Easy Reading?

Reading. We all do it. Everyday. In fact, you're doing it right now! So when should our kids start reading? It seems like children are reading earlier and earlier all the time. So should kids be able to read by the time they go to kindergarten? Will they be behind if they cannot recognize all of their letters and read independently before they start kindergarten?

The answer is no. While it's fantastic that many kids are starting earlier with their reading and writing, if your child doesn't know all of their letters, that's completely fine. In fact, according to Needham Public schools, these reading and writing skills are a focus in kindergarten!

In the Needham Public Schools Kindergarten Curriculum Summary, skills that are worked on include:

-identifying letters by name and sound when seen in upper and lower case

-using comprehension strategies when listening to books read aloud or when reading independently

-demonstrating an understanding of basic concepts of print

-beginning to label pictures and writing sample stories

-using phonetic spelling

-spelling high frequency words

In fact, in preschool, students are expected to be working on predicting what comes next in a story, making sense of print, and being able to write their names.

In the Scientist classroom, we are always encouraging our students to practice their writing if they so choose. After we write in our journals each morning, we ask the children if there is a word that they would like to pick from their story to rewrite. While many say yes, there are a lot that say no, close up their journals, and are on their way. While we are giving support to those that want to write, we also give support that would rather create a Lego ship to destroy the aliens that are trying to invade the classroom. So while reading and writing may seem like a necessity before entering kindergarten, take a moment and remember that everyone learns at a different pace. The letters and reading will come if they haven't already!

-Alison Simpson