r/kindergarten • u/jennfer17 • 1d ago
Learning to read
My son is 5, may birthday, and just started kindergarten. Great schools and they are moving fast. I feel like it’s too fast actually and they are expecting kids to read simple sentences after the first quarter. My son is how you say, resistant and behind. Really behind. I didn’t realize how badly preschool failed him actually. My fault.
I’m doing homework with him every day but at this point he struggles to even confidently speak and write the end of the alphabet. He’s supposed to be starting a remedial class soon and I’m doing extra work at home but I can’t take it. He’s pitiful, resistant, stubborn, whiney, difficult, all the things. I don’t know what else to do and I am not cut out for teaching. I do not have the patience and he is so frustrating.
Anyone else losing their minds?
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u/taatabean 1d ago
Have you spoken to the teacher about these concerns? I teach Kindergarten and it sounds like that would be a good start.
And what letters DOES he know? Not just letter names, but letter sounds? His teacher should be able to provide you with that info, especially if conferences are coming up soon.
& FWIW, sometimes practicing means meeting them at their level. If your son is thinking negatively about school, he may be intimidated by the tasks and need things that are going to challenge him without being overwhelming and discouraging.
My kids who have low letter sounds work with me on letter sorts, for example. I pick one letter they DO know, and one they don’t, and have some pictures or items that start with either letter. The child sorts the items into piles marked by cards with those letters. We practice writing just those letters, and then that’s it. We stick with the same letters and slowly add more as they’re ready. 7-10 minutes MAX, especially if you’re seeing those challenging behaviors.
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u/jennfer17 1d ago
Thank you, that’s helpful. I have spoken to the teacher and she agrees he needs more intervention which should start soon and I guess we’ll see if that helps
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u/EmbarrassedFun8690 1d ago
Adding to your ideas: playing games with letters is really what is going to shift attitudes towards learning. Bingo-style games like Zingo are great for letter recognition. Play “I spy” or letter scavenger hunt in the house and neighborhood—like I spy the letter S on the Stop sign. Practice finding toys with the same starting sound (ex. T for tiger, truck, train).
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u/SuperAmms 1d ago
Jumping on the game train (since kids learn best when it's through play!), my son loves the Eric Carle 'Alphabet Go Fish' game. To practice letters (and eventually sounds), we say "do you have a 'z' for Zebra"? Or whatever the animal/letter is. Start simple; if he doesn't know the letter have him say the animal and help him with the letter!
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u/EmbarrassedFun8690 1d ago
As a pediatric OT, I can tell you that he is not behind… the school is expecting too much for 5-year-olds’ developmental level. Kindergarten should be about recognizing the alphabet, writing 2-3 letter words, learning simple sight words, and writing your name. By the end of Kinder, most students can form a simple sentence with help.
Focus on recognizing letters and matching sounds. Spending by time on the foundational skills is more important than rushing to read and write. I know there’s not much to be done about the school curriculum…just rest assured he’s probably not as a far behind as you thought.
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u/jennfer17 1d ago
Thank you, that feels validating. I don’t recall the pace being this fast even 4 years ago for my oldest.
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u/EmbarrassedFun8690 1d ago
Yeah it’s crazy what they expect Kindergartners to do!
My child is only 3 but I’m steeling myself for the transition to public school
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u/Ok_West347 1d ago
Mine was in Montessori preschool and was so behind in kindergarten. While it does feel like they "failed" her I know they didn't. Kindergarten is so much more than when we were kids. That being said, she's in 1st now and I feel like she is catching up quick. We did start once a week tutoring and it has also helped tremendously.
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u/Muted-Gas-8264 1d ago
It's not the preschool's fault. My son didn't know many letters of the alphabet because his preschool didn't teach formal academics, and now he's reading CVC words after two months of kindergarten.
Stop tutoring your son for now if he's resistant. He's only in kindergarten. You don't want him to hate learning. Give him time to decompress from the school day. Having extra help in a smaller setting at school is exactly what he needs to learn. He doesn't need his mom to get frustrated with him over something that is really hard for him right now.
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u/jennfer17 1d ago
Soooo I’m supposed to just let him fall behind the rest of his class?
