What point did your dc enjoy reading?

[Gwenny]

Is there a certain point in learning to read where children suddenly enjoy reading? My dd is 5.5 years old and reading well, about 1st grade level I quess, but doesn't seem much interested in reading books on her own. While we are at the library, she will happily read a few easy readers without any prodding, but once at home, she has little interest.

 

I see so many other children at even very beginning levels that are so proud of their reading. She shows very little pride in being able to read and doesn't feel like she is a good reader. She also gets frustrated extremely easily-one word she can't read, and she will throw a mini-fit!

 

Do I just wait (while still going through PP), and one day she will come to enjoy reading? She LOVES to be read to and we do plenty of read-alouds (picture books and longer novels).

Gwen

[Chris in VA]

I'm sure you've been told before, she's really young. My dd's interest was sparked when she picked up Little House in The Big Woods, a book we had read twice before. She didn't realize she could read it until, well, she did! She went from being unable to read a simple Henry and Mudge to reading Little House in 3 months. From there on, no stopping this chickie!

 

I think the motivation for some comes from the material. When they reach a point where reading isn't so darned hard, and they want to know what the book says (how to do something, how the story ends, etc.), it seems to me they get more enjoyment out of it.

 

Just keep going with PP and keep reading to her.

[KellyGirl]

for my ds. He was very much like your dd - loved to be read to, but didn't want to read himself. When he was as young as your dd, incetives like "Book It" or summer reading at the library really helped him want to read but the books still had be kept very simple.

 

I think he in mid to late first grade before he started reading just because he could, and still he would not challenge himself. Even though they can read simple books at this age, it's a lot more work for them than it is for us. Now he is in fourth grade, and I always have to tell him things like "no library books at the table." His nose is always in a book now, so be patient and keep reading to her!

[Pongo]

I agree with incentives at that age. ;) I go to the dollar store every week and I pick up a couple of things I put in a "prize box". I picked up the plastic bin at the dollar store, and we wrote "reading rewards" on it. I started this when my oldest , now 5th grade was 4 years old.

I now use it mostly for my 6 year old, although my older two will beg for some little trinket from it every now and then:001_huh:

I have a 3 x 5 index card in it, I make 10 squares on the front and 10 on the back. Every time my dd reads for 25 minutes she gets a sticker to put in the box. Once one side is filled, she gets to pick a prize from the bin.

Now, I don't know if this made them love reading, but it DID get them to read a whole lot, and from that fluency of reading it started to become easy to read. Once something it "easy" it's more enjoyable, doesn't feel like work.

I am happy to say I have 3 very different learners, that all read extremely well.

[rafiki]

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[Susie in CA]

Both my dss did not enjoy reading on their own until they could read what interested them. For my younger ds this happend in about mid-1st grade. My older son, however, did not like to read until mid-3rd grade. Now they both enjoy reading. It is my younger son who loves to read, though.

 

Susie

[Melissa H. in GA]

My ds is in 2nd grade. He has been a fluent reader for a good year or so, but didn't want to read.

 

Several months ago, I picked up some Peanuts books from the library and this has totally changed his attitude! He will actually turn the TV off and curl up on the couch and read!!!!!

 

Be patient and above all, keep reading to your child.

 

Melissa

[Jenny in Florida]

. . . they started to really love reading when their ability to read and comprehend began to catch up with their interest levels.

 

It seems to me that so many of the early readers we give kids are just really boring and pointless. And, for a bright child who has been read to all along and learned to enjoy more interesting and challenging stories, there's not a lot of reward for the hard work of trudging through those silly things.

 

So, my daughter really fell in love with reading when she was about 5.5, I think. That was when she made the sudden leap from painfully sounding out sentences one word at a time to being able to read chapter books. She basically skipped most of the "early readers," preferring to go more slowly through higher level books. The first chapter books she read all the way through was the first Harry Potter. It took her a month, but she did it. And after that, she just took off and could read anything she wanted to.

