How old were your kids when they learned to read?

[fairfarmhand]

I mean fluently, not just readers with three letter words. How old were they when they were able to read without sounding out every word? (the sounding out every word stage is the most agonizing stage of the whole process for me. I taught myself how to draw while listening to my dd read)

 

My oldest dd was 4, while dd #2 was seven.

 

I'm just curious, not throwing stones at people who wait till later or anything like that.

[Tree House Academy]

Both of my boys were reading fluently at the age of 5 (toward the end of age 5). My younger is definitely a better readerthan my older was at the same age. I attribute it to learning reading phonetically rather than by sight words, which is how my older was taught in ps. He still struggles to sound out words that he doesn't know.

[Renee in NC]

7, 7.5, and none of the others (9 and down) have gotten there yet. My 5yo dd is very, very close - I expect her to "take off" any day now. My oldest ds was in ps and didn't learn to read phonetically. The others have had intense phonics.

[Carrie12345]

About 3, 4 1/2, and 5 1/2.

 

I think my last one will prove most interesting, as he recently revealed that he recognizes all of his letters and some of their sounds, and then began to tease us with incorrect answers. :tongue_smilie:

[lionfamily1999]

4 for the olders, to where they could read aloud and comprehend.

 

Youngest is still sounding out (so it sounds very choppy), but he's coming along :D

[LisaKinVA]

4.5-5 (usually by the start of Kindergarten... they were all reading whatever they wanted from the bookshelves).

[OnTheBrink]

Both of my kids were 4 when they could read. I could read at 4, too.

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

My 3 oldest were reading fluently at about age 8. My youngest with some eyesight problems was reading well at age 11.

 

How do you define reading fluently? I define it as giving them a book to read completely independently and expecting full comprehension and retention. Can children really do that at age 4 or 5?

[lionfamily1999]

My 3 oldest were reading fluently at about age 8. My youngest with some eyesight problems was reading well at age 11.

 

How do you define reading fluently? I define it as giving them a book to read completely independently and expecting full comprehension and retention. Can children really do that at age 4 or 5?

I'm talking about reading aloud without the choppiness of obvious sounding out and comprehending what they've read.

[AngieW in Texas]

My oldest was 4yo, but she had no learning issues.

 

My middle was 6.5yo. She had auditory processing issues that caused her receptive and expressive speech to be at a 2yo when she was 4yo. We remediated that area completely by 5yo, mostly by teaching her how to read. It just took her a long time to get fluent (at least I thought it was a long time before I tried teaching my dyslexic dd to read).

 

My youngest is dyslexic. She was 8yo when she got past sounding out most words, but wasn't really fluent until almost 10yo. She is reading beyond grade level now, but doesn't do much pleasure reading. She is obsessed with the Warriors series though. When the newest book came out last Tuesday, she did all of Tuesday's schoolwork on Monday so she could just read on Tuesday. It took her about 4 hours to read the whole book.

Edited March 30, 2010 by AngieW in Texas

[Carrie12345]

How do you define reading fluently? I define it as giving them a book to read completely independently and expecting full comprehension and retention. Can children really do that at age 4 or 5?

 

With my kids, it depended on the material. Their comprehension and retention with non-fiction was pretty darn full as soon as they could read words without sounding each one out. Fiction comprehension and retention was pretty solid on the early I Can Read stories. Beyond that, no, they weren't comprehending Narnia or Harry at 4 or 5. ;)

[SilverMoon]

From big to little mine were reading as described in the OP at 4yo, 7yo, 5yo, and 3yo. That precocious 3yo barely sounded out even at the beginning. She just read. Now at 4 she can read stuff like Magic Treehouse and her brothers' Captain Underpants.

Edited March 30, 2010 by SilverMoon

[Jayne J]

ds is 6.5 and just about there. Most words are fluent, but about once per page he will run into a word that makes him stop. He'll look at it and about 90% of the time get it right. They tend to be technical words, proper nouns or "rule-breakers" of some sort. He tends to read about a grade level above--he is reading "grade 2" level books although we consider him in first grade, but he certainly can't take anything off the shelf and comprehend it yet.

 

Dd 4 is just finishing her letters and sounds and hasn't started actual "reading" yet (cvc words). I am getting the feeling that things might prove a bit harder with her. (Either that or I am avoiding it, since I hate teaching phonics/reading...:tongue_smilie:)

[babysparkler]

DS(#1) was 2.5 reading fluently (but very close to his 3rd birthday... he was reading chapter books by 4... he has always been more advanced.)