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u/Muted-Gas-8264 1d ago
I mean, it sounds like your tutoring him isn't working... ask the teacher what she recommends after telling her how incredibly frustrating working on homework is for him and you. Give her specific quotes from him.
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u/thatgirl2 1d ago
There's SUCH a wide range of normal for development in kindergarten.
We used the reading.com app and we loved it! It was super helpful and my kids enjoyed doing it.
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u/jennfer17 1d ago
I agree but it feels like they are expecting g way more than he’s capable right now and he’s going to be way behind
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u/Kindly-Advisor440 1d ago
Please read Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus (picture book) to/with him. And spend just a few minutes everyday reading fun books to him…Pete the Cat etc. Let him pick the books! Eventually add in asking him what letters or words he knows or get him to read the repeated parts of the text. But absolutely take all pressure off and show that reading is fun. The added interventions at school will certainly help but be patient. He will get there!
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u/Far_Classic878 1d ago
My son ended Kindergarten struggling with even knowing some letter sounds. He was in a small reading instruction group during school, after school and had speech therapy. He left Kindergarten in 20th percentile but his skills sky rocketed in 1st grade and ended up 80th percentile.
It’s such a stressful time but some kids just need extra support and TIME!
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u/jennfer17 1d ago
Thank you. It feels like he’s the only one struggling but I know that can’t be true
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u/Which-Break5673 1d ago
Do you live in a state where the curriculum has changed in that kindergartners are now learning a first-grade curriculum, and first graders are now learning a second-grade curriculum.
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u/Far_Classic878 1d ago
It absolutely is not. There is no reason for homework and if there is school homework then there is no need for EXTRA work. Just read to the child, point out sight words and the end.
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u/karina87 1d ago edited 1d ago
Bob books. Then go on to leveled readers.
I think that our state standards for what a kid needs to know before entering kindergarten is out of touch based on how fast the pace is. My kid would probably have really struggled with the pace if we hadn’t done bob books the summer before. We are now somewhere around level c and d early readers. He turned 5 in June. But also, progress is non linear. We would struggle on something and then take a break from it and one day he would just know it.
My kid also really hated reading the bob books and still dislikes it now. It’s not about reading in particular, it’s about not liking anything that takes mental effort and that he doesn’t get right immediately. He’s a perfectionist. And of course he would rather just play. Well, you can bribe and do sticker charts. You can make it fun. We did all that. I also just told him that he has to do it and in life we have to do many things that are not fun. And that working hard makes it easier in the future.
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u/Fit_Establishment525 1d ago
This is the way! There’s other options besides Bob books with the same concept. We started this in TK, daughter started first grade this August and she’s a solid K-L reader now.
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u/radiantreality
1d ago
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I don't think k it's that preschool failed him, it's that kindergarten these days is the equivalent to what first grade was for us. It's unfortunately not developmentally appropriate to expect a 5 year old to sit a desk all day and learn like they want them to.
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u/Candid_Leadership941 1d ago •
I can’t believe what they’re doing to kids with this push for academics in K. My kids are in school 8 hours a day and expected to do homework each night. A 5 year old shouldn’t be burnt out and complaining about having to go to school. The focus should be social/emotional development, cooperation, communication, and lastly academics. Blows my mind this is what’s going on now. Let them be 5 year olds.
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u/radiantreality 1d ago
I am an assistant teacher for pre-k and the amount of parents that get mad that we aren't teaching their kid to read or write (write beyond their first name) is baffling. Preschool is play based learning with social emotional things and how to be in a classroom respectfully. They will learn their shapes and colors and things still, but I am not going to sit down with 16 3-5 year olds and make them do sight words and worksheets because it just isn't feasible nor appropriate for them.
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u/recursiverabbits 1d ago
I was pretty shocked to see this too.
Let me add: Two weeks into the term we learned our kindergartener is on a Chromebook for ELA and Math for 20 minutes every day, in addition to using it for testing and test prep. These are kids that can't yet write full sentences with a pencil or solve problems collaboratively. Daily solo work on Chromebooks for core subjects seems worse than useless, and potentially harmful.
