Ready to Read!

Part of my job is to read aloud and supervise reading in order to develop comprehension. I also aid in spelling and use of vocabulary words so that my client can properly communicate and socialize with others. It's all very interesting to me, and I've been learning more and more.

The average child learns to read at 6.5... 50 % learn before and 50 % after. Some children are obviously not going to leave Kindergarten reading. It's not good or bad, because we all know that children develop differently. It's been proven that by the end of 3rd grade that there's no noticeable difference in children who read at 4 and children who read at 7. There are even curriculums that don't believe in teaching reading until around age 7.

During some research, I found the Get Ready to Read! Screening Tool. Enid and I completed it (she thought it was a fun game and asked to do it again), because I was just curious to see how it works. I was amazed that she was only hesitant on a couple of them. She's only 3 and I have no intentions to push her into reading. What we do at home is evidently enough to support her development without seeking further resources, because this is what her "score" said.

"Your child has strong skills and is probably ready to learn how to read and write. Continue to do everything you can to reinforce those skills. All 4-year-olds enjoy and benefit from playful activities that help prepare them to read -- even those who already have strong skills and plenty of experience with books and print."

Enid has always been a book lover, and within the past year she's started asking "which word is" while I'm reading. She wants to know what certain words look like and how to spell them.  When I asked her what she likes about books she said, "I like to open them and see pictures and words. I can show you where I stop at." That's another fascination of hers... using bookmarks.  Oh yeah... and storytelling.  She loves listening and do it herself!