Is my four year old daughter ahead in reading?

Question

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'. (!!!!) Arabella knows all her letters and can string letters together and work out the word. She knows Sh, Th, oo, ee, etc as well.

I've only had one reading book come home and it would appear that the school expected ME to read it to her - she gets a story every night! She doesn't need me to read 'in the mud' to her - she can read that herself!!

Is this just her school? Where are your children at with reading? I'm very frustrated - I have a lot of friends with children at private schools and they are all reading fluently now. Is this just the state school system?

I just wondered what other people's experiences were....

Answer 1

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.)

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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.

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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.

Answer 6

4 Year Old Reading

Answer 7

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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'. (!!!!)...

Answer 8

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.

Answer 9

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.

Answer 10

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

Answer 11

Your daughter is advanced academically. If she's four, I'm assuming she's still in Pre-K, right? (in my state, you have to be five to start Kindergarten or four turning five before 12/31) Yet, she's capable of doing Kindergarten work. Well, at least Kindergarten work in my area.



Every state sets different guidelines and benchmarks for each grade level. In my state, kids learn to read short sentences and short beginner books in Kindergarten. However, I have read other parents on YA say that in their state, Kindergarten is about exploratory play and learning letters, not reading.



Regardless, she's advanced for four. I'm working on my master's in education and I have been a teaching assistant in a Kindergarten classroom for 3 years. In general, we work on this in Kindergarten:



-Letters and Sounds

-Sight words/Color Words

-rhyming

-blending sounds

-Identifying punctuation (ex: period, question mark, comma, exclamation point)

-sounding out words (we emphasize inventive spelling)

-Identifying elements of a story (beginning, middle, end, characters, problem, solution, retelling and sequencing)

-Context clues from pictures in books

-vocabulary enrichment (cross content for science and social studies)

-whole group activities using bubble maps/circle maps/flow maps

-Number identification, sequencing of numbers

-Identifying shapes

-Word problems involving adding/subtracting

-sorting items, graphing items

-comparing and contrasting (quantity, length, size, etc)

-Money (identifying coins and their worth)

-Time (telling time by the hour, identifying parts of the clock)

-Patterns (AB, ABB, AABB, ABC, etc)

-Reading a calendar (identifying the month, the day of week, the numerical date, the year)

-Sequencing the months of the year and days of the week.

-Weather and seasons

-Animals and their habitats

-plants

-farm life (we do this with our unit on fall)

-weight (part of science)

-holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa)

-different cultures and culture diversity



There is a little more than what I listed, but I could sit here all day and talk about this.



Anyway, you should not be worried until she gets to Kindergarten and you can size up the curriculum. If this is worrying you, then go onto your state's Department of Education website. By law, the state must publically post the state guidelines for all content areas in all grade levels for public education. My state has one of the highest standards of public education in the country. Although, I work in an inner city area and I know that students in more affluent areas are writing poetry or short stories in Kindergarten.



I hope this helps you! Again, check your state’s standards. There are some states in this country that have horrible standards! Your state might be one. If this is the case, but you can’t afford private school, consider getting your daughter into a public magnet school. The magnet schools usually perform very well.

Answer 12

You didn't say what country you are in, but if you are in the US and it is a public school, then the basic standards may be much lower than the level of a typical middle class child with educated parents. If the school is in a low-income or high esl area, then she will be way ahead of the other students, who may not ever have seen a book before kindergarten. However, being ahead in public school sometimes means being average overall, unfortunately.

Answer 13

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Answer 14

Yes, to my belief your daughter is ahead, and to be honest it's a great thing... My son is 9 and reading at a 6th - 7th grade reading level, and reads chapter books on his own. Standards for public schools is supposed to meet the needs of individual students, but at the same time like for all students to keep at pace together. It might be a great thing if when your daughter gets to 1st grade to put her in advanced classes, I haven't put my son because he gets frustrated with the amount of work. I never got time to do what you are able to do for your daughter and I congratulate you for that, never stop what you are doing... Keep in mind, public schools of which I work in daily keep a standard at where students are, and should have assessed her reading level to this point, and noticed her capability, though she is only 4 still it takes some time to actually get to the nitty gritty, and where students are. I congratulate you for what you have done with your daughter, and believe you me, it will benefit her what you have been able to do for her....

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Answer 15

Not all children develop the same way or at the same rate, and not all parents take or have the time to be able to have their children at the level of your child is. The school will take the steps in which they need to to help all the students learn everything you may have already taught your daughter, but remember she is only 4, and so are the other children. School is fun for them, learning new things and making new friends.

Answer 16

I never learned to read until I was 6. So, it would seem that your daughter is pretty far ahead. I think I learned the alphabet when I was 5.

Answer 17

First of all I want to say what a very pretty name! I was thinking of having that as my little girls first name but found that the whole 'Bella' name was being way over used right now, so I opted it to be her middle name..but very pretty name...lol



Second of all I think that your daughter is a head in reading...Public school systems aren't as reliable as they used to be....Now a days the students learn only a little in school then is sent home with loads upon loads of homework....why not just put your child in home school then, thats pretty much what they are doing these days any way...



Third I did the same with my son...I began reading to him and talking to him and teaching him things even when he was still in the womb. Now he is a very bright 3 year old, who can speak to you properly knows what things are...he may not be able to actually read but he knows the books very well and can tell you about it in his own words...



As a parent I think the very best thing for you to do as your child is still young is to constantly talk to them and tell them what things are...For example when taking them for a walk if you see cars going by say things about the cars to your little one..."Did you see that big truck?" or "That car was noisy wasn't it?" lol sounds funny to some people but its one of the best things that you can do...and every parent should do that!!

Answer 18

this is because a lot of people are too busy to read to their child let alone teach them to read. My daughter is in grade one and can read really well but her teacher is keeping her back so the other children can catch up to her. They have reading levels so she has been stuck at level H for a while so the kids who are at level D can catch up to where she is.

Answer 19

My daughter was reading fluently by the age of 4, sorry. And I was reading from a newspaper at the age of 2. Honestly! My mum just taught me.

Answer 20

Truly, there is no comparison absolutely....simply because watching television depends on the gunky creativeness of a Television entertainer who's main concerns are budget, popularity and ratings also to Hell with theme integrity, or, for example, anything truly creative.

Answer 21

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Answer 22

I'd read a reserve but I want silence and I watch tv set for Big Bang theory family dude spongebob comedy or movies generally chuck me a good reserve and I am going to read it

Answer 23

My son is 4 and he is expected to learn the words and read himself.

He has 4 books a week and he is really good.

Its strange how your daughters schoo expect you to read to her... that sounds quite silly.

Answer 24

At age four, most kids in our private preschool could sight-read about fifty words. You get what you pay for.

Answer 25

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Answer 26

i think u should send her to private school since she's advanced because most 4 year olds CAN'T read. awesome job

Answer 27

sounds advanced to me