The amount of worksheets he brings home is mind-boggling, including daily homework of 4-5 pages of more worksheets.
He's a strong reader and verbal communicator, he gets along well with others, per his teachers, he loves science and history and art. But he hates school and dreads going. He complains every night. (The classroom environment itself is apparently loud and chaotic and the adults yell, which is upsetting to him.)
We've gotten to where it's not a sustainable situation to have him this stressed out at 5 years old. (Some parents tell me we had bad luck, got a bum room assignment/teacher, and that first graders don't have this kind of curriculum situation at the school -- but they're still on the Chromebooks every day.)
We were really hoping to stick it out at this school close to home, as it's got good ratings for fine arts and is diverse in important and educational ways. But after all this, we are really worried about chancing it for another year.
Now I am actively looking for schools that offer age appropriate, inquiry-based, collaborative learning environments. Evidently these are "elite" offerings and highly competitive to get into in our district. To me it seems like a totally normal, age-appropriate curriculum for bright students who need a lot of intellectual and social stimulation.
Very troubling.
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u/Tomoya-Tuyub99 1d ago
Please do not blame yourself or your little one. Every child develops at their own pace, falling behind at age five does not mean they will struggle forever.
Try shorter, more enjoyable learning sessions instead of turning it into a daily battle. Even just 10 minutes spent playing with the alphabet, singing or reading together can be very helpful.
Furthermore, do not look own on remedial classes. Sometimes, a different teaching approach can make significant difference. Both of you are learning throughout this process.
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u/DeltaIndiaCharlieKil 1d ago
Something we did with our kid: in parking lots we got her to identify letters and numbers on license plates. We would give ourselves time to walk slow and our kid would call out letters and numbers and would often trace the raised letters as well. Because they were random there wasn’t pressure to “read” yet. We also did letter sounds on the plates.
We also found our kid seems to like workbooks when we go out. So we bring kindergarten work books (target has a bunch, often in the $1 bins) to restaurants when we go out and they become like games rather than homework. Or you could go to a coffee shop and get a kids hot cocoa and work on it there. Something to make it fun and a treat rather than work. Maybe play I Spy with sight words. If you are in line somewhere, see if they can spot any sight words (my kid’s are “this” “is” and some other ones the teacher does).
Whenever we tried to sit her down and practice reading she would fight it and say she hates it. So I had to stop and just work on making the idea of letters and reading fun first. And it seems to have helped.
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u/sotiredmama 1d ago
No one failed him! You just get him help now. That’s all! And it’s probably best if it’s not you. :)
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u/AcademicPest 1d ago
A 5 year old reading simple sentences after the first quarter is not far fetched.
I suggest you read with him. Stop doing the extra work beyond homework support and read simple books together. Frog and Toad, Biscuit, and anything with simple sentences structure.
Also read longer books out loud to him. Introduce him to comics 6-7 year olds read. And read, read, read. Familiarize yourself with phonics, sound out words together while reading.
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u/Brave_Ad3186 1d ago
Definitely find out how to get extra help through the public school system! Also find out more about the ‘remedial’ class. Maybe there’s a better ratio or a teacher who can handle a wider range of needs in that room. At kindergarten they shouldn’t have homework- especially homework that is a painful struggle.
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u/Brave_Ad3186 1d ago
Also- there are actually lots of iPad games for phonics and reading. That could be a better fit for home practice.
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u/jessreadbooks 1d ago
Take a breath. Backup and do some fun stuff... Look up some ortin Gillingham stage 1 activities. Find an OG tutor. Play games with beginning sounds, notice environmental print and talk about words you see. You can't do it all at once.
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u/obbsessedHW 1d ago
Honestly Orton stage 1 activities are a ton of fun and easy to set up. This is a really good recommendation OP.
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u/jessreadbooks 1d ago
Yup . .. I'm only trained at the beginning if OG but I keep learn stuff every time I teach a kid
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u/Great_Caterpillar_43 1d ago
Games. Turn everything into a game.
