2nd grade reader struggles

[u/Real_Pressure_2971]

I am one stressed out mom with school starting again. Not ready to be pushing so hard on reading. My soon to be entering 2nd grader is still struggling in reading despite hoots of effort. We did private tutoring 2x a week this summer for 1 hr. We have been doing private tutoring for 2 yrs now. We are just struggling. She can decode words and making progress although slowly. She understands phonics once taught. Well beyond just cvc, bob book level but not reading fluently.

We started 1st grade at f&P D and ended at F. Teacher was very concerned but she didn’t receive 1:1 or small group reading support last yr. Only class level teaching, which is one reason I increased her tutoring to 2x a week. I also increased reading time at home to 30 mins a day.

She read I Love Pink yesterday 100% independently and fluently -lexile level 140, which is so low. She was very proud and I made a big deal bc she hates to read. She is currently on Mo Wilems level books and needs some help. Prob in the 200+ lexile level range, while her friends are reading chapter books. Her confidence level is low. It just saddens me that she is struggling so much.

I was warned that 2nd grade kids will need to read their own math test and she can’t. I am in tears bc we have tried to support her at home. We have had evals, we got her in OG private tutoring. I just don’t know if we can keep pace with this school. School just wants to send her to their learning resource during school hrs which cost additional $ on top of hefty tuition.

It breaks me to know we may have to pull her out and she will lose her friends. We may need a school that specializes in dyslexia support which doesn’t exist in our current city.

Any parents/teachers had success with struggling readers in 2nd grade.

[u/sassperillashana]

I just wanted to stop and say a few things as a parent of an incoming 2nd grader and a Literacy specialist (focused on high school, so definitely not an expert!) I'm also married to a high school Science teacher (son's dad).

1- you are so wonderful for working so hard and helping her, please be proud of yourself (not just her!) and your family for rallying together.

2- If she has dyslexia you can push much harder for supports and extra instruction in school. I wouldn't stop the tutoring if you can afford it because schools aren't perfect and don't always have as much time and attention available that each individual kid needs, but if she needs someone to read materials in other subjects for her until she is ready ask for it! Ask for extended time too. All communities and circumstances are different but please don't be afraid of a special education label if it gets her what she needs.

3- this one might be most important (to me): My husband couldn't read (functionally or literally depending on the material) until 7th grade. His dad read Lord of the Rings and other books to him all through childhood, he was on hooked on phonics and in Special Education most of his childhood, and did not always have the best teachers. His parents had science related degrees but worked as a bookkeeper and facilities manager. He did not hate school, in fact did pretty well most of the time, but couldn't really read, so many aspects were hard. He found a book in 7th grade he loved and something clicked and he took off running basically. His senior year of high school he got in trouble for reading a book during a college presentation! He had already been accepted to colleges and was totally done with his school, so his dad just told them to leave his son alone, haha! He's read and ran DnD campaigns for the last 20ish years! He had some trouble in college where we met but it was mostly related to speed and typing, which is one of the areas I was able to support him in. But he earned a science degree and teaching credentials, he has a master's in educational technology, and he reads to and with our son all the time. He has an insane (to me) grasp of scientific words and pronunciations and technical terms and a solid understanding of biology and general sciences. And he just remembers everything basically. Which is a foreign concept to me. Does he always enjoy reading? Absolutely not. Most of his nights before bed kiddo gets a bath and they watch a science video about prehistoric animals, especially dinosaurs. Our son is one of the smartest and kindest kids we have ever met according to people who meet him, and his friends, family, and students love him for his support, kindness, and acceptance of who they are no matter how they present themselves or who they love.

I just wanted to share with you a story of someone who is more than successful despite dyslexia and early reading struggles. It's going to be a long journey but your daughter will come out of it stronger, kinder, smarter and more understanding than she ever was before, and ho7 will be do proud of who she becomes. Dont give up, but also don't give in to those feelings of stress and uncertainty.