Unscientific Poll on Early Readers

[nature girl]

Another thread, and articles I've read over the past couple of years, as well as life with my own DD, make me wonder how early reading affects the enjoyment of books over the years. (ETA: I've read studies that say teaching reading early, as is done in schools now, lead to issues in reading comprehension by the age of 12, hence the poll.) I myself was an early reader, and devoured books throughout childhood (and became an author.) So I've been taking the studies that say there may be a correlation between early reading and later issues in reading comprehension or enjoyment with a grain of salt. But I'm curious as to what the experiences of the members of this board have been.

 

(I realize WTM parents are somewhat different from much of the general public in that most of us are probably readers ourselves and teach the love of books from an early age, so are more likely to have children who enjoy reading.)

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

He may have technically been 6 when he really took off reading, but he was in kindergarten.  He's almost 9 now, and we find books under his pillow all the time from reading in the dark.

[AdventuresinHomeschooling]

I started reading before 5 and so did my husband, and we both are readers.  We are painfully aware how many books we own as we're trying to move, and we have about 90 books waiting for us that we inherited.

[73349]

DS is perhaps two years behind where I was in reading, but he loves books. I think he'll be reading as much as I ever did. (Perhaps more, as I was actively discouraged.)

[Alice]

I was an early reader (age 2) and have always loved books and reading. My oldest could read around age 5 and is like me, he loves reading and books. My middle son read around age 5 and likes to read. He's only really started to enjoy reading for pleasure this summer at age 7 with the Harry Potter books. He's much more physical. Given the choice, he'd spend the day running around outside, where oldest and I would be curled on the couch with a book. 

[lovinmyboys]

My oldest DS was reading at 3 . He is 8 and only reads when I make him. My next DS is just now reading at 6 and he reads for fun. I don't know why my oldest doesn't like reading. I was an early reader and I have always loved reading.

[BrookValley.]

My husband and I were both early readers, but I'm the only one who truly loves reading now. My husband likes to read, but he reads very slowly and finds he just doesn't have the time to really enjoy a book. So, he rarely reads for pleasure.

 

My oldest son was reading fluently before 5 and loves to read now, but he's only 7. Time will tell there.

 

I think fostering a very literate environment and having a home where one or both parents enjoys reading (and therefore models it) probably contributes to raising a "reader" more than anything, though of course that's not going to be the case for everyone.

[Syllieann]

Another important difference between wtm and the general public is that the overwhelming majority of our children are taught phonics, either in learning to read or later in learning to spell. Early readers in the general public usually learn via sight, making them more susceptible to the 4th grade slump.

[Dmmetler]

DD9 was a ridiculously early, high-level reader (Magic Treehouse and. Magic Schoolbus at 3, adult level books on animals by age 6). At this point, she reads a range of fiction, from "Dear Dumb Diary" (ugh) to DH's classic sci-fi, plus a ton of non-fiction, mostly science-related. She also loves the "Imponderables" series. I have her doing 7th grade Lighting Literature so she reads books she might not otherwise find and for writing practice.

[regentrude]

My DD entered K at age 5 not knowing the abcs (we come from a country where this is not taught in preschool), was reading fluently by Christmas, and has been a voracious reader ever since.

My DS did not read fluently until he was 6, did not begin reading for pleasure until he was 9, and is now an avid reader.

 

I do not hink the age at which kids learn to read has anything to do with their reading habits later in life.

[Farrar]

What do you mean by "fluently"? One ds was reading Frog and Toad and Henry and Mudge and so forth comfortably at age 5. The other wasn't until age 6. They're 9 now and they're not voracious readers, but they do both enjoy reading. That year seems to have made little difference in their reading (I do see that it has had an effect on their spelling though).

[nature girl]

What do you mean by "fluently"? One ds was reading Frog and Toad and Henry and Mudge and so forth comfortably at age 5. The other wasn't until age 6.