DD(#2) was 6 reading fluently

DS(#3) is almost 4 and just about moving to fluent (not sounding out letters), so I will say 4 for him.

DS(#4) is still too young, but he is starting to sound out words at 2.5 so I expect somewhere in the 3-4 age range.

[cathmom]

6, 7, 5, 5, and the rest are still too young. The one who was reading at 7 has dyslexia.

[DawnM]

My oldest is 12 and can finally read at an early 4th grade level.

 

My middle is 10 and can read at a 5th grade level.

 

It just depends.

 

Dawn

[dirty ethel rackham]

My oldest was 4 - he taught himself, unbeknown to me.

My second child was probably 6 1/2.

DD was 7.

 

I hear you on that excruciating phase. By the third child, I had to keep the instructional lessons very short and farm out the practice reading to others: Grandma, Papa (FIL) and older siblings. I found myself wanting to pound nails in my head. I think that is why she took longer;). I found a video I had taken of ds2 working his way through a Bob book. It was painful to watch, but I had to admire his pluck - he stuck with it and proudly showed us the book when he was done.

 

All are voracious readers now.

[melissel]

DD7 was 4 1/2 when she was reading fluently. She taught herself, and we never really went through a painful sounding-it-out phase (thank goodness!). DD4 1/2 is not even close yet and is resistant to formal teaching, so we're just letting her coast along for now. Obviously she'll be later than her sister, but I'm not too worried, although I think I'll be making up for what I missed with her sister when I teach this strong-willed kid to read!

[PiCO]

I mean fluently, not just readers with three letter words. How old were they when they were able to read without sounding out every word? (the sounding out every word stage is the most agonizing stage of the whole process for me. I taught myself how to draw while listening to my dd read)

 

My oldest dd was 4, while dd #2 was seven.

 

I'm just curious, not throwing stones at people who wait till later or anything like that.

 

Oldest dd was 6 before she started to learn to read. She had no interest in sitting still. She was reading fluently at the 3rd grade level within 2 months of starting.

 

Younger dd was bugging me to teach her to read before she turned 3. She could sound out short words when she was a young 3, and was reading fluently just before her 4th birthday.

 

I don't think it's a good use of time to push kids to read as pre-schoolers if they are not really interested.

[melissel]

My oldest was 4 - he taught himself, unbeknown to me.

 

:lol: Isn't that an odd experience? I remember exactly where we were and what day it was when my oldest started sounding out the words on the trucks around us and asking me what they meant. The first word she sounded out was "Rutgers." :001_huh: This was the same kid who flatly refused to look at a Bob book with me.

[Embassy]

Both of my boys were reading like that when they were 5.5.

[kmacnchs]

How do you define reading fluently? I define it as giving them a book to read completely independently and expecting full comprehension and retention. Can children really do that at age 4 or 5?

 

Yes - it depends on the child and when the child starts to learn. Some would say it also depends on the age of the child but I would just say it depends on the child...this is, of course, with my limited knowledge & experience.

 

My 3.5 yo is reading well on a 3rd grade level and is comprehending everything she reads (as long as it is on that level - higher levels are more difficult, obviously). She started learning to read at 2.5 or a little earlier and it took her about 8 mo (?) of sounding out each & every sound until she started reading fluently. I remember thinking 'will this ever happen?'

 

My (almost) 2.5 yo is reading the 1st set of bob books and is sounding out EVERY SINGLE LETTER - she is still working on putting them together fluently. I expect her to progress along the same curve as dd1 but I do have less 1-on-1 time with her so it may take longer...

[nukeswife]

My oldest was reading fluently with comprehension at 8 and learned most of his phonics in PS K and part of 1st. We had a little gap filling when he first came home to school, but it went rather well. My middle child my dd we're still working on it and she's 8.25 years old. Reading has been her stumbling block. The comprehension actually comes easier to my kids, it's the reading out loud without choppiness that takes a lot of time. My dd has been using ETC the last few weeks and I noticed she reads more fluently and less choppy when reading to herself in a soft voice than when reading out loud to me. Which makes it hard to judge just how well she's doing. She also has a lot of speech articulation issues which I think attributes to the "Stage fright" she seems to have when reading out loud. My youngest is not quite 5 yet and we haven't started any reading yet, but he does know his letters and sounds. He has no speech issues so I think he'll be much easier to teach than my dd but he could always prove me wrong.

