• Kindergarten child not yet reading
• Preschoolers and Reading
• 4th Grader with "phonemic weakness"
• 4th Grader Poor Reader

Kindergarten child not yet reading

Our kindergarten daughter has an early fall birthday, and although she loves kindergarten, she seems far behind her peers in reading, letter recognition, and so on. As of March, she recognizes only 19 of the 26 letters, and has similar issues with number recognition. Although she is progressing well at this point, her peers in her class are already reading. Her teacher has hinted that she thinks it might be a good idea for our daughter to repeat kindergarten. Our questions to you all are:
1. What assessments do we ask for? We do not know if our daughter is simply developmentally behind, or if she has a learning disability with symbol recognition;
2. Socially, what are the pros and cons of holding her back? Thus far, kindergarten has been a wonderful experience for her, and she interacts well with all of her classmates.
3. What programs/tutors are out there for kindergarteners to help them learn to read? If we can help her during the spring and summer, she will most likely go on to first grade. If not, we do not want to send her to first grade if it will be frustrating and too difficult for her.

Thanks for your ideas and experiences! Berkeley resident/private school

As far as repeating kindergarten, it's hard to know, but if she were to make a breakthrough she could catch up very quickly, so I would be concerned if the only reason for holding her back was because of the reading issues. Mom of a voracious reader

Get Hooked On Phonics. It is fun to do and it is now available for $140 at Costco (instead of the usual $300). I bet your child just needs some one-on-one time doing phonics. I taught my 6-year-old to read with it a couple years ago and she really enjoyed it and now I am teaching my 5-year-old and she loves it, too. It doesn't hurt that we play a game where I put out the sight word cards with a chocolate soy nut (from Trader Joe's) on each one and she gets to eat the soy nut (or mini chocolate chips---Nestles in the baking section---they are really tiny) after she reads the word. Another thing to do is to take a square block and tape one sight word to each side and write each sight word on a piece of paper. Then have her roll the die and read the word and put a tally mark next to each word on the list as it comes up on the die. She keeps going until she has rolled all six words on the die. Then count the tallies and see which word got the most.

Hooked on Phonics has a good method and if you do it with your child you'll know what she is working on. Then take every opportunity to point things out that she can read as you are walking around town. Today, for instance, we saw a sign that said ''Dogs On Leash'', so I had my 5yo read ''Dogs On'' and I read ''Leash''. It is exciting for them to realize that the world is full of things that they can read. (Same with numbers, by the way, point them out wherever you go).

The stories and illustrations in Hooked on Phonics are great and the CD of games that comes with the first box is superb.

If you would like someone else to work with your child over the summer Ivy Sandz is terrific. You can find her online at: www.literacyaccess.com She teaches reading and writing in a little cozy cottage behind her North Berkeley home and has great rapport with kids. Good luck! susan

Following are my suggestions for things to think about:

While it seems common that kindergarteners learn to read, it is a more complex situation than you may realize. First, it isn't a developmental expectation. If your school expects kids to read in kindergarten, your child is a victim of ''curriculum shove-down'' where curricula gets ''shoved down'' to the grade below in order to keep up with (unrealistic) expectations of people in the school community and/or by the pressure exerted by the state mandated testing. Secondly, are you sure the other kids are really reading? This is difficult to ascertain, however, some kids have great visual memories and can recognize words by memory and where the content of what they are reading is fairly simplistic, they can easily figure out words they don't memorize and appear to be reading. I've even seen kids completely able to memorize simple books because of repeated readings by adults. Other kids use their memory skills to apply a phonetic based approach, but have no idea as to what they read in terms of comprehension. Other kids use the pictures to trigger the printed words. All of these situations I've described above can be a part of the process of learning to read, but by far, none could truly be described as reading.

Your child may also be a ''victim'' of a skewed student population, where most of the children are performing above grade level... when you compare kids in a class, someone has to be first and someone has to be last... your child's teacher may in part be motivated by this... I knew a regular education teacher who automatically referred for special education evaluation the bottom 3 kids in her class every year, for no other reason than they were the bottom 3... she was just covering herself in case problems came up later on down the line in the upper grades.