 

That's pretty much what I mean by fluently, able to read most words without stopping to sound them out. (I think most kids will still need to sound out more complex words...but I'd still call that fluent reading.)

[Guest]

One was fluent at about 5 and the other took off at 7. They both LOVE to read, but I have attributed that (unscientifically) to our home environment, namely *my* love and stressed importance of and interest in books. I know it doesnt always work out that way, but in our case, it did.

[nature girl]

One was fluent at about 5 and the other took off at 7. They both LOVE to read, but I have attributed that (unscientifically) to our home environment, namely *my* love and stressed importance of amd interest in books. I know it doesnt always work out that way, but in our case, it did.

 

There was a discussion on that here a few weeks ago, with feedback from parents who introduced books early, read aloud frequently and tried to teach a love of story, but ended up with kids who didn't read for pleasure. I think it definitely can contribute (and there's some correlation, since there are a lot of kids who don't grow up with books in the home at all and are never read to...there's much less chance that those children will value books later on in life), but it seems to involve nature along with nurture.

[Crimson Wife]

One thing that can turn a child off reading is the current fad for forcing reading before the child is developmentally ready for it. There are plenty of kids in my neck of the woods who read early because their parents had them in Jr. Kumon for 15 hours/week doing drills since age 3. That is a VERY different situation than my oldest teaching herself to read at 3.5 and my starting DS on phonics at 4.5 when I saw signs of developmental readiness. They are both voracious readers at almost 12 and almost 9.

 

My little one just this past week has shown signs of developmental readiness, so we are now doing about 10 min/day of phonics. She is not quite there yet, but is very, very close. Yesterday, she was able to decode & then blend several of the words (cat, dog, bus, mom, pop) and many of the others she got the ending part but wasn't blending it with the initial consonant. So it was coming out like "puh-in" rather than "pin".

[nature girl]

One thing that can turn a child off reading is the current fad for forcing reading before the child is developmentally ready for it. There are plenty of kids in my neck of the woods who read early because their parents had them in Jr. Kumon for 15 hours/week doing drills since age 3.

 

So I wonder if that's why the studies are showing a correlation between early reading and loss of enjoyment of books years later...(These articles are mainly talking about CC pushing reading in K, when many kids just aren't ready and so may never get past thinking of it as a struggle.) I'm not sure how that would correlate with decreased comprehension skills, but maybe a PP was right, that many early readers do more sight reading than phonics, which affects comprehension as they encounter more and more words they haven't memorized.

[Farrar]

One thing that can turn a child off reading is the current fad for forcing reading before the child is developmentally ready for it. There are plenty of kids in my neck of the woods who read early because their parents had them in Jr. Kumon for 15 hours/week doing drills since age 3. That is a VERY different situation than my oldest teaching herself to read at 3.5 and my starting DS on phonics at 4.5 when I saw signs of developmental readiness. They are both voracious readers at almost 12 and almost 9.

 

I agree with this and I wonder if it wouldn't change the results for even a scientific poll of homeschoolers on this issue.  Homeschoolers are much more likely to go with readiness - just look at those of us already who are comparing really different ages for siblings in this thread.  I would guess that if early reading is associated with disliking reading or reading problems later, that it's that readiness piece that is the key, not the actual age.

[SKL]

I have one of each.  My youngest was an early reader who sort of learned magically (she'd been exposed to letters and some words, but that didn't really explain her progress).  She was an avid reader by about 4.5 and is a voracious reader at 7.  I have never had to ask her to read; sometimes I have to tell her to stop.  Her comprehension is not the best but it is great for age 7.

 

My eldest was an average learner with vision and auditory processing problems.  She was reading "I can read" type books at age 5 (with some help), but only because she was asked to.  She still does not claim to like reading, although it seems to be growing on her.  Her comprehension has always been ahead of her other reading skills.

[Desert Strawberry]

I see a few complications in your line of thinking.

Child led early reading is very different from forced early reading. A child who is developmentally ready and desires to learn to read is unlikely to exhibit reading difficulties later as a result of the age at which he began reading. Certainly there is no benefit to denying reading material from a  capable reader based solely on arbitrary age requirements.