[Dawn in OH]

I'm talking about reading aloud without the choppiness of obvious sounding out and comprehending what they've read.

 

My almost 9 year old son has recently achieved that. My 7 1/2 year old girl is still not quite there. They were both late/reluctant readers.

 

I'm looking forward to seeing how the next two go.

[BikeBookBread]

Okay, I'm not doubting anyone's word...I know there are lots of kids who read very early, but fluently per the definition of smooth reading, no choppiness or sounding out? At 3? Really? REALLY?

 

Wow.

 

My 6.5 yo PDG is finally getting the hang of it after an undiagnosed sight issue which was sorted out on her 5th birthday with glasses (and still being tweaked), a false start with 100EZ lessons and switching to Phonics Pathways...

 

My 4 yo has all of the interest in reading but no attention span to sit and do the lessons. It'll happen with her later, I think.

[mommylawyer]

My oldest was reading (fluently) around the time she turned 6. (She reads on a 6th or 7th grade level now). I started teaching her when she was 4.

 

My second oldest is still learning. He's 5. He's finally excited about reading, so, I'm hoping he'll take off pretty soon.

 

The youngers are too young, but I'll probably start them around 4 like I did with the olders.

[Heidi]

5 :001_smile:

[dirty ethel rackham]

:lol: Isn't that an odd experience? I remember exactly where we were and what day it was when my oldest started sounding out the words on the trucks around us and asking me what they meant. The first word she sounded out was "Rutgers." :001_huh: This was the same kid who flatly refused to look at a Bob book with me.

 

Ds surprised me in the grocery store by asking about bulk foods. I didn't know what he was talking about until he pointed to the sign. I shouted in the store "When did you learn to read?" All our reading curricula was sitting on the shelf waiting until he was five. It waited until 2nd ds was 5:).

[joannqn]

I remember writing 3-4 letter words on a magna doodle for DD to read while driving several hours when she was 2. She thought that was great fun, and it kept her occupied on the long drive. I remember that she was reading early chapter books (ie. Junie B. Jones and Magic Treehouse) before I tried talking to the school about skipping kindergarten. That would have been a couple months after she turned 5.

 

My son learned to read in the special ed preschool in our public school system. He left the program being able to read picture books fluently. Since I didn't teach him to read, I don't know when the switch happened except that it was before he was 5 1/2.

[Closeacademy]

My oldest was 8 when she could read most anything. My youngest isn't there yet.:001_smile:

[fairfarmhand]

My oldest dd really did teach herself to read and it is weird. She read at a very high level in the 1st and 2nd grade. Then you have to be really careful about the word material you leave lyiing around. Even newspapers can expose early readers to topics that they don't have the emotional maturity to process. And am I the only mother who turns the Cosmo magazines backward in the checkout aisle at the grocery store?

[LNC]

My daughter was 4 - as in reading Betsy Tacy etc. totally fluently with comprehension. It is hard for me to believe too, but I have it on video as proof!! And it is extended family lore :). We started SSRW 1 with her at 4, but waited on handwriting.

 

My youngest was 7 before he could read Magic Tree House and level 3&4 type things. Just this year at 8yo he was able to read Homer Price type chapter books fluently with comprehension.

 

He far excels her in fine motor, math and logic. He rode his bike without training wheels a month before his 3rd birthday - so 2yo. Again on video!! I also have two children with special needs. All children are different!

Edited March 30, 2010 by LNC

[Aubrey]

That's so hard to say...my big ones were both reading 3 letter words in isolation at 2, but "fluency"...I think I'm going to say 6. But for dd, it went like this, "I can't read! I can't read! I can't read!" for years, even though, technically, she *could.* Then all of a sudden, she began reading chapter books in one sitting. There was never anything in between.

 

Ds began reading chapter books w/ me--taking turns, he'd read a p, I'd read a p--when he was 5, & I know he was reading them on his own at 6, but it shocked me, kwim? He finally just got tired of waiting for me to sit w/ him, & read them on his own, lol. Actually, I think dd did the same thing. I *hate* teaching reading. :D

[mommylawyer]

And am I the only mother who turns the Cosmo magazines backward in the checkout aisle at the grocery store?

 

I don't turn them over (only because it would pique my 7 year-old's curiosity); instead, I go through great pains to distract her from the magazine covers by having her help bag groceries or tend to her siblings while we're in line.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

DD was 4, just barely. She amazed me....still does.

