Is my four year old daughter ahead in reading?

Yes, your daughter is bit ahead of the 'average', though certainly not amazingly advanced in being able to read simple words at 4 years old.

Unfortunately, there are many children with parents who DON'T (or can't) read to them, so they start school not knowing how to hold a book, or their letters, or that we read from left to right, or even the most rudimentary skills. (Some parents think that teaching is the school's job. Some can't read themselves, or are just too busy/stressed/overwhelmed to take the time to read to their toddlers.) So, unfortunately, the schools need to start at the beginning so those kids wont' get even further behind.

(At 4 my daughter wasn't yet reading, but did have some sight words and knew all her letters and numbers, and yes, she knew how to hold a book.)

You might arrange a meeting with the teachers to discuss how they can best meet your daughter's needs and help her work at her current level.

(When my daughter started kindergarten at 5 1/2, she WAS reading quite well, and we had a huge advantage that her school had mixed grade classes, with K-1 together. So she was put in a reading group with the 1st graders.)

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No, I'm afraid this is not just your school. This is the normal level of four year olds in the state system. Many know no letters - and yes, scary as it may sound, many have no idea which way up a book goes or what the black squiggles on the page are for. However, the school is required to send the leaflet home to everyone and not make judgements on which parents don't need it.

Did your daughter also come home with a reading diary? If so, be clear about where your daughter is at. e.g. "Arabella read 'In the mud' out loud to me. She needed no help. She enjoys reading much harder books than this by herself at home."

I'm a bit horrified that this is her second term and she's only just been given a reading book. Both my kids came home with one, at an appropriate standard for them, their first DAY in reception.

You may have to put your foot down. Go see her teacher and discuss what she can read already, and don't let them make reading a boring activity for her. At one point I told my five year old's teacher that I simply was not going to make my child read out loud to me any more because she could read silently and preferred to do so because it was so much faster. Teacher was not happy. Child was.

I wish I could be more positive about the state school system. I believe strongly in free education accessible to all. But I'm not prepared to let my children's education suffer for my beliefs. My daughter went to private school at eleven and my son went at nine. They are both now far happier and progressing far better.

My seven year old daughter started reading first level books on her own when she was 4. She is now in the first grade and is reading at the middle to end of a second grade level. I'm not sure if it is the school that your daughter in or if they only test for reading when children start kindergarten, but this is something that I would ask about. I heard something that was very interesting. Children should have books in there home that stack to that child's height. I know that every one does not have those means but people should know that the library is available to all. You are doing a great job and you should be proud of you self. You keep up the reading with your daughter and when she starts kindergarten, there should be more challenging read assignments for her.

My second daughter is 5 and in kindergarten and she is very good at reading. My 7 1/2 year-old daughter is constantly reading (she loves chapter books and she's only in grade two!!) and I think Piper (who is 5) wanted to be like her sister and wanted to learn to read when she was younger. Piper has been singing the alphabet since she was two and knows all her letters and a bunch of different letter sounds. She doesn't love reading as much as her sister, but her teacher is very impressed.

4 Year Old Reading

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RE:

Is my four year old daughter ahead in reading?

I have been working on reading and letters with my daughter since she was a baby - which I presumed other parents did too.

She is now in second term of reception and they have only just this week sent home a leaflet asking us to 'teach our children which way up to hold a book'. (!!!!)...

Look, why are you being so negative. Yes your child is a bit ahead of her peers but that doesn't mean you need to look down on everyone. She is still 4 and even though she may have the ability to read the book that comes home doesn't mean she might not still like to be read to. Heck, I still read to my 7 year old because we like it as together time. He read me a book, I read him a book. It's nice.

And I might advice you to continue working on the things that you think she knows because there is a fairly decent chance that has memorized stories and regurgitating them back to you. My 4 year old is brilliant at that and has the grandparents fooled into thinking she's reading. She's bright and will memorize word for word the whole book after only being read it once.

So anyway.. until you child is reading short chapter books on her own don't start to think she knows more or has it easier because she still has a LONG way to go.

I knew my letters before kindergarten and "thought" I could read (I had some books memorized). But I learned to actually read in kindergarten. I was a "good" reading in kindergarten. That was 13 years ago, though. My little brother was in kindergarten four years ago and didn't even know all his letters by the end! It wasn't until first grade that he could actually read. In contrast, I have two sisters only 18 months apart, and the younger one learned to read before starting school by being present and watching all the letter/homework books the older one had. She was quite funny about it -- if you caught her reading, she would get upset and deny doing any such thing.

Your daughter is ahead of the game for a normal public school kindergartener.

My 4 and a half yr old Grandaughter is way ahead in reading she reads books aimed at 7 and 8 yr olds, she is very gifted, she could read over 100 words aged 3. all kids develope at different rates, x