The trouble stems from young children(or even not so young children) who are not developmentally ready and have no desire being forced to perform above their ability. This is true I any area, not just reading. Just like pushing young athletes leads to injuries, pushing young academics leads to poor skill development. 

In this discussion, the age itself isn't the key factor. Readiness and approach to teaching are. 

A better question might be something along the lines of "Did you use reading drills/flash cards/other hot housing methods to teach your child to read before he expressed an interest?" Or "How many hours per week did you devote to teaching reading?" 

These address the methods used and separate the children who picked up a book and started reading at age 3or 5 or 8 with little to no instruction from those who sat through 6 hours a day of drill for 2-5years. (I've done both. No judgement.)

[Desert Strawberry]

So I wonder if that's why the studies are showing a correlation between early reading and loss of enjoyment of books years later...(These articles are mainly talking about CC pushing reading in K, when many kids just aren't ready and so may never get past thinking of it as a struggle.) I'm not sure how that would correlate with decreased comprehension skills, but maybe a PP was right, that many early readers do more sight reading than phonics, which affects comprehension as they encounter more and more words they haven't memorized.

Neurobiological research is showing that inefficient pathways in the brain are formed when reading is forced before the corpus callosum is fully formed. This happens between 3and 8, which explains why the traditional age of reading is 5-8. Because the proper areas of the brain are unavailable, the techniques of reading most be laid down in less efficient areas, or a child must form alternative technique,like subbing word recognition for phonics. Kind of like how you can accidentally train your dog to bark if she barks between performing a commanded action and receiving a treat. She associates the treat with the bark. A child who is not capable of blending phonemes may learn to identity words by their shape instead. The teacher/parent shows a flashcard, the child guesses the word, yay! He can read! Except he really can't. Eventually he will move past the point when he can memorize every word in a book, and then he's stuck. 

[vonfirmath]

I was an early reader and LOVE reading now too. My husband is in the same boat.

 

Of my sister's kids, two were not early readers. One (age 13) loves reading now and the other (age 11)... is just beginning to enjoy reading. Only time will tell if he reads for fun in the future or not.

 

My son was an early reader and still enjoys reading at the ripe "old" age of 7.

 

[vonfirmath]

Another important difference between wtm and the general public is that the overwhelming majority of our children are taught phonics, either in learning to read or later in learning to spell. Early readers in the general public usually learn via sight, making them more susceptible to the 4th grade slump.

 

Depends on how they learn.  The Leapfrog Videos are VERY generally popular and are phonics based, not sight.

[forty-two]

I was an early reader (age 2) and I've always *loved* to read. My dh learned in first grade, so age 6 or so (I don't know when he was fluent, but obviously not early per this poll), and he's a fairly big reader - not as much as me, but he goes through at least a couple of books every month. Dd8 became fluent between 6.5 and 7 and she loves to read as much as me, although she does have some difficulties (we don't know what yet, although I wonder about stealth dyslexia, but there's clearly *something*) - they've made spelling and writing in general very difficult for her, and learning to read was a fair bit of work, but now that things have clicked reading-wise, you can't keep her out of books :lol:.

[Mandylubug]

I voted other. My girls are diagnosed dyslexic/dysgraphic/dyscalculic and still struggle with reading. However, they BEG to read. All the time. They don't want me to read most of the time. They want to slog through it..I typically end up reading for them after they exhaust themselves.

 

I was a late reader and looking at possibly a stealth dyslexic myself. I haven't been formally diagnosed as my girls have but I have many of the same issues at times. I didn't read heavily in PS. I could read aloud very well once I figured out how to read in 2nd. My comprehension was horrid and I didn't learn my lessons from my texts. It wasn't until I was out of high school that I really found my love for books. I've read over 200 books in 3 years. I'm not the fastest reader but I do love it.