[Pink Fairy]

4yodd, 4yods, 5yodd, 6yods

[mlktwins]

DS2 didn't talk until 31 months and started reading words without pictures to go with them (eg. yellow, elephant) at 33 months. He was reading fluently by age 3.5 and is now reading at about a 4th grade level at age 4.5. All self taught.

 

His twin (DS1) just started taking off with his reading at 4.5.

 

Mendy

[FaithManor]

Five to five and half for the first three. They were reading the Osborne chapter books by the end of kindergarten work. Thankfully, they weren't interested in reading magazine covers at that age.

 

Ds now 9, almsot 10, was reading pretty well by the age of four and sounding out words at three. HE WOULD SOUND OUT ANYTHING and loudly too! So, Cosmo, the Enquirer, you name it, posed a real problem at the check-out. I got to where I didn't take him with me to places like Walmart, Target, Meijer, etc. unless DH was along. He was much better at distracting the little man than I was. I sure wish they'd keep that stuff somewhere else in the store.

 

Faith

[LaissezFaire]

So far my eldest DD's were both 5, my eldest son is 9 and is just getting there, my dd6 is also just there now at age 6.

[samba]

DD10 was reading at 3, mostly self-taught. DS8 isn't there yet. He's sounding everything out and is still mostly in the cvc stage.

[Storm Bay]

4-5 (depending on fluency requirement--past CVC at 4, but not really reading what I'd call fluently until 5. By 6 (in K) she was reading orally at grade 8 level & silently at grade 5 level and since she was in ps, I'm not sure of the progression as I was busy with a baby & 3 yo and don't remember it well anymore) 6.5, 8.5. For my younger two, this is when they really took off, not simply when they were past the CVC stage. All three have a similar IQ. My ds did have a weaker eye that we patched when he was 8.3 & late eye development (usually done between 7-9).

Edited March 30, 2010 by Karin

[LizzyBee]

DD1 - 4

DD2 - 6

DD3 with dyslexia - 8 (reads level 1 readers fluently, can read some blends fluently but struggling with others, can read 2 syllable words if they follow clear patterns such as cvc/cvc)

Edited March 30, 2010 by LizzyBee

[myfunnybunch]

DD 17, public school: 7. They were considering putting her in a "struggling readers" group, when she suddenly started reading.

 

DD, 14, autism: 5. She was not a reader at all, picked up Are You My Mother? one day, read it aloud all the way through and never looked back.

 

DS 9: Taught himself to read at just-turned-4.

 

DS 7: Same at 4 1/2.

 

DS 5: Different learner. I'm actively teaching him to read, but he's not a fluent reader yet. I can see it coming, though! I'm excited for him and a little sad that this is the last time I'll see that light go on.

 

Cat

[StartingOver]

This was a long time ago with the older children, so I can only estimate. DD 5, DS 7, DS 4. Quince is fluent now and is still 3.

[Crissy]

Kay, I'm not doubting anyone's word...I know there are lots of kids who read very early, but fluently per the definition of smooth reading, no choppiness or sounding out? At 3? Really?

 

Yes. My older son was able to read by this definition at three.

When I was at my mother's over the weekend she pulled out a dated cassette tape that we made for her just after I married my husband and we moved away. Jeffrey had just turned three.

She missed him terribly after having cared for him every day while I was at work, so we made cassette tapes of him reading and singing for her. His reading was smooth and clear.

 

My younger son read well at about five.

 

By the very same definition, I read well at about eight or nine.

[LauraGB]

Both could easily read easy reader chapter books by 4.

[Melissa in FL]

Ds (13) was 5 and reading Magic Tree house books. My dd(9) has just begun the Magic Tree house. I still have one left, dd(5). I think she'll be reading well by this time next year. She's beginning to read cvc words now and really wants to read on her own, so she's very motivated. My middle one also never liked to be read to, she just didn't want anything to do with books and could have cared less about reading.

Melissa

[StartingOver]

Okay, I'm not doubting anyone's word...I know there are lots of kids who read very early, but fluently per the definition of smooth reading, no choppiness or sounding out? At 3? Really? REALLY?

 

 

My son is reading very smoothly. Everything just clicked for him about 2 months ago.

[Jayne J]

Can I just say how very envious I am of those of you who have little self-taught readers? Sigh. I really hate teaching phonics...

[Cera]

The older was reading fluently around her 5th birthday (shorter kids books like magic tree house and cam jansen). The younger is 3 1/2 and asking to learn to read so we will see (the older taught herself and we followed up with phonics).