It is also within developmental norms that your child has not yet mastered the alphabet/numbers. However, your child is likely at the low end of those norms. I believe that your child's age is likely a factor here. In the early grades, the age span can be almost a year difference among the oldest and youngest children in a classroom. This makes a huge difference in terms of development. Typically, this developmental difference is seen among boys, who tend to lag behind girls in their development, but I've seen it with girls as well.

You are now in a bit of a sticky situation. If she repeats kindergarten, it will likely be a bit of a blow to her in terms of her own sense of self as well as socially with the other kids. However, if she fails to catch up and falls further behind in first grade, she may not be able to close the gap at all. The curriculum goes faster and faster with each year, and the teachers tend to expect more. If you are leaning towards retention, do it now. Although she may struggle with the issues I raised above, in my experience, she has the best chance of getting past it the younger she is. By the end of first grade, in my experience, it will be too late.

If you do retain her in kindergarten, find out specifically how the school will handle it (same teacher or different one?, etc.) and what the school will do (if anything) to help assure that your child will benefit from the experience the second time around. While exposure to the same curricula will likely offer your child the chance and time she needs to grasp it because she will be developmentally ready, what will they do if she ''takes off'' quickly, masters the subject matter, and needs more of a challenge than is offered in the kindergarten curricula? Ask how the school suggests you handle it with your child- how to explain it, etc. If there isn't a school counselor, contact one privately for advice... Barbara Waterman is wonderful... she's reviewed on this site and her contact info is given.

Ask for a meeting with the teacher and principal together. Ask what the school's standards are for promotion and retention. Ask them, in their experience, whether they see signs of learning disability or whether they feel the issue is her developmental readiness. If it's developmental readiness, I'd feel more comfortable retaining her.

If they suspect learning disability, you should ask the school how to pursue testing for learning disabilities. Act on it quickly, as the school year is drawing to a close and there are deadlines to meet once an evaluation begins, so at some point there is a cut off for new evaluations until the next school year. If you are beyond the cut off date and learning disabilites are suspected, pursue the evaluation privately if you have the means. Ann Martin Children's Center is one I've heard recommended. I had a student who was in a similar situation as your child at the end of her kindergarten year. Her parents did not retain her in kdg and had her in SCORE all summer and all through first grade. She was bright, caught on quickly, and was one of my best readers from the start of first grade. She had a late fall birthday (November- close to Thanksgiving). Socially, she was a bit immature. The SCORE experience gave her confidence in her abilities and mastery of the skills she needed to be a successful reader, both in terms of decoding (phonics and sight words) as well as comprehension. And she LOVED it. Of course, not knowing your child, I can't say whether I think it would help. My general advice is that it likely would help if your child is having a developmental lag. If there are learning disabilities, I would be less certain without knowing the specifics.

I hope you find this helpful. Best of luck to you and your child. The best thing you can do for your child is be her advocate and keep her out of the fray as much as possible. Kids know when they don't measure up with other kids, even if no one says anything directly. She needs you to tell her that you want to help her do her personal best (not be the best among all the others) and that you love her no matter what. -a former teacher

I would also encourage you to keep an open mind about giving your child another year in kindergarten. We made the decision to hold our first grader back last year because of maturity issues (that were affecting his ability to get work done and keep up with the rest of the class). Academically he could probably have moved on, but we were persuaded to give him the extra year. While it was painful and discouraging and humbling for us at first, I can genuinely say without any hesitation at all, that it was absolutely the best decision we could have made. Our son agrees as well.

Our son is now at the top of his class and in a leadership role that he is very proud of. His confidence has gone through the roof, and he doesn't despair that he can't keep up with the rest of the kids. He is doing things in first grade again that I know he would never have been able to do if we'd just moved him on to second grade. I think he would have fallen further and further behind, which would have taken a far greater emotional toll on him. It took a bit of adjustment during the first few weeks of school, but the other kids didn't care and no one made fun of him (which was our primary concern, even though it would not have been tolerated to any degree in the school).

Both his teacher and the school principal were spot on in everything they said to us about the retention and I am so glad we trusted their experience and insights and didn't try to push him ahead. They actually persuaded me to just let him enjoy the summer and not put him in the more rigorous academic camp I had been considering. We did find a college student to work with him a bit and I know that helped. We moved him along in the same activities with his age peers, so he had that continuity. The retention actually helped him expand his pool of friends, and that's a pretty big point to express should you decide to give your child an extra year. We were really warmed by the support we got from other parents, friends and teachers as well, who love our son and understand that he is a late bloomer.