[Tanikit]

My girls read early - my eldest loves reading and devours books though she is still young and the younger one is not fluent yet though it is coming rapidly. 

 

As far as my siblings were concerned - my sister read fluently by 3 (she was reading Beatrix Potter at 3) and loved to read, I read by 4 though fluency probably came closer to 5 and I loved to read, my twin brother struggled more with reading and was dyslexic, however by high school he was reading extremely rapidly and loved to read. My younger brother learnt to read at school when he was 6 and probably likes reading less than the rest of us - he didn't hate it, but I had the feeling he read less than the rest of us.

 

All of us learnt to read initially with sight words and then followed up with phonics also done at an early age. My brother with dyslexia definitely did better when phonics was taught more explicitly.

[FO4UR]

My early reader (reading Little House on the Prairie at 5/6yo.) taught herself to read, and still loves reading

 

My dyslexic loves audiobooks more than reading for himself.  It's still tiring for him to read for any length of time even though he can read well.

 

My 8yo was a late reader by PS measures, and loves reading as much my early reader. 

 

 

 

 

I think it has more to do with the methodology.  If a child is pushed too hard, they will not enjoy the process and probably not enjoy the activity as a result.

 

 

Lack of comprehension is a different ball of wax.  The problem is inherent in a classroom experience.  Comprehension and communicating what one comprehends takes individual work, and plenty of talking.  Kids in a classroom don't generally have the opportunity to give an oral narration of what they read.  They expected to jump to written (and worksheets with multiple choice questions)...that works like a lead ball.

[dirty ethel rackham]

Another thread, and articles I've read over the past couple of years, as well as life with my own DD, make me wonder how early reading affects the enjoyment of books over the years. (ETA: I've read studies that say teaching reading early, as is done in schools now, lead to issues in reading comprehension by the age of 12, hence the poll.) I myself was an early reader, and devoured books throughout childhood (and became an author.) So I've been taking the studies that say there may be a correlation between early reading and later issues in reading comprehension or enjoyment with a grain of salt. But I'm curious as to what the experiences of the members of this board have been.

 

(I realize WTM parents are somewhat different from much of the general public in that most of us are probably readers ourselves and teach the love of books from an early age, so are more likely to have children who enjoy reading.)

 

I think the biggest issues with teaching reading early and later problems have to do with forcing early reading on a child who is not developmentally ready.  In a school, it is one-size-fits-all instruction and the goal is to have everyone in the same place.  There is no room for a kid who is an outlier (on either end, really.)  I am not sure it is an issue with homeschooling because most parents are going to move at the pace of their child and make sure that the foundations are in place. 

 

In our situation, my early reader taught himself to read.  We had done some early phonics, but mostly just letter sounds as part of regular play.  There was no push here ... I discovered one day that he knew how  to read ... he figured it out after hours and hours of read-alouds. 

 

My next two were not really fluent readers until age 7 or 8 and they went from struggling with sentences to reading Harry Potter withing a matter of months.  All of my kids went through a serious love of reading.  You almost never found them without a book in their hands.  Dd14 is still like that (even though she is a social butterfly.)  Ds20 still likes to read, but doesn't read "books" for pleasure so much as blogs and websites about subjects that fascinate him (science and music mostly.)  But, he does like book coma every once in a while when he has time.  Ds18 does not read books for pleasure so much (likes literature classes, but doesn't pick up books for fun.)  But, like his brother, he does spend hours reading blogs and websites on topics that interest him - mostly music and politics.