 

It took a little longer for my son. I don't think he really turned that corner until he was about 7. Even then, he read simpler stuff than my daughter had, but he liked anything that was funny. So, he read and re-read the whole Black Lagoon series (by Mike Thayer) and other, similar stuff before gaining enough confidence to make the big jump to "real" chapter books at about age 8.

[MIch elle]

I've given up on that dream a long time ago. My dc read prefer to listen to books on tape or being read to. They do not read in their free time. I've learned this is more common in boys than with girls.

 

I love to read and have multiple books going at a time.

[Veritaserum]

My oldest was 6.75. After I finished reading My Father's Dragon she wanted read the sequel. My second (6.5) is still working on the mechanics of reading. Once she gets those down I think she'll enjoy being able to read storied herself instead of having to ask someone else. :)

[In The Great White North]

1st was 10, 2nd was 8, 3rd was 9.

 

It happened when they discovered something they thought was worth reading for the fun of it. Before that, reading was work.

[The Governess]

My dd4 has shown a strong interest in reading since she learned how to read, but she does still have some ups and downs. A couple of things I've noticed that I think have helped us:

 

I bring home books from the library for her that are a grade below her reading level, in addition to books that are at her reading level. That way if she is in one of her "i'm too tired to read this book" or "this book is too hard for me" moods, she can find a book that is easier to read and doesn't require her to think so much. I think of it as the difference between a mass-market paperback for an adult and a challenging classic. Sometimes, you just don't want to have to try so hard. :001_smile:

 

She also has 30 minutes of quiet time each day where she is required to lay on my bed with some books she has selected. Sometimes she says she doesn't want to read, and I tell her that's fine, she doesn't have to, but she still needs to rest on my bed. She almost always decides to read the books, and is usually still reading past the 30 minute mark. :D

[Mommy22alyns]

She is still young, and she's still working at reading. I'd keep letting her read as many easy readers as she wants while keeping up read-alouds with her. When you read longer books out loud, "take turns" with her - have her read a paragraph or so and then you take over for a few pages.

 

Ease into it. The last thing you want to do at such a young age is make reading drudgery or a chore. :001_smile:

[klmama]

I think the motivation for some comes from the material.

 

 

:iagree: When my 2nd was younger, reading was a major chore. Finally, I found a funny reader on a topic this dc loves. Suddenly, reading was interesting and fun. It took off from there, and now this dc is the one that loves to read the most.

[EKS]

My boys began to enjoy reading and reading for pleasure on their own when they read fluently on about a 3rd or 4th grade level. For my older son that was when he was 9 and for my younger one when he was 5.

[Jean in La]

When we took DS out of public school at the end of 2nd grade, he hated to read. We started using Sonlight in 3rd grade, and now he cannot get enough to read. He's now in 6th, and just today, our schedule was to read 1 chapter in an Eric lidell biography, well, he read 5 chapters!

This is almost everyday.:)

[Oakblossoms]

I have all boys and so far around 8 they take off in their actual reading skills. Nothing seems to click before 8. They both started with Calvin and Hobbes. At present, our 11 year old is reading the entire Lord of the Rings.

[sjp]

i started encouraging him to read kids novels when he was around six by reading a couple of william steig books and stuart little to him out loud, (before that i had just read shorter childrens books out loud) and then stocked the school room with a broad assortment of other books i assured him would be just as enjoyable. he read charlotte's web for that reason and then started in on the roald dahl boxed set. he just loves all the books in that collection. now he sees reading kids novels as better than tv (yeah!)

 

i did buy him a couple really easy things from the geronimo stilton collection as well as some batman comic books to get him going, but honestly he isn't particularly interested in the former. (who doesn't love comic books) i highly reccomend roald dahl, eb white and william steig for new novel readers. edward eggers is good too.

 

and yes similarly to the other respondents, mid-first grade is when i saw this sea-change in reading kids novels.