At this age, it's really important to remember that education is not a sprint. School is a marathon, and the more time we give our kids to find their stride and develop the toolset they need to succeed, the better it is for them. While it might be difficult for them to adjust to their ''redshirt'' status, ultimately they (and you) will understand that another year of kindergarten or first grade or whatever it is that they need is a gift that will help them through the rest of their academic years.

Good luck with your decision. Relieved redshirt mama

In recent years the phonics emphasis has made the reason for reading and writing less clear for many students. I can't make any guarantees, but I would be willing to do an introductory session free of charge. There is a lot more to reading than letter sound knowledge. It's important, but some children don't hook into why they should read if they think it's merely the decoding of books they don't like.

A lot can be learned between now and September, particularly with parental support. Confidence in reading can change a child's perception of themselves. If you want to see more about me I do have a website: http://www.gatewaytoreading.com Carol K. Eshleman

In first grade we started learning letter recognition and writing. I was not a reader untill 3rd grade. My 14 year old son was reading in kindergarten...he's never stopped. My 10 year old son is in 3rd grade and doesn't much like reading although he can do it...but couldn't read well last year in 2nd grade. My point is that kids develop at different ages and if parents in your child's class tell you that their kids are recognizing all letters and reading, they're either lieing or there is an unusual group of kids there.

I believe it's the Waldorf School that doesn't even teach reading till kids are 8 or so.

Please don't worry. Your child will read. Please don't pressure her(I think you said daughter...forgive me if I'm wrong). She really will read when her little brain is developed enough for her to read. If she happens to have learning difficulty, it's too early to find out at this age anyway. If the teachers are pressuring you or your child, I'd find a different school. Hope this helps. you can tell this really hit a sour note with me. mom of a reader and a non reader

At the end of kindergarten, my son wasn't reading. He wasn't the only one in the class but it was noted on his report cards that he had a weak visual memory. We didn't do anything during the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade. We wanted him to enjoy his summer camps and have fun. We figured the reading stuff would evolve naturally.

At the end of first grade the teacher began talking to us about ''learning difficulties'' and suggested that we get someone to work with him during the summer. She also said we might want to consider getting him an assessment through the district in 2nd grade if things didn't improve. We decided to hire a private learning specialist (with a Master's in Special Ed) to work with him 3 hours/week during the summer. She used special multisensory learning tools to help him with blended letter sounds, reinforce his sight word vocabulary, and build his reading endurance. I think she brought him up half a grade in just 7 weeks.

Now we are reaching the end of 2nd grade and he is finally reading, and really enjoys books. He loves anything about volcanos or robots. He reads more slowly than other boys his age but the teachers are really great about breaking the lessons down into smaller bits for him and they are utilizing a volunteer (a retired schoolteacher) who works with him individually for 30 minutes per day. She helps him using a program called ''Handwriting Without Tears'' and gives him extra time to read the weekly ''assessments'' that are required by his school.

We are having him assessed next month by the district which may entitle him to even more accommodations than he is getting currently. And he will see his learning specialist this summer too because they have an excellent rapport. I've spoken with the special ed teacher at our public school and she uses some of the same techniques as the expensive private educational therapist we've been using!

Also, my son is a quick study in math and has an amazing oral memory so the principal suspects the assessment may come back as ''gifted'' in one area and learning disabled in another. It's more common than you would think.

So what I've learned from all this is: 1. If you decide to use an outside educational therapist, ask them to meet with the classroom teachers as soon as you get into 1st grade. You'll be perceived as someone who is eager to ''partner'' with all the adults who are invested in the success of your child not as someone demanding services. You want everyone on your side. 2. Kids have strengths and weaknesses. A deficit in one area does NOT mean your kid is learning disabled in all areas. Your school should be compassionate about this. If they aren't, consider finding another school. 3. Public schools for all their deficits are an excellent place for kids with learning disabilities. They've got more resources to offer parents. And teachers are quite sensitive to early identification and support for these kinds of students. 4. Early intervention is key but it's also important to realize that kids brains are wired differently and they will do things on their own schedule. Whether your kid reads in preschool or in 2nd grade really doesn't matter that much. As long as you help them to love learning by feeding their interests, you'll have a lifelong learner. 5. Don't indulge in blaming yourself. It's a waste of time. Your time is better spent being patient and persistently pursuing all the resources available for your child. --proud mom of a struggling reader

I can't advise on tests, retention, or considering changing schools, but can only express my sadness that it's come to this!

