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From: preece@uicsl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.kids
Subject: Re: Early reading programs - (nf)
Message-ID: <22800001@uicsl.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 2-Dec-83 00:12:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uicsl.22800001
Posted: Fri Dec  2 00:12:00 1983
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Apr-84 01:17:11 EST
References: <316@orca.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:orca:-31600:uicsl:22800001:000:1233
Nf-From: uicsl!preece    Nov 18 23:12:00 1983

#R:orca:-31600:uicsl:22800001:000:1233
uicsl!preece    Nov 18 23:12:00 1983

I don't think it's any great advantage to learn to read before kindergarten
instead of in first grade, but I don't think it hurts, either, if parents
don't treat it as a threshold between being a read-to baby and a
read-to-yourself big kid.

My five year old has been reading for the better part of a year, but she
still gets read to daily, both from books beyond her ability and from books
she could read herself but wants us to read to her instead.  I don't want her
to feel she HAS to read, I want her to WANT to read.  Seems to be working
well enough; she reads on her own a fair part of the time and is making nice
progress in figuring out words she hasn't seen before.  But I like reading
to her, too, so I'm happy to fill her need to be read to.  Reading to kids is
also important because in their own reading they concentrate so hard on the
individual words that they don't have time to appreciate the story.

As to feeling like an outsider because she could read in kindergarten, I
think those days are gone.  About a fifth of the kindergarten kids in her
school can read; essentially all of them know the alphabet and some words.
I imagine Sesame Street is the prime mover in that.

scott preece
ihnp4!uiucdcs!uicsl!preece