 

[Ad astra]

I have an early reader and a non-verbal toddler. Honestly, I can't even imagine that anybody can possibly "force" her child to read or learn anything early before they are developmentally ready to do so without causing trauma or tears. It'd be too exhausting for both sides! To me, keeping my kids happy and healthy all the time is far more important than teaching anything to them. In most states, your children don't even take a national standardized test in early grades, so what's the comparison for? How do you assume what others are doing with their kids is a "fad" or "push" for forcing reading? How would you know if it's not driven by their kids? What kind of parent would ever have her kids suffer or feel miserable for the sake of early reading? There may be a few like that, but I think it'd be realistically much easier to find parents who don't hesitate to hand over an iPad to a 2yo or spend hours on iphone while putting their kids in front of TV. And being a natural early reader does not mean the kid will always enjoy reading or have no issues later, either. Every child is so different that some teach themselves, some others love to do seat work at an early age and others don't want to have anything to do with learning until much later, so why so many people freaking out when someone's asking advice for teaching reading to her precocious 2yo? It seems too easy to judge others for hothousing or pushing only with what you see from the outside, and that's the fad I see more often here or in other groups. Just my thought.

[Crimson Wife]

  What kind of parent would ever have her kids suffer or feel miserable for the sake of early reading? 

 

Parents who are obsessed with getting their kids in Ivy League universities and think the way to do so is to get the child into the "right" private elementary school that will automatically lead to the "right" prep school and so on down the line. The "best" elementary schools in my area do admissions testing and one of the things they do look at is early literacy.

 

"Nursery University" is about Manhattan but the same thing goes on where I live. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/movies/24nurs.html?_r=0

[asmall]

Neither of my girls were early readers. My oldest didn't really start to read on her own until she was eleven. But now she reads a backpack full of books each week! My other daughter started reading when she was ten. She reads every night before bed, not because we make her, because she wants to.

When my girls were 5-6 years old we tried teaching reading, but it always ended in tears, so I backed off and waited. Everyone kept telling me my kids were behind, that they needed to be tested, but I really didn't want to put either of them through that. I was worried because they weren't reading yet, but I kept telling myself they would read when they were ready. (It did help that both my girls loved to be read to, and listened to books on CDs all the time. That was probably the only reason I kept it together under all the pressure.)

Honestly, I believe with my kids if I had pushed reading when they weren't ready, they both would dislike reading.

AL

[Ad astra]

Parents who are obsessed with getting their kids in Ivy League universities and think the way to do so is to get the child into the "right" private elementary school that will automatically lead to the "right" prep school and so on down the line. The "best" elementary schools in my area do admissions testing and one of the things they do look at is early literacy.

 

"Nursery University" is about Manhattan but the same thing goes on where I live. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/24/movies/24nurs.html?_r=0

 

I know such pushy parents exist. It's probably worse in my home country. I don't understand such obsession nor do I want to. Among homeschooling parents, however, I think that's a pretty extreme story. I don't believe there are many homeschooling parents who push their kids to read early before they are ready or against their wish. For what? Homeschooling is to meet individual needs for each child, right? But still, so many people seem to quickly call anybody doing it hothousing even in the homeschooling communities. You ask suggestions on educational apps or tv programs for 2yo, you get countless enthusiastic replies. You ask where to start to teach reading to 2yo, you get reproaches. (Not that I want to do it to my younger one. She won't be ready at least for another few years. And I didn't start teaching my son until he was showing signs at 3.5yo.)

[Maela]

I learned to read in kindergarten and love to read.

 

Dd was reading fluently at four(?) might have been a couple of months before. She reads all. The. Time. She's seven now.

 

Ds just became fluent about six months ago - he's now almost five. He loves books and reading, but maybe slightly less than Dd. He's not obsessed like she is. Maybe that's because it's not as easy for him, but I think he's just more into physical activities.

[maize]

I didn't learn to read until I was 8, but was homeschooled at the time and not pressured (mom would give me lessons for awhile, then when I didn't make progress would just put the lessons aside and try again several months later). When I did learn, I went from sounding out words to reading David Copperfield within a year. I've been a voracious reader ever since.'

 

One of my children became fluent in reading when she was 5, another at 6, my third is not reading fluently yet and will be turning 7 this year. Both my older kids enjoy reading for pleasure.

[Pamela H in Texas]

DD1 was reading chapter books by 3 years old.  She still reads A LOT and for pleasure.