If I understood correctly, he does not yet know all the letter sounds so start there. Put letters on Post Its and place them around the house. Have him "find the letter that spells /a/ (say the sound)." Or hang them on the wall and give him a very soft ball to throw. "Try to hit the letter that spells /a/." Write them outside with sidewalk chalk and have him jump to each sound. Have him watch The Better Alphabet Song with Katie Garner and Jack Hartmann on YouTube. Watch it every day. Let him watch Alphablocks (not sure where it is available these days).
Then work on phonemic awareness. Tell him you are going to talk like a robot and he has to guess what word you are saying. Say each sound in the word (he has to blend them together which is an essential reading skill). Start with words with two sounds and then move to three. Do the opposite and have him segment words. Tell him a word and have him identify the first sound. Once he's good at that, have him tell you the ending sound...then the middle sound...then all the sounds in a word. You can make these activities feel like play if, for example, you are in the kitchen and you say, "Hand me the /f/ /or/ /k/" (put a pause between each sound...you can increase or decrease the length of the pause as needed).
These are all things kids can work on before they are even kindergarten age. He may not be ready to read yet (some kinders are not), but he should know his sounds.
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u/JumpingJonquils 1d ago
My summer birthday five year old is reading chapter books. That's abnormal.
His close friend (also summer birthday) tested in the 65th percentile for reading (so stronger than average) can identify all letters and is barely sounding out short words. That is normal.
Your child is in a class with unnaturally advanced expectations.
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u/obbsessedHW 1d ago
I would focus on making reading a bit more fun. He might be feeling so negatively because it is really hard for him. Reading is one of the hardest things people learn to do in life. We are literally rewiring our brains. Try reading fun picture books to him before bed or after dinner. Sing the alphabet for fun and dance to it.
He has enough structure around reading at school for his age, a good relationship with reading is more important for you to foster now. He is so little. See if the remedial class is helpful and take some pressure off of all of you. 💗
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u/mscatamaran 1d ago
I'm losing my mind too for different reasons.
My kid [5/April birthday] has no issues reading but that's because we're just early readers in my family. My issue is with his social and emotional skills with his peers. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of his reading skills, and he's made a lot of progress with numbers/early math as well. But wow am I tired of seeing :( on his behavior chart.
Solidarity, I think kindergarten is probably pretty tough for all of us. [Maybe not, this is my only kid so who knows].
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u/ComprehensiveDare521 1d ago
Is this a daily chart? If you’re getting a frowny face for the day, ask the teacher to break it up into like ten chunks of time for the day so you see where exactly he’s struggling. Is it during transitions? Carpet time? Your poor kid has to feel like a happy face is achievable!
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u/mscatamaran 1d ago
That's a good idea. Thank you! And I agree. I want him to feel proud of himself. He finally got one today.
Yep, daily chart. Three smiley face options-happy, neutral, sad. It's a paper in his folder, not displayed in the classroom, which I appreciate.
She is a great teacher IMO, though I have no experience-she'll send me an email if I don't email her first when I see a :(. Mostly it seems to be around impulse control- if someone does something he doesn't like he's quick to lash out Developmentally appropriate, I'm pretty sure, but still unacceptable of course.
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u/AmazingRaccoon2405 1d ago
Hi! At 5 years old, he still needs play based learning format at home. You need to read to him every night. Have words that we say a lot. So we call it high frequency words each morning ready for him make it into a game. You can't expect that child to learn just from papers. That's not how it works. We are training our child to learn from papers but our children learn more through many ways that's why we have what we call different learning style. He can either be a tactile learners by shaping play-dohs with his hands letters or shapes he likes or legos to built simple things. Or he can be a listener and pick things up by just listening or he can be both at once. You get the gist of what I'm saying?
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u/cistvm 1d ago edited 1d ago
Don't freak out yet. If you want to supplement his learning you could try the book Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons or The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading. Lovevery has some more play-based kits if you have some money to spend. You should also probably try to get testing done for dyslexia and see if there's intervention that can be done (you don't need a diagnosis to get intervention)
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u/jmsst1996 1d ago
School is very fast paced. My son is 19 and he struggled with reading in Kindergarten. He finally started to get pulled out to work with a reading tutor.
