Reading before kinder?

The twin's cousin is already "reading". She's six months younger than the girls. However she is not sounding out new words so I think she just has some common site words memorized so is that really even reading. I hate the whole dick and Jane method of teaching kids to read because of this. But my real question is how many kids have read before kinder? And was it by site words or actual sounding out?

 

The reasoning behind sight words is there are some words that can't be sounded out by using the normal sounds for letters, therefore they are called sight words. However, my girls can read some, and they do a combination of sight words, which we work on, and sounding out, for words like cat, dog, etc. Also, there are books that we have read so much, that they can now read those as well (like hop on pop, cat in the hat, etc) which are pretty much memorization and sight words, although now they can sound out many of the words they don't know.

 

I teach kinder and first. In my experience, kids who come in reading have learned to read both ways: by phonics (sounding out) and/or by sight words. When they are in kinder, they are taught to read the same way. They will be given words to memorize and will learn to blend sounds (short vowels, some long vowels) to read simple words.

Sometimes, kids that are read to a lot before kinder just start picking up the words. Some just start reading. Some, like my own, have mommies that are kinder teachers and try to teach them the basics, and they just don't care! So yes, it sounds like their cousin is what I would call an "emerging" reader.

 

Both of my older boys read before the typical "age" of kindergarten, one at 3 and one at 4. They learned phonics. And to be completely honest with you, I truly believe that it all pans out in the end. Some kids may read earlier, but the other kids eventually catch up to them. Obviously, there are children who are profoundly gifted that may continue to be miles ahead, but many early readers are just that, early.
My one son has been ahead for years, but I truly think that kids are starting to "catch" up to him. The other is younger and it's yet to be seen if he will continue to be ahead. I'm just happy that they like to learn and continue to enjoy reading.

 

My grandson who just turned 4 can sound out words and does recognize many sight words. But he's been generally ahead developmentally. He'll be starting pre-school in the fall and I'm kind of excited to see how he'll progress.

 

Ian reads - started when he was just over 4 and Abby could care less - she'd rather flirt!!!

 

My twins were reading fluently when they started Kindergarten. Peyton, who is going into 1st grade this coming school year, can not read anything but the sight words they were given in Kindergarten last year. Each child is different and reads at different times.

 

That was questionable when we had the teacher/parent conference back in April with our twins'. Their teacher asked us if we do a lot of flash cards/phonic/leap frogs? We told her that we started Signing Times' and 'Leap Frogs' videos when they were 12 months old. It is when they gradually pick up the letters/pictures/sight words. We were told that they are 'beyond Kindergarten' in their evaluation with numbers over 100, letters & sounds, mathematics, and literacy.

And yes, they have to go to preschool this Fall because they missed the cut off date for Sept 1st. I am concerned on how it is going to be when they already know all of the 'things' by K? I think my son is going to be part of many miles ahead than my daughter because she does not have same 'enthusiastic' as her brother. So, I do agree, each child will developed different pace. There so many children reading a lot earlier in these days.

 

My girls read sight words already. My girls too missed the cut off but I think it was good socially as jessy cried 10 min a day for the whole first month even when jazz was in the same class

 

None of mine have entered K reading. Isabel learned some sight words in K, but really took off reading in 1st grade. In 2nd grade last year, she was reading at a 4th grade level. Abby and Gabe just ended Jr. K and will be starting K in the fall. Abby is more interested in writing words, but has to ask how to spell them. They know how to read and write family names and a few common sight words, but that's it. I'm not too worried. They'll pick it up, hopefully as quickly as Isabel.

 

A&S started recognizing some words when they were barely 4, and I thought for sure they'd be early readers. But they're now over 5.5 and will be starting K in 2 months, and neither of them is really reading. They've increased the number of words they can recognize, and sometimes they will sound out a new word if it's very similar to one they already know and it's very phonetic (like "book - hook"). But they can't just look at a page and read it to me, even if all the words are familiar and/or easy.

At our K orientation, the teacher said some kids enter K reading fluently, and some can barely recognize their own names. There is a huge range, and while parental involvement has something to do with it, a lot of it is just natural aptitude and level of interest.