DS1 didn't read well until well past average.  He wouldn't dare pick up a book, but he reads various things (nonfiction) online for pleasure.  He wouldn't say he LIKES reading though.

DD2 learned to read just before Kindy and well in Kindergarten.  She likes reading for pleasure.

DS2 learned to read well in 1st grade and likes to read for pleasure.

DS3 has not yet learned to read well but really enjoys early readers and books in general.

[wintermom]

I didn't become comfortable with reading for pleasure until I was older that 8 years old. I read a lot now. My parents didn't really model reading for me and we never had a lot of books in our home. They brought me to the library and read to me as a very young child. I bought my own books when I was old enough to have spending money.

 

My dh is a reader. He read the family encyclopedia for pleasure, and anything else he could get his hands on. There were lots of books in his home growing up.

 

Our 4 dc enjoy reading. They all learned around age 5. None of them learned on their own. I taught them through phonics, which worked well for them. We have a million books of all sorts in the house. The dc have a variety of tastes. They're all really physically active, too, so books are usually a bedtime activity when not directly assigned for school.

[boscopup]

Both of my early readers taught themselves, and they love reading. The 10 year old always has his nose in a book. My 5 year old is getting that way also, though he's still in early chapter books (like Magic Tree House).

 

My struggling reader is starting to click now at 7. He likes reading IF it's low enough level to be easy. He also loves being read to. I think he will enjoy reading when he has progressed enough that chapter books are easy. My dad was a late reader also, and by middle school he was reading the entire science fiction section of his local library.

 

I do think pushing reading on a child not developmentally ready would hamper their love of reading. Also schools typically have AR programs that require a lot of reading and answering comprehension questions. My kids don't have to do that stuff. They can just read. So reading remains enjoyable.

[Mimm]

Both my kids were reading fluently in kindergarten and love books and read pretty much daily for pleasure. My youngest sister was 3 and reading very well and reads for pleasure to this day and always has through her entire childhood. Early reading has most definitely not led to people not enjoying reading when they're older for the people in my life. Nor has late reading been an indication that someone is a non-reader. One of my brothers simply couldn't learn the alphabet till he was six but once he learned he loved to read and still does. I think love of reading has more to do with one's family culture. If books are bought and enjoyed by all, if kids grow up surrounded by books and are given their own books that they own, they are more likely to be readers. Not fool proof, but more likely. :)

[Tracy]

I think there is a difference between kids who learn to read early because they want to and have a natural aptitude for it and kids who read early because they are taught sight words rather than phonics.  (Of course, there is third group who learns to read early because they are taught phonics early, but outside of homeschooling, this is not a large group.)  I think kids that are pushed into reading earlier than they are ready using the sight word method are bound to struggle later.  And unfortunately, these days that is a very large group of kids.  

[SilverMoon]

I think it has far more to do with *how* they're taught than when. I've had early and late bloomers, and they've all turned into bookworms. *shrug*

 

To answer the question, my kids, and when they were fluent readers:

#1 - 5

#2 - 8

#3 - 5-6

#4 - 3, reading chapter books independently by 5

#5 - 6

#6 is nearly 4. He knows letters and sounds, and recently started sounding out cvc words. He's learned this all through play and has never touched curriculum.

 

They all learned phonetically, and none of them were pushed before they were developmentally ready. They all read for pleasure. I've raised a pile of bookworms.

[Korrale]

I taught my son to read when he was 2. He certainly didn't teach himself. I used a sight word method. I introduced phonics when he was 3 but he has already intuited phonics so it was barely needed. I gently reinforce phonics via spelling

He was a fluent reader by 3. As in reading Charlotte's Web.

He will be 5 at the end of the year and he is an extremely avid reader. He reads a variety of things. Pictures books, board books, chapter books. He can read pretty much anything I put in front of him barely stumbling over any words. His comprehension is so-so with high level text due to him understand vocabulary more than for any other reason.