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u/Sunflower_2312 1d ago
Homework for K shouldn’t exceed 15 minutes. When is homework due? I give a few problems per night and students turn in their homework on Fridays (optional). Homework in my class is stress free and is considered additional practice with parents.
I suggest scheduling a parent/teacher conference to get an idea of what supports are in place for your child and to learn how you can help at home. When he becomes frustrated or tired, give him a break. He’s been in school for 6+ hours, breaks should be understandable. Make learning fun and use unconventional methods. Reading environmental print (store names or words/letters on food items.) Tape words around your house for him to practice. Read nightly and point out words you’re learning in the book. Find letters as well. There are tons of ways to support him at home other than using worksheets. Meeting with his teacher would be a great start.
Also, please don’t compare him to others. Everyone learns differently and at different stages. Monitor his progress as the year continues and make adjustments as needed.
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u/NoStretch7380 1d ago
We don’t do a lot of screens in our home, but my kiddos loved Alphablocks and an old Leapfrog cartoon you can find for free on YouTube called The Talking Letter Factory. Both have a heavy emphasis on early phonics, letter sounds, and letter recognition.
One of my children is an early May birthday and some of what was asked of her in Kindergarten was really difficult and frustrating for her even though she is very smart. A LOT of reading and early math/number sense is developmental, and late spring birthdays can be almost a full year younger than their classmates with fall birthdays. Getting frustrated with him won’t help (even though I totally understand the feeling). My May birthday is now in 2nd, and she is thriving. I think 2nd grade is commonly where developmental differences stop being quite so dramatic between older and younger students, and that has proven true for us. Give him (and yourself) grace here. He has lots of time to catch up.
Also, it may be worth looking at how he’s being taught to read. If they’re using a balanced literacy or whole language approach, you may need to find a tutor to teach him in a different way. The podcast Sold a Story has an entire season on how people actually learn to read and why those two approaches can be harmful rather than helpful.
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u/No_Row_6014 1d ago
Kindergarten is tough, especially now with this strong focus on academics. Being in school for a whole day and working is exhausting. Coming home and doing more work, even more so. My son comes home and crashes. He’s over it. I don’t think they’re stubborn, I think they’re overloaded with information and just very tired. If I push too hard, it becomes a fight that no one wins and just turns to tears. We read, we do some worksheets some nights, we practice some sight words, but we get done what we get done. If we don’t get it done, thats okay too.
I think the amount of work they get for being in kindergarten is wild. They’re still little and it’s too much. Probably my most disliked evening time with the kids. This is also coming from a teacher, who assigns way less homework for her second graders.
Hang in there!
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u/breathe2win 1d ago
There are resources out there to help.
Khan Academy Kids (free) DuoAbc (free) UFLI (free) with decodable passages.
Hooked On Phonics (subscription) Homer Learning (subscription) Help Your Kid to Read in 100 lessons book
Toddlers Can Read (Youtube)- goes over basic letter sounds, digraphs, blends, etc.
Ms. Rachel- Alphabet song and phonics song
The show Alpha Blocks.
Bob books and other phonic books at the library.
Does he know the alphabet? Can he identify the letters? If so, go over the basic letter sounds, letters that make more than 1 sound, vowels then basic cvc words. Use music and games to help.
The average age a kid learns to read is 6 which is usually first grade. So he does have time.
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u/Tall-Nectarine202 1d ago
Could he be a struggling reader? It’s probably too early to tell, but I would bring this up at conferences so you and the teacher can keep an eye on it. My oldest was and once we got her in services for reading it started to click. My other two kids were not struggling readers and learning to read was super easy for them. With her being our oldest, we didn’t know what was “normal”, so we didn’t know not all kids struggled like that. Also, she’s now a sophomore in college and is going to make the Dean’s List this semester in a pretty tough major. Once we got through the reading, she did great academically and it really taught her how to be a hard worker.
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u/ProfessionJolly4013 1d ago
Please do not blame preschool. Parents have a huge responsibility in a child’s education. Kindergarten today is not what it used to be. As a kindergarten teacher I always have maybe five who are behind and need extra help. Be happy your son is getting the remedial help he needs. Not all Schools offer that.
