate writing ability for names and such.

I'm going to have to look on Amazon! Dd doesn't seem inconvenienced by being a lefty, but these might help.

That's what I have been able to tell based on the Spalding site and the Riggs site. DD can write well for her age, but we haven't used a formal handwriting program since I figured she'd get that in K. She can read alright (CVC/CVCC words) but does not spell that much. I did talk to one school and they said she could start K early (which we are choosing not to) or possibly skip K and start 1st in 2017. I didn't ask about ability/performance grouping, but they didn't seem to think that DD would be bored in K. They said that their K program is heavily focused on providing a solid foundation in Riggs. They do math and science as well, but the school day for K is only 3 hours long.

I read it a few days ago and was discussing it with a friend. We both agree with certain points and love British children's literature. One thought we had was that the British have a much richer and longer history. They've had more events and history to speak into their stories than Americans have. I think this could impact the richness of our stories. But I think of fantasy authors who I love (Andrew Peterson and N.D. Wilson) and they both credit British authors as their great influencers. I think that British and American children's lit and fantasy are different. I found the discussion on the world views impacting the writing to be intriguing. After reading it, I could see the realism in American fantasy.

I read a lot as well. And got into the story. I still do. It's my escape. But, I read a variety of twaddle and classics. At 9, I was obsessed with Dickens and with Babysitters Club. I don't have an issue with twaddle at home, but I hurt for kids who are reading it for school. And I agree that it does appear to be a quantity versus quality issue.

It could be. I wish I had time to research this all! Dd might go to a classical school. During K all they do for academics is RIGGS, math, and basic science concepts. The focus of K is to get them introduced to RIGGS. I can't imagine dd using a computer. Her hands are so tiny that even on the kids computers at the library, she has a hard time with the mouse. She definitely wouldn't be able to properly type! Losing the focus on fundamentals and a move towards technology makes me sad. Of course learning technology is important, but is class time necessary when most families use it regularly?

Do you know what the name of the book was? I'd be interested in reading it. I was talking to a teacher friend and she expressed similar concerns. While the pressure to get kids reading has increased, overall reading level appears to have decreased. Our state just implemented a new reading test and I've heard horror stories.

The reading requirements in high school are one of the reasons we are homeschooling or putting our kids in classical high school. I have no issue with Harry Potter in the home, but I do in an honors level English lit class when it's one of many books of a similar vein.

I do think he mentioned that it wasn't simply because people transitioned to e-books. I do wish he had given more sources and data, but it was an op-ed piece. I have seen other articles discussing the decrease in reading in the U.S. though and will try to see if I can find them. I do not think he is necessarily correct in his analysis, but I too have had professors discuss the same issue and the apparent coddling that today's college students receive. Clearly that is not at every school and with every professor, just a noted trend. I would love to see statistics regarding libraries and their usage. Libraries now offer so much more than just books, but I am curious if book circulation has decreased. Oddly, I know very few adults in my community who do read for pleasure or who make time for it as a family. Not much reading aloud goes on beyond the baby/toddler/preschooler age group. When we discuss reading, they blame a lack of time. Reading is definitely not a priority. Not that it should be for everyone. I get much more out of reading than my husband does. It relaxes me, takes me away, and fills my mind. He could take it or leave it. Is he any less intelligent? No. I found the article interesting and it is one that leads me down a rabbit trail of thinking. But, I agree it is not a scientific study and he does not offer evidence other than anecdotal.

We are using OPGTR with DD right now. I had previously used All About Reading Pre Reading, but once she started blending we looked into an actual reading program. Since I didn't want to invest in an expensive program (AAR is more than I wanted to pay at the time), I got out both OPGTR and 100EL from the library. I didn't care for the special markings in 100EL and OPGTR takes them to a higher level. We have had to add in some fun games, but it wasn't hard to do. DD has done well with OPGTR and is on lesson 50 now and reading fairly well. We also use BOB books, progressive phonics, Nora Gaydons readers, and some various phonics readers from the library.

By posting the OP, I wasn't trying to imply early reading was better. I'm for child led learning to read. So whether that's 4 or 7, it's when's best for the child. We also don't readily tell our friends or family that our 4 year old is starting to read. We've had friends who started judging their own kids because DD could write her name at 3. It wasn't something we showed them, but instead she had shown them her picture and it turned into a "wow that's amazing. I can't believe that. Johnny is no where near that no matter what I do. Etc..." So we don't publicize when dd can do something. I'd rather not make them feel inferior. In reality early reading is not connected with intelligence. But our society pushes it. If my boy doesn't learn to read until 7/8, he's no less intelligent than our daughter.

So what does a reading kindergartener look like in your district? I know many schools in our area are sight word heavy and the kids have lists of words that are required. What makes me laugh is that (at least in our district) they expect barely anything to start K. Know some letters, recognize name, count to 20, and similar expectations for kids starting K. But then they expect so much of them in one short school year!

I think it's wise not to stress with the chart. Mine were in the 50th for a while and then dropped. I do know that our pedi had a separate formula fed and breastfed chart. He once accidentally used the formula fed one for DS and had to go grab the breastfed one.

In Denver (where I live) we have horrendous literacy rates for public school 3rd graders. So my thought was whether seeing their parents read and love reading had any impact on childhood literacy. I know my love for reading has caused me to invest in building a love for reading in my own children.

I like these as well and the library has them here which is great.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/where-have-all-the-readers-gone/article28198236/ Has me thinking if there is a correlation between the decrease of literacy and the increase in 3rd graders not reading anywhere near grade level or at all.

I read that AAS1 is recommended after finishing All About Reading 1. So 2nd grade ish? Not sure when AAR1 is usually finished. We don't plan to do spelling until DD is more fluent. She still sounds out most words except for the few sight words she knows.

I think the charts have their place, but shouldn't be the primary determining factor. I do think they can be useful and even though some have negative experiences with them, overall they seem like a decent took. That being said, I think much of the negativity has to do with the doctors interpretation of the charts and not the charts themselves. My doctor literally said to me "someone has to be the 2%". We've just had an overall positive experience.

Haha that is great. I really feel that sometimes it happens almost overnight. That's how I felt at least. DD went from being shaky on some letter sounds to knowing them all and sounding out words. It happened suddenly. That's exciting for your son!

I know. fortunately we've been blessed with terrific doctors. Even the lack of growth and dropped percentiles, didn't warrant much concern. Just a casual remark that they'd check it at the next regularly scheduled exam. We also love in an incredibly pro-breastfeeding state. Doctors don't push formula and hospitals don't give samples of it or offer it (they use donor milk when necessary).

Exactly! Our doctor is fantastic. As long as they stay on their personal curve, he's fine. They've only ever shown concern when a large percentile drop has occurred or when no growth occurred. I agree there can be underlying conditions, but those sometimes have accompanying symptoms of issues. To see a small family and worry over small children, is insane.