[Tami]

My dd was almost 10 before she enjoyed reading. It took her quite a while to become fluent enough to enjoy it. Until that time came, we did lots of short reading practice sessions and tons of reading-aloud. There is no magic answer, phonics program, or reading program that will accelerate fluency - each child is different. It is just time and practice. Lots of easy reading, lost of practice, practice, practice, and plenty of stimulating read-alouds are what worked for us.

 

Eventually it is also important to find genres and authors that your child can connect with. Simple trial and error is called for, along with not allowing one's self to be too tied to The Best Booklist or The Best Curriculum.

 

I haven't read the other posts, so sorry if this is same-same.

Edited November 11, 2008 by Tami

[In the Rain]

My dd began to enjoy reading around 6yo, when she discovered Cam Jansen books. Like some other posters mentioned, my dd just didn't like early readers. She said that they were hard to read because people didn't talk like that. She preferred easy chapter books like Cam Jansen, A to Z Mysteries and Boxcar Children.

[Jenny in Atl]

I feel so luck, both of mine loved to read from an early age ~ 2nd/3rd grade. They read not just for school but for fun as well. I really feel it is 3/4ths the battle when it comes to a good general education. We are still working on the other 4th. :lol:

[Gwenny]

Thanks for all the replies! I guess I just need to relax and wait until it comes easier to her. I was hoping she would love it right away since she loves books so much. She carries her books (novels we read aloud together) around the house with her like they are her friends. She even sleeps with at least 3 books tucked into her bed. Every night I have to say goodnight to Jessie, Violet, Henry, and Benny from the Boxcar Children and she talks about them so much I think they are my children. I'll hear her laughing sometimes and when I ask her why, she'll say: "Oh, it's just something Benny's doing, that's all. He is so silly!" Sorry to ramble on, and thanks again for all the advice.

Gwen

[AnneC]

My boys began to enjoy reading and reading for pleasure on their own when they read fluently on about a 3rd or 4th grade level. For my older son that was when he was 9 and for my younger one when he was 5.

:iagree: My dd was reading at about a 3rd grade level when she started reading for fun, so was my ds. My other ds is not quite there yet and does not read for fun.

[MerryAtHope]

One of mine always loved reading, although this year, at 9.5, she says it is "so much more fun" because she can read bigger words--and hence longer books that are more fun & involved. My oldest didn't like reading until he was 10.

 

Merry :-)

[Peela]

Ds was 9.5- hang in there! He is 13 now and has read at an adult level for years now!

It was a particular book, at a particular time....I had continued to read aloud every day (which he loved), continued to have him read to me the bare minimum aloud, which he disliked. He was just starting to read to himself happily for some time each day- but only because I made it part of school. He did not LIKE reading much- it was hard work- but he loved stories and has always loved dragons, myths, medieval stories. Then I was reading a particular book aloud (Sea of Trolls), and he asked me if he could continue to read it himself when I had run out of voice! He took it out of my hands...and has never looked back. This kid is dyslexic, learned to read when about 8, has learning issues...his dad doesn't read due to dyslexia and kind of giving up. We never did books aloud, I just read aloud each evening before bed and again during school time, and limited TV/electronics.

She is 5.5. Plenty of time.

[PollyOR]

For my girls it has been 10 years old. I have them read before that of course, but they didn't pick up books willingly until they were about 10.

 

My 3rd dd didn't really start reading until she was 8, and it is taking her longer to love reading. She wants to read chapter books but still needs too much help to do sustained silent reading on her own.

[Peek a Boo]

my oldest was an avid reader at 6yo, but my 2d JUST started reading alone for fun this year at 11yo. He's been listening to us read for a few years now, and would read teh Lego catalog and Bionicle comic books and Pokemon stuff, but i am soooo glad to see him finish a REAL book and want more.

 

hang in there and keep reading to them!

[Melissa in Australia]

for my children it seems to happen around the age of 11. before that they find reading a real drag.