Somethings I think we do that makes him love reading is that we don't do TV. We buddy read. Or I just read to him a lot. And we use audiobooks during nap and night time. Reading is something we love to do together. So many characters in the books he reads come to life for him. When we go for our walks he will ask me many questions about the things in the books he reads. I have to read rapidly to try and keep up with him! He even named his new puppy Heidi after recently reading the book.

 

I was an early reader, not at precocious as my son. I was just learning to read at 3. I am an avid reader. I used to read 800 page books in an evening by moonlight when I was a teen. We had a strict lights out by 8:30pm in my house. I used to read books under my desk in class's at school. I always read in the car and on the bus. I even read while I went for walks. I used to read the shampoo bottle when I was in the bath.

Today I don't read fiction as much as I used to. But I am constantly reading. Mostly non fiction.

[MyHandsAreFull]

I have one early reader (3) who now doesn't really seem to enjoy reading much and one late reader (7-8) who loves reading. Both have similar VCI / "verbal IQ" scores (gifted range). The one who loves to read is a horrible speller but otherwise neither has any diagnosed LDs. Go figure...

[Grover]

I have two self taught disgustingly early readers.  I fully intended to teach them to read at 4.5, but that ship had well and truly sailed by then, the little blighters. 

 

DS is now 7.5 and has his nose in a book when it's not glued to a chess board.  Actually, I stand corrected, at this very moment he has his nose in a book AND is playing chess.  He lists reading, chess, maths and science as his "equal favourite" things.  He loves fiction and nonfiction equally.

 

DD is 5.5 and has devoured nonfiction for some time, but has been less enthusiastic about reading fiction until her recent discovery of Artemis Fowl.  She loooooooves those books.  She also loves Asterix. 

[duckens]

1) As Andrew Pudewa of IEW says:

Children LIKE to do what they know they can do.

They WANT to do what they think they can do.

And they DON'T WANT to do what they don't think they can do.

2) Are children who are naturally early readers going to read earlier and enjoy it?  Will children who don't have that as a natural talent struggle, and therefore not enjoy it?

 

Example: I am NOT naturally athletic.  I rarely enjoyed gym class.  Shooting baskets and learning to swim is something that has always been much harder for me than my peers.  I struggle with it as an adult.

 

3) Reading Comprehension in older children:

Isn't this more because we as adults drop the ball on reading with the children in our care (whether we are parents or school teachers)?  "Oh, Johnny is reading well now that he's in 3rd grade, so I don't need to read with him."

 

--Bedtime stories end.

--Reading stories one together step up in vocabulary and sentence length from what the student can read ends.

--Discussing complex ideas in the reading ends.
 

Then we wonder why older kids can't read beyond a 3rd grade level. 

A common myth of parenting is that our children don't need us as they get older.  That's not true.  They just need us in different ways.

4) Enjoying reading and access to many good books.
Dd7 has taken off with reading "for pleasure" by reading many, many, many graphic novels.

 

BUT

--We attend the library/bookmobile weekly, and encourage her to check out as many books of any kind that she chooses.

--Our library has an insanely exceptional and enormous graphic novel section.  And dd is always overjoyed when we request the new book in a series, and it finally arrives for her first.  <Thank you to Anastasia, our children's librarian in charge of Graphic Novels!>
 

[....]

Here's what I've noticed from my 4 kids:

 

7th grader - reader (4-5), struggles with spelling (very poor spelling for a loooong time), strong reading skills, will read for enjoyment

6th grader - very late reader (8-9), excellent speller (I mean, like photographic memory speller), reads more than the 7th grader

4th grader -  reader (about 5), good speller and a great writer, strong reader, will read when reminded to read something, but won't just read on her own

1st grader -  reader (4-5), good speller/writer for her age, will only read when I tell her we need to read something

 

I've noticed more of a pattern with early readers and spelling.  My kids who read the latest have the best spelling.

