Reading before kindergarten? (Arlington, McLean: day care, home, preschool)

[liloulou]

Just curious if most children in this area know how to read before they get to kindergarten?

From what my colleague said, it seems kids who go to pre-school (not daycare) can read by the time they enter kindergarten, but the majority of those who are in daycare or stay home can not.

And in this area, with so many driven and educated people I'm wondering if the rate might be higher than elsewhere.

Experiences/thoughts?

[DCNY]

Originally Posted by liloulou

Just curious if most children in this area know how to read before they get to kindergarten?

From what my colleague said, it seems kids who go to pre-school (not daycare) can read by the time they enter kindergarten, but the majority of those who are in daycare or stay home can not.

Experiences/thoughts?

My son was going to day care but we thought him to read before he went to Kindergarten. It it up to the parents, if they want to teach child to read, write.

I like the bob books from library that helped my son to learn reading.

[ChristineVA]

Both my kids went to preschool and they were taught to read there. They used a set of reading material that was used at the Kindergarten level.

I don't know how this area compares to others but I would imagine that it is very similar to any other metropolitan area with a large number of double-income households.

[Margery]

My oldest learned to read before he was 3, he learned a lot from Sesame Street and I bought a system from (I think) Hooked on Phonics. I would not have done that if he hadn't already showed an interest in reading. He is now almost 43, so this is not new. Kids were smart back in the olden days also. My daughter, who is 39, also learned to read before starting school. They both showed an interest, probably because I am a bookworm. I don't believe in pushing them, they should show an interest. If they do, you should encourage them, it will be a life long pleasure.

[Workin_Hard]

My 3 y.o. has been reading for awhile. She's in preschool but is way ahead of her classmates in this area. We read to her each night and bring home lots of library books each week, so I attribute it much more to our efforts (and perhaps her natural ability) than anything at school. Her favorites are any of the Cam Jansen mysteries or Magic Schoolbus series. Last year, in her toddler (2-3 y.o) class, we were told the other children would come to her to help identfy 'their' cubby spaces as she was the only one who could read the name labels posted on each. When Mom and I talk in front of her, spelling 'certain' words worked until she started repeating back the words to us after she heard us spell them. Now we switch to Russian but that's not going to last much longer as my daughter's Russian is almost as good as mine.

Since household education levels was mentioned in the OP, FWIW, Mom and I each hold multiple graduate degrees. (Mom's background was in lingusitics and education in her home country.)

[South Jersey Styx]

My daughter could read before kindergarten. I worked with her at home, she did got to pre-K, and then kindergarten+ at a private school in D.C. As several have mentioned, I believe it is a combination of parental involvement and good schools.

[Ashburnite]

Many of the preschools teach sight words but from my experience the percentage of children who can read (other than pick out certain words) before kindergarten is below half. Encouragement at home and a child's natural inclination play a big part.

[michgc]

My oldest child read before kindergarten but very simple words - she wasn't reading books (maybe very simple ones) - I don't remember exactly. One of her friends was definitely reading books at that age. In my daughter's kindergarten class she was in the highest reading group so I imagine many of them were not reading. My younger daughter is in her last year of preschool now, and is not really reading at all.

My sister's children both read before kindergarten and were also the youngest in their class with late August birthdays (Sept. 1 cutoff). As they got older, my nephew excelled in school - good grades, studious, accelerated classes. My niece was very average - B's and C's, regular classes (no acceleration). They are both in college now, and their early reading was not very indicative of how successful they were in school.

[arielmina]

I didn't worry about rushing it. My b/g twins did a great educationally focused pre-school which focused on sight words but I would not say they were really "reading" until kindergarten. I didn't really see the need to start them any earlier and they wree both reading by end of October of their K year as young 5s. They are both in the most advanced reading levels for their grade now in 2nd grade. I don't think it makes a wit of difference in the grand scheme of things, as long as they are reading proficiently by the end of kindergarten.

[Jane09]

Question: We will be relocating to NOVA from NY. My daughter is in K and just learned to read. My youngest daughter is in a terrible preschool (it's basically a poorly run mixed age daycare/tot-drop)......awful! Any good preschool recommendations in the Arlington/McLean area? She will be 4 next month and I don't want her to get stuck in another bad school.