mere12877

Has anyone else had this issue? My daughter is 6, she seems to be very intelligent, is extremely athletic, and loves playing. However, she can't read very well, and gets annoyed with me every time I try to read with her. She loves to be read TO, its just when I try to engage her. She gets easily frustrated.

It is really discouraging, since she is starting first grade next year. She also really confuses her lowercase d's and b's. I feel like most kids are reading by now and she seems to have little interest, especially when I try to work with her on it.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is this really common?

thanks!
Meredith

fldasha

You should have a fun way of teaching her how to read. Let her pick the books she is interested in. Bring her to a bookstore and let her choose. Choose books that are colorful or the books that has the characters that she likes like Barbie, Barney and others. Don't force her to study reading.

You can also try to give her reward if she was able to learn something about reading.

mamab

Is it possible that there's something wrong with her eyesight? If she's having problems seeing the words, that could explain why she doesn't want to read. Also, it might just be the age. My oldest son wanted to learn to read, so he worked hard at it. My youngest is content to be read TO, just like your daughter.

You might consider purchasing a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons." It takes about 15-20 minutes, gives you everything you need, and will have your daughter reading on a solid 2nd grade level when she finishes the book. You can order it through www.timberdoodle.com, or you could possibly find it on ebay. This is the book we used with my first and he just excelled. However, my 2nd's not that thrilled with this approach.

happy2bg33k

What does her teacher have to say about it? One of the things she may need to work on are sight words. Some places call them high frequency words. It's a list of commonly found words that children learn to recognize and read by sight which helps them read basic level books. Once confidence is built it often transfers into taking the chance on reading novel words and books.

mere12877

Thank you everyone for your responses! One of the biggest problems is her school and teachers in general. They have switched teachers throughout the year, and they aren't doing a very good job of teaching reading, so I feel a lot of this is resting on my shoulders. I did not want to switch her halfway through the year, which is when I became aware of the fact that it was abnormal for them not to be working on reading.

I can work with her on "sight words", as her teachers are not. Does anyone else think its abnormal for them not to be teaching much reading in Kindergarten?

Stephanie2377

I am betting that your daughter doesn't like to read because it is difficult for her. I would have her eyesight checked, and make sure she is seeing letters correctly.
What about flashcards that have the photo on one side, and a simple word on the other side? She could work on that in a fun way (other than reading) and begin to memorize certain words by sight.
Have you asked her why she is so frustrated when this happens? I wondered if she just said "I hate this" or if she would actually say something more significant.

mere12877

That is such a good point, I actually did ask her, and we went out to get her some new books. She picked out some easy reading books and is sounding out the words wonderfully! I do think she has some sort of eyesight issue though, she confuses "d's" and "b's". Is this common, or could this be dyslexia?

Kaytee

I don't have any kids around this age so this is just what I have seen. My nephew who is a great reader now at 8, hated reading in Kindergarten. He would get mad at himself for not being able to do it. I thik what eeryone else said about making it fun and letting her pick the books out and just keep working with it, if she gets mad let her take break (not a long one granted) and then try again, also lots of praise when she does. Good luck!

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Trina

As a former teacher and current mom, I'll add my two cents. To echo the others, what has her teacher said? Is your DD on grade level or is she having difficulty? If she is about where she should be, perhaps she just hasn't caught the reading bug yet. All kids are different. While my DS was starting to read chapter books in Kindergarten, my DD just didn't like to read. After my experience with my DS, I was concerned. Her teacher said she was right where she should be academically, but if you gave her a choice, she would not choose to read. She preferred to do more social and physical activities. Same thing in Gr. 1 and 2. She continued to show progress and reached grade level requirements, but she didn't like to read. Currently in Gr. 3 - This year she has *finally* begun to pick out books that interest her and to read for enjoyment!

Melissa

Okay, I am now going to out myself as a homeschooler. Note: I am not a religious zealot or recluse. And YES, my kids are well socialized.

That said, I've done a lot of reading about learning and brain development. In fact, I recommend a book by Jane Healy called, "Your Child's Growing Mind." It's about brain development. Another one called the Hurried Preschooler by David Elkind is excellent.

The bottom line is that there is a broad range of normal. Barring a disability, it could be that her brain just hasn't finished developing the part that is used for reading/decoding. That in itself is nothing to worry about any more than you would worry that she hadn't lost the same number of teeth as her other classmates (my six year old still hasn't lost any!).

My intelligent and athletic daughter (now 10) didn't start reading solidly until she was 8. By the way, some European countries believe 8 is the normal time for a kid to start reading.

In all that I've read about brain development, you can "force" a kid to "read" using behavioral modification and rote memorization of words, but when you do that, some helpful brain connections might not develop as the brain is working to create a "work around" and begin reading without all the optimal wiring in place. Sorry, I'm not a scientist and I'm not too good at explaining these things.

My 10 year old who started reading at 8 now loves to read. Her almost six year old sister started reading when she turned 5 and now reads at a third grade level. Same genes, same environment, different brains.

Again, it's worthwhile to rule out a learning disability or some other problem at school, but I would caution that making a big deal out of the reading can take away all the pleasure and make it a dreaded chore for your child. I only narrowly escaped doing that to my 10 year old because I just didn't have the awareness I do now. Also, her dad and I were both early readers and I expected the same from her. Talking to other homeschoolers and hearing about the learning differences in their families really opened my eyes.

For me the bottom line is that I want them to love reading.
And Ok, I just re-read your original post and she's starting first grade NEXT year? Holy cow. I might be the oldest one on this board, but does anyone else remember when first grade was when you STARTED to learn to read?

If your child loves to be read to, that is, I believe THE most important thing you can do to foster literacy. That and having what educators call a "print rich environment," as in a bunch of books laying around.

Good luck and be gentle with yourself.