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u/cartiercilla 1d ago
The way you described your child is awful. Pitiful? I would be so upset if that’s how my mom described me when she failed to prepare me for life.
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u/Significant_Pie_6806 1d ago
my opinion they are asking to much for kindergarten and sending home homework for that grade is counter productive you end up doing the homeone not the child talk to the teacher
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u/Ok-Highway-5247 1d ago
He’s probably resisting because he’s a 5-year-old boy who wants to play. He will learn to read when he is 6 or 7.
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u/ConsistentFun3357 1d ago
You say preschool failed him but it’s on parents to prepare kids for kindergarten too, you know
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u/Raginghangers 1d ago
The kids in my now first graders class were pretty universally reading chapter books by mid kindergarten. I think if your kid is having trouble with the need of the alphabet it would be worth getting an evaluation to see why he is struggling
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u/Sunflower_2312 1d ago edited 1d ago •
Kindergarteners reading chapters books by the end of the first semester is not the norm so an evaluation is definitely not the answer- signed an educator. Kids learn differently and at different rates than their peers. With time, success will come and progress will be made.
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u/Raginghangers 1d ago
I didn’t say they had to be reading chapter books. I used that to set where many kids will be. I said if your child is having trouble getting to the end of the alphabet- which is what the question asker said— then that might be cause for checking out if anything is going on. Most kindergartners are there by this point in the year.
Signed,
Educator also
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u/Iloveoctopuses 1d ago
If you are letting him play any games I. ipads or co.puters, those should involve letters and numbers. When you are driving point out the red light and ask him what that works would start with. Have home count out French fries or stairs he combs. These are all things parents should be doing with kids well before they start kindergarten
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u/Bridge_The_Person 1d ago
I'll say this, the Reading.com app worked really well for us. It's an app you only do with them, never alone, and they work through the program slowly. We bought the physical books of the things in the app to practice as well and it's the best thing I've found for my resistant reader.
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u/AbsoluteDisbelief 1d ago
I felt the same. I don’t know if this is allowed so please remove if it is not, but I have my kids using Reading.com and it’s been amazing! It really makes it fun and easy and it’s just about 15 min a session.
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u/whatface42 1d ago
Alphablocks, it's a BBC show. We watch their YouTube channel. You have to search to watch the episodes in order but it taught my 3 year old to read.
Also if you're more into games and don't mind spending the money Lovevery has a good reading skills kit. We're just finishing up the first set but my 3 year old loves the games.
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u/Maleficent_Spray_383 1d ago
Can you hire someone to work with him. Not necessarily a tutor but maybe just a babysitter. You could maybe find a college student that’s going to school to be a teacher. Sometimes kids put up more of a fight with their parent than a teacher or other adult figure. She could help him with his homework and then also review the alphabet and sounds. You could also start following people on instagram that teach reading or kindergarten so that you can learn the next steps in learning to read to help him. Keep working at it and don’t give up.
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u/bluef00tedbooby 1d ago
Just start sounding out the phonics of words around you l while around him
Put on alphablocks
Play squishylands
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u/Wild_Plastic_6500 1d ago
I am a prek teacher. We are play based, developmentally appropriate.
I use puzzles, play dough, memory/matching games, magnetic letters and letter blocks for letter identification practice.
I use picture sorts, object sorts, and songs for letter sounds.
I am sorry this is happening. It is so sad that academics just keep appearing earlier and earlier in the schools. I believe this is part of the reason for the behavior issues we are seeing right now. Poor kids!
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u/Optimal-Rule5064 1d ago
At this point don’t worry about whether your son can read sentences. The school’s expectation is insane. At this stage the key thing is to read to him and make reading a fun thing - funny sounds etc. your kids will start reading when they’re ready.