I have to say, though, that I can't wait for them to learn to read just because I think they will enjoy it so much! And hopefully it will be another way for them to amuse themselves without my help.

 

This is one reason I think separating my 2 is going to be the best option. Addison learns so fast and has so much interest Ava could care less and even if I try to read a book to her she is good for 2 minutes and then wants to move on. Addison will probably be reading before she enters k Ava probably not. I learned to read by memorizing words the Dick and Jane method. DH did not and I am a way way better speller than he is. He wants to spell everything the way it sounds.

 

Jon started reading at 3 1/2. Fluently, I didn't "do" anything to teach him--other than reading books. We discovered he could read when we found him reading Curious George to himself. Marcus did not read at all going into K. Jon has always been a few grade levels ahead, while at the end of 1st, Marcus was right on level. Over that summer he decided to read and jumped up about 2 levels. Now, going into 4th grade, both boys are reading at the same level (way above grade level). My point is, early reading is not necessarily a predictor of future success.

 

Neither of mine read going into K, and they are among the oldest in their class (November b-day). They knew the letters, respective sounds and could recognize their names and the names of their friends. The progressed well in K, learning quickly. But in 1st, their reading really took off. Both tested into the Gifted program and are reading above grade level. And this all from boys who had no words until 22 months, got speech therapy (although I know that ability to read and understand isn't necessarily linked to ability to express one's self verbally), and are learning Spanish simultaneously in the classroom. So much for my concerns that they would start out behind and have trouble throughout their school years.

 

Mine do a combination of both sight words and sounding words out. They will start K in the fall. I'm a teacher (3rd grade) and don't push it. We just read a lot to them and Katelyn decided she wanted to read herself. I picked up BOB books at Costco that are very simple and they can read those on their own. I was surprised by how well they could read them since I had planned to work on leanring to read with them using the books, but they could read them already. It was a nice surprise to see how much they picked up with just us reading to them. My girls probably log 40 mins to an hour of being read to a day. Days with my parents often include 2 hours of reading throughout the day-my dad will read to them instead of watching TV etc. He goes to the library and gets 20+ books for the days the girls are there.

 

Thank you for this thread! :bow2:

And thank you Kate for this!! I have been embarrassed because our friends are reading and we're not...just no interest. This makes me feel better.

 

I've heard this, that by about 3rd grade, it all evens out and the early readers aren't on average ahead of the kids who started at a more "normal" age. My oldest read fluently at early 4. She has actually always been a quite advanced reader and speller. We homeschool and I've never needed to do any kind of spelling program with her, and she now tests out at a college level. One of my boys is dyslexic and didn't really start reading until about 9. He's 11 and tests just slightly above grade level. But he's actually reading some very difficult books and understanding them. I think it's partly that he's still a slow reader and doesn't test well. Anyway, I wouldn't let it get you down.

But the one thing I did want to say is that if a child is unable to sound out words, they're obviously not going to be a good reader. But being able to read by sight words is how any fluent reader reads. It just gets to a point where we can look at something and know what it says, except for the rare, unfamiliar word.

 

Mine know all the sounds and sound words out, they're working on the blending. They also recognize about 30 sight words. Reading here starts much earlier, but I do believe it evens out at age 8-9. My oldest is in Year 2, going int Year 3, just 7 and reads above average but way above her peers back home who start reading a year (if not 2) later. However, mine are all quite interested, so that helps.

 

Not go to OT, but spelling has to do with the way your brain learns in general, not how you are taught to read. Visual learners spell well (I am a visual learner), but other types of learners find spelling much more difficult, even if they practice diligently. DS1 is a kinetic learner. He can just watch a bit of anything with movement and imitate it exactly (complex dance moves, a Kimodo dragon, the Saturday Night Fever strut--you name it, he can do it), but he is a hopeless speller even though he is very intelligent. DS2 was a competitive speller, trophies and everything, but do not ask him to dance.

It's like singing. Some people easily carry a tune and others do not. It has to do with the way the brain works, not the method of teaching.