[mom2att]

Neurobiological research is showing that inefficient pathways in the brain are formed when reading is forced before the corpus callosum is fully formed. This happens between 3and 8, which explains why the traditional age of reading is 5-8. Because the proper areas of the brain are unavailable, the techniques of reading most be laid down in less efficient areas, or a child must form alternative technique,like subbing word recognition for phonics. Kind of like how you can accidentally train your dog to bark if she barks between performing a commanded action and receiving a treat. She associates the treat with the bark. A child who is not capable of blending phonemes may learn to identity words by their shape instead. The teacher/parent shows a flashcard, the child guesses the word, yay! He can read! Except he really can't. Eventually he will move past the point when he can memorize every word in a book, and then he's stuck. 

 

This is fascinating, and one would hope something that school administrators would take into account when setting grade-level standards.  But alas, they seem to be ignoring the research and pushing reading at earlier and earlier ages, neglecting to wait for brain readiness and lay a solid foundation.  And then they scratch their heads and wonder why the kids start to really struggle with reading AND comprehension in middle school.  They really do everyone a disservice by pushing reading so early.

 

I have one who pretty much taught herself to read at 4, and has always been the kind of kid who would rather read than eat.  My other two were average to late readers who required much more direct instruction, and their love of reading is (hopefully) still developing.

 

 

[nature girl]

This is fascinating, and one would hope something that school administrators would take into account when setting grade-level standards.  But alas, they seem to be ignoring the research and pushing reading at earlier and earlier ages, neglecting to wait for brain readiness and lay a solid foundation.  And then they scratch their heads and wonder why the kids start to really struggle with reading AND comprehension in middle school.  They really do everyone a disservice by pushing reading so early.

 

Yes, and I wonder whether this is why sight words are pushed so heavily in K at many schools. Sure they'll teach letter sounds, but from what I've seen, once those are learned they don't put nearly enough emphasis on decoding and blending. They think they're reducing illiteracy rates, but it's like the kids are show ponies...Look, our whole K class can blow through readers fluently! But really they're missing the forest for the trees if it's true that so many kids just aren't ready for decoding yet. It looks impressive, and satisfies the regulators and those in charge of choosing curricula, but it isn't real.

[....]

Yes, and I wonder whether this is why sight words are pushed so heavily in K at many schools. Sure they'll teach letter sounds, but from what I've seen, once those are learned they don't put nearly enough emphasis on decoding and blending. They think they're reducing illiteracy rates, but it's like the kids are show ponies...Look, our whole K class can blow through readers fluently! But really they're missing the forest for the trees if it's true that so many kids just aren't ready for decoding yet. It looks impressive, and satisfies the regulators and those in charge of choosing curricula, but it isn't real.

 

I posted this before...but my neighbor's son is having trouble learning to read (he's 9).  He brought home some of those little booklets that he's supposed to read at home for practice.  Well, he could read the books that were sent home.  She noticed that he couldn't read other stuff, so she did a little experiment.  She wrote out a sentence from the booklet he brought home, cut out the words, rearranged the word order and he could not read the words.   :glare:  

 

It's like they're teaching them what to read and having the kids memorize the sentences or something without even decoding the letter sounds.  And then they come home and "read" the books.   :confused:   Weird!

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Both my kids were reading by 5, but my really early reader was reading picture books/early readers by age 3.  He could recognize numbers and letters before 18 months.  His younger brother needed to be taught more and while he could read, he wasn't truly fluent until almost 6.  Now that they are 10 and 11?  They both still like reading, but the younger one out reads the older one by far.  Not in comprehension, but in volume.

[Runningmom80]

My ds taught himself around 2.  He would point to words, I'd tell him what they said, and then he knew them, there were no flash cards. He figured out phonics on his own as well. He still loves reading, we caught him last night at 11pm under the covers with a flashlight.   

 

 

 

My twins learned phonetically at their preschool near the end of this past year.   They don't love reading as much as their brother, but they may warm up to it as they get older, and it becomes easier.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

kiddo was an early reader but now that he's 11 it's hard to get him to read anything that doesn't deal with minecraft or computers