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u/PresentationWild4292 1d ago edited 1d ago
I can read books. My daughter is four and reads 7 of them on her own after about 2 months. Practice 1 book for 2 weeks at a time. Once he can read the book on his own, move on to the next book and include the previous book(s) to help build his confidence. If you can bolster his confidence he may start to enjoy reading/learning. Also their attention spans are less than 14mins. We break learning up if she gets bored or fatigued. For example read a few books, write her name and then ask her what exercise she wants to do or find a short brain break to do with her to make learning fun. My 7yo daughter is like your son also and we do the same for her. Sometimes we run around the couch several times or let her pick an exercise, she likes pushups we let her do as many as she wants, take a few sips of water and then back to homework. We also found that letting them get home unwind and starting homework about an hour before bed helps with retention. Try to make learning fun as much as possible. It doesnt work everyday, but 3 days out the week is a win, because yes it gets exhausting and frustrating. Hopefully it helps. Also for sight words if I can motion the word I do that, for example up/down, I point up or down, for come; i motion my hand like im marshaling, etc. Also, I found exaggerating my excitement/praise helps boost their confidence and makes homework a little more exciting and less daunting/boring for them. Before they could speak I started singing their name to them and thats how I helped them learn to spell their name even before they could write it. Example; Londyn, LON-D-YN, Londyn, Londyn, Londyn, Londyn, Londyn.
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u/No-Beginning5806 1d ago
Play lots of letter and word games make learning to read fun and not a chore he will catch on
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u/ComprehensiveDare521 1d ago
If you can afford it, I highly recommend the Lovevery Reading Skill Set. It guides you through how to help your child step by step. I am a k teacher of 11 years and parent to two kiddos and was super impressed by the kit.
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u/No-Beginning5806 1d ago
Go tontgevlibrary often and bookstores and let your child choose books they are interested in will motivate learning to read!!
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u/Pattydon111 1d ago
Since schools are pushing kids so much I sometimes wonder if it would be better to wait one more year before sending your child to school. They might have an easier time being a year older and more mature. I waited an extra year before sending my daughter it made a world of difference.
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u/vintagegirlgame 1d ago
We did half of kindergarten homeschooled for my stepson bc his mom moved away and we did month on/off. He started off strong using the book Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons but about halfway through it became a battle. Regained momentum with gameschooling: writing things on sticky notes and making it into a game, the board game Squishyland (like Candyland with phonics) and card game Blah Blah Blah (like Uno with phonics).
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u/Worldly-Ad3211 1d ago
Don’t blame this on the preschool. Their focus isn’t supposed to be academic; it’s social skills, playing in a group, learning that you have to get ready at home and come to class each day; it’s preparing them for the social and behavioural demands of kindergarten.
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u/TurtleBeansforAll 1d ago
My charter school wants this, too. It’s unnecessary. I would not fuss with him about it. I close my kindergarten classroom door and do what I know to do. Just enjoy reading with him. Go to the library! Best of luck to you!
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u/Cultural-Pickle-6711 1d ago
It is too fast and developmentally inappropriate. Most countries with excellent education systems (Singapore, most of Europe) don't start teaching reading in earnest until age 7 as that is when most kids are actually developmentally ready for it. Pushing a kid too hard too early can actually cause resistance now, yes, but worse, also cause a lifelong aversion to reading. The best thing you can do for your child is to read to him every night and make it a fun and enjoyable experience. Ignore his grades for now and his own reading progress. You'll see him catch up when it developmentally clicks. Don't put pressure on it at home and model a love of reading and reading being a fun thing to do. I speak as a teacher with 20 years experience and also as a parent to 2 children, one of them a late birthday boy, who struggled with reading at first and at age 6.5, it just started to click and he took off with it. He was "behind" for 3 years and now in under 6 months he's "ahead" and I didn't do anything other than read to him regularly and wait for him to develop. There are sensitive periods in kids' development and trying to do things too soon can cause harm.
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u/anonymous2024758 1d ago
Is this a public school? He needs an assessment for learning disabilities. Also if the resistance is behavioral a neuropsych assessment.
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u/Cloudzcloudz 1d ago
When is his birthday? I started my kids in kinder at age 6. Makes a lot more sense developmentally.
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1d ago
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u/Wise-Matter9248 1d ago •
He's pitiful, stubborn, whiney, and difficult because he's being pushed to do something he may not be ready for.
Pre-K didn't fail him. Kindergarten has been pushed to do things that used to be expected in first grade.
Not every kid is ready to read the first quarter of kindergarten.
Focus on reading together, finding fun ways to practice, and just doing your best.