Let's try to recognize that kids learn to read at different times, and at different rates. You say she is progressing, so I suspect she is developing in other areas right now, and will make more progress if you let her do it when she's ready. Mom of ''late'' reader

Sorry - enough of my soapbox. Do you like this school? This teacher? Can you have a constructive conversation about this with the teacher or administrator? Do you have choices for next year? What are they proposing you do? How is your child reacting to ''reading instruction'' at school? Do they feel frustrated? Like a failure? If so, I can tell you that those feelings last a long time...and they will affect him/her in many areas of their education.

If you like, please contact me off-list - I would be happy to help in any way that I can. (My knowledge of schools that might better serve your daughter is limited to the East Bay though.) But I can also give your other questions to ask your teacher in order to work through this issue and ideas of how to counterbalance this situation at home. I wish you well. Theresa

I was told my child had problems in kindergarten and I took action because my son was beginning to feel bad about lagging behind his classmates. We consulted with a really amazing learning specialist in Oakland, Dr. Ariel (Orna) Lenchner. Best decision we ever made. Because my son really was having problems hearing the different letter sounds and that was what was slowing him up. She is terrific with fidgety kids and very fun. She helped him distinguish between letter sounds and taught him all the phonics rules and now he can sound out any word he sees. He is in first grade this year and reading at grade level. It took a few months of weekly sessions then all of a sudden it clicked. Dr. Lenchner could assess your child and make a recommendation. Here's her website and phone number: www.earlyliteracywizard.com, Phone: (510) 655-2952. Good Luck!

True reading readiness (as opposed to forced reading ''readiness'') is a *biological phenomenon*, and requires that a child has passed a number of benchmarks of sensory-motor integration - which is an aspect of healthy brain development! Many of these benchmarks have been passed when a child is able to do the following: * Pay attention and sit still in a chair for at least 20 minutes (without needing to wiggle or sit on his feet or wrap his feet around the legs of the chair as a way to locate his body in space) * Balance on one foot, without her knees touching, and in stillness, with both arms out to her sides - and count backwards without losing her balance. * Stand on one foot, with arms out in front of him, palms facing up, with both eyes closed for 10 seconds and not fall over. * Reproduce various geometric shapes, numbers, or letters onto a piece of paper with a pencil while someone else traces these shapes, letters, or numbers on her back * Walk on a balance beam * Jump rope * Skip

If children can't do these tasks easily, their vestibular and proprioceptive (sensory-motor) neural systems are not yet well-integrated, and chances are they will have difficulty sitting still, listening, focusing their eyes, focusing their attention, and remembering letters and numbers in the classroom.

Support for sensory-motor integration comes *not from flash cards or video games* but from the following activities: * Skipping * Hopping * Rolling down hills * Playing catch with a ball * Jumping rope * Running * Walking * Clapping games * Circle games

as well as fine motor activities to strengthen important neural pathways, such as * Cutting with scissors * Digging in the garden * Kneading dough (play or bread) * Pulling weeds * Painting * Beading * Drawings * String games (e.g. Jacob's Ladder) * Sewing * Finger crochet/knitting

By contrast, watching television/videos or playing video or computer games are extremely poor sources of stimulation for sensory-motor development and actually interfere with the healthy integration of the your nervous system, by keeping the child's nervous system in a state of stress (''fight or flight'' system is activated and maintained.)

Children who have difficulties reading and writing often also have * a poorly developed sense of balance * difficulty making eye contact * difficulty tracking or following with their eyes * trouble distinguishing the right side of their body from the left * difficulty sitting still in a chair * difficulty in locating their body in space * poor muscle tone exemplified by a slumped posture * a tense or fisted pencil grip * ''flat feet'' (collapsed arches) * oversensitivity to touch * overactive sympathetic nervous system (''fight or flight''), thus extra sensitive to the stimulant effects of sugar, chocolate, lack of sleep, changes in routines, watching television, playing computer/video games Sometimes these children have difficulties in their peer relationships because they are using their mind and eyes to help their body navigate in space, and miss the non-verbal social cues from their playmates. Dr. Johnson has seen children diagnosed with AD/HD or learning disabilities ''miraculously'' improve when that are taken out of an ''academic'' kindergarten or given and\ extra year in a developmental kindergarten that emphasizes movement, play, and the integration of their sensory-motor systems. On reading readiness as a biologically-based development: we would never label a child with a ''disability'' if they were slow to lose their first tooth, or begin menstruatiion...AND READING IS SIMILARLY LINKED TO A CHLD'S UNIQUELY UNFOLDING BIOLOGY! RELAX!!!