All these different styles of learning are one reason some kids read early and easily and others struggle but eventually catch up. DS1 struggled terribly (which I have learned is common with kinetic learners), but once it clicked he was fine and he easily caught up and then was consistently somewhat ahead. DS2 learned to read so easily it was like he always had been. They are 19 and 17, so neither was reading before K, because back then no one was really worried about reading early. (Both my girls were reading at K, but they have a late birthday and were bored just waiting for school to start, so we did work on it at home for about 10 minutes a day.)

 

Both my DDs were be reading by K age.

They were early readers- we are in a weird situation when we move this fall so they may be K kids and they may be 1st kids depending on if they age/achievement or automatically place them by history. It will be interesting since they both have other 'issues' going on that make both K or 1sat good/poor placements.

But if we had done K this past year (we did PreK due to not making the cutoff age) -- they would have been reading then as well.

They both do a combo of sight/sound out unfamiliar words. Though now it is more based on prior knowledge vs phonics (break words into chunks or familiar/unfamiliar rather than individual sounds or blends).


DD1 read about 6 moths prior to DD2.


As for the other idea of spelling....well one DD is a good speller and the other is NOT. As a PP stated, it is an independent skill from reading itself. It has more to do with how you learn and process language. I read a lot and have always been good at it, but I am a horrible speller. DH reads, but not a lot nor much for pleasure and is a fabulous speller.


I also think that some of it will depend on that age of kiddos and the curriculum that areas use. K age kiddos can vary from age 4y8m to mostly 6 yr olds at the start of the year. Some K are more playbased and some are very academic. Coming from a PreK program that is play-based vs academic also will impact possible reading/prereading skills. In some areas- some PreK programs really really stress reading/writing and in others they are primarily play-based. Play-based is more developmenatlly appropriate for preschool-- kiddos that will read early will do so in almost any setting, kiddos that are forced to read or have no desire but are pushed will likely learn to dislike it.

It is in the realm of developmental 'normal' for a kiddo to learn to read between the ages of 4-7 (you will still have some kids below age 4 and some older than 7). Just like any other skill-- it is part exposure, part developmental readiness, and part drive/interest. Exposure is really the only thing you can heavily influence-- the rest is more based in time, development, and personality. No amount of exposure will teach a kiddo to read if they really have little to no drive to do so and/or if they are not developmenatally ready to do so. Many many kiddos with positive, rich, exposure at home but no desire to learn it from mom/dad/grandma/caretaker/etc- learn quickly for someone other than their primary caretaker.


As a PP said, by late 2nd grade/early 3rd it evens out for the large majority of kids (though some will remain far below grade level due to undiagnosed/diagnosed special needs and some will remain far above grade level due to giftedness or high achievement/interest).


FWIW-- math is very similiar. Some kiddos take an interst in it early and others dont. Some kiddos just seem to pick it up and others have to be taught explicitly.You will see kids in K doing addition/subtraction and others learning #'s 0-10 at the start of the year. And the the K readers may or may not be the ones that are more advanced in math.

Different skills, different interest levels,different exposure levels, and different types of learning.

 

Mine are the ones adding and subtracting already so I guess the Shouldnt worry me

 

My oldest DD entered K only knowing a few sight words and left reading. H & N are already both further along than she was a the start of K - they know about a dozen sight words each and, having missed the Kindergarten cutoff by 3 weeks, have another year of preschool to go. I'm sure they will both be reading by next August. They already "read" books that they've memorized. They have both learned a lot from the Teach Me Kindergarten app on my phone. They won't do the Teach Me Preschool one anymore because it is for "little kids". :lol:

eta: FWIW....according to Rachel's Kindergarten teacher, the best thing you can do to help your child read is talk to them a lot, the second best is to read to them (he advises pointing to the first letter of each word), followed by helping them recognize/sound out words. He also said if you are spending time intentionally "teaching" them to concentrate on math and writing because reading tends to come on it's own. Per the book Freakonomics the best way to raise "readers" is for them to see you reading for pleasure and to have lots of books in your home.