********************** So, I'd say ''delayed reading'' is a social judgement based on our current tendency to rush children into reading at very early ages. I didn't read in Kindergarten. I sure do read a lot now. Alysson

In your post, you recognize that your daughter's recent anxiety toward gymnastics class is caused by the fact that she's not performing as well as the other girls. In the past she's has had easy success, and this sudden ''failure'' is upsetting to her. In addition to the supportive comments you make to her, I also encourage you emphasize that it's OK to fail at some things. Lead by example--let her see you do something and fail (hopefully something not too serious or traumatic), and also let her see how you react to and, hopefully, overcome that failure. For example, when I was teaching my kid to ride his two-wheeler, he also saw me crash twice (too distracted watching him ride his wobbly bike), once into a rose bush (ouch!) and once on the asphalt, scraping and messing up my knee in the process...but I got back on my bike and kept riding. Kids need to learn that it's OK to fail at something, the main lesson being how to stay persistent and overcome failure (or know when to let it go). I don't know she is aware that you describe her as ''gifted'', but it would be a good thing for her to recognize that all people, including herself, are good at some things, and are not so good at other things...not to say that people should only stick with things they are good at, and give up on the things they are not so good at. OK to fail

We are not in a Waldorf school. We attend public school and my son was ''introduced'' to reading concepts in kindergarten. He was not expected to read until 1st or 2nd grade. Beginning in first grade, his teachers noticed how smart he was in other ways but how much of a struggle the reading was for him and they suggested he be evaluated for LD. He was evaluated in 2nd grade and diagnosed with a learning disability that prevents him from being able to retain the shapes of letters in his visual memory. It has nothing to do with balance or overall coordination. It is not related to occasionally playing video games or watching TV. These are myths that most reputable pediatricians and learning therapists dismiss as irrelevant to a serious reading problem. anon

Hi, My forth grade daughter has been diagnosed with a mild ''phonemic weakness'' ( I understand this to be a dyslexia type problem). She reads by memorizing words, but struggles with longer words and guesses, rather than sounds them out.

I have been told that a tudor who uses the Wilson method is best for this problem, but have been unable to find any in our area. Any ideas? She'll do best with someone who is VERY relational, and can make this fun.

Also, I have heard that the Lindamood-Bell program might be helpful. But since my daughter is a very reluctant participant in anything having to do with reading, I am concerned about the time intensiveness of a program like this.

I'd love any suggestions. We are a family of avid readers, and she feels sensitive about being different from us about this issue. a concerned mom

There are several good programs that address p.a. I am not familiar with Wilson, but Lindamood-Bell is definitely one of the best. (see the reviews of Lindamood-Bell for the rest of this recommendation.) Lauren

4th Grader Poor Reader

My 4th grader needs help in reading and I was hoping someone could recommend a reading tutor. The majority of his problem lies in sounding out words and trying words that he has never read before. Because of this, his reading tends to be slow and jumpy. We have him reading several hours a week at home and work with him on a consistent basis but I think someone outside the family could add to our effort.

First, the learning specialist at Marin School (loved the specialist at Marin School in Albany, but not at Albany Middle School, and love the Specialist at Bret Harte Middle School in Oakland) made sure that he understood that kids learn differently and that he is not "stupid," as he took to calling himself. Second, we developed an IEP that included a reading group. We made sure he didn't feel stigmatized by being associated with "special ed." (By the way, he was pulled out of the classroom for handwriting)

Third, four other moms and I contacted several fraternities and had them tutor our kids as part of their community service. Win-win for all of us!

I'm not presuming that your son has an LD, but if you haven't had him tested, you might want to consider, because there are so many resources available to you and your family. By the way, my son is now in the seventh grade and his reading speed is at grade level and his comprehension is at college level. In fact, he just finished reading Origin of Species--his own choice!