How old was your child when s/he began reading fluently?

[dragons in the flower bed]

For the purpose of the poll, let's define independent reading as the ability and willingness to sound out most words s/he sees, and recognize, if she has heard it before, the word s/he has sounded out. Oh, and since I can't figure out how to let people vote more than once, vote for your oldest child.

[claire at home]

Thank you for defining fluency! After reading all the posts on early readers, I was truly wondering what this meant. I certainly don't consider being able to read Bob Books at age three fluency.
Also how do you all know at what grade level your child is reading? Do you get them tested? Or do you just go by the particular book your child is reading?
Great posts,
claire

[Elm in NJ]

my 2nd ds was 5, my twins were 6. In fact last year around this time, my poor dh took me aside and demanded to know why I wasn't making an effort to teach the poor twins. So we started with Reading Made Easy, and 4months later they were reading Calvin and Hobbes. They still prefer 'junky' books to any serious ones but the deal is for every 1 junk they read, they read 3 Mommy chooses.:D

Elmeryl

[Holly IN]

I put 4 yrs old for my boys. My dd is not reading fluently yet and she is 8 yrs old. She also has special needs (Autism).

Holly

[Bee]

My oldest started reading earlier but wasn't reading fluently (by your definition) until she was about 6.Youngest started reading just before her 6th birthday and reached that same point within a couple of months.

[KAR120C]

For the purpose of the poll, let's define independent reading as the ability and willingness to sound out most words s/he sees, and recognize, if she has heard it before, the word s/he has sounded out. Oh, and since I can't figure out how to let people vote more than once, vote for your oldest child.
DS was really ridiculously young when he picked up reading, but it was funny because he was pretending he couldn't read at all for about a year after that. We caught on because when it was in his interests he would suddenly "happen" to know what a sign said... like one time we were in line at a pretzel stand and I had only mentioned the possibility of pretzels and he piped up with "but the sign says they have grilled hot dogs!" Oh really? "Yeah... uh... it starts with G and I just guessed that's what it said" *snort* Nice try kid but you're so busted! :p

As of just before his fourth birthday he was reading Seuss and other early reader type books independently, and working at your definition of fluency. And by his fifth birthday he was reading just about anything (smaller print, no pictures, etc.) It wasn't until then that he finally admitted he could read :rolleyes:

[Julie in GA]

nt

[Linda]

My oldest is 6.5.

It hasn't happened yet so I voted "other."

[Daisy]

Both of my kiddos were right at 5. They could then pick up a book and read most of it without assistance. AND for me the big indicator was that they would spontaneously pick up books and read. It was no longer something they had to "work" at. KWIM?

[Asma_08]

I liked that you defined fluency. My oldest started beginning bob books at 3 but plateaued at cvc words. I just backed of the phonics for about a year and just recently at almost 6 he has just taken off. He actually likes reading now where as before it was a chore to just get through.

My second ds is 3.5, knows his alphabet sounds and a few words but I don't want to push him too early. I plan on waiting until he is 4 maybe 4.5 to start phonics pathways.

[K&Rs Mom]

I was kind of surprised to see the relative shape of the graph that I would expect, but somewhat higher (younger) than I would have thought. I wonder if the curve would look different for younger siblings. There is definitely some truth to the birth-order differences.

[angela in ohio]

I was kind of surprised to see the relative shape of the graph that I would expect, but somewhat higher (younger) than I would have thought. I wonder if the curve would look different for younger siblings. There is definitely some truth to the birth-order differences.

I was thinking how abnormal it was, too, and then I thought of the fact that WTM-interested parents tend to not be a representative sample. :)

[Cadam]

I voted for my middle one because I didn't teach the oldest to read and he had language issues to overcome that put him on the later side of things.

[Mama Lynx]

Interesting graph. Here's how it fell out in my family:

Oldest boy - fluent reading at 7.5

Boy #2 - fluent reading by 5, probably more like 4.5

Boy #3 - 7.5, and not there yet

Boy #4, just turned six and reading everything in sight

[Country Girl]

I meant to hit four years but accidently hit 5. Sorry for messing up the poll, I guess I need to go back and work on my reading LOL!:rolleyes:

[abbeyej]

I voted for my first (ds), who was reading quite fluently at 3. My second, though, could sound out three letter words from about that age, she just had zero interest in actually reading. All of a sudden at 5-and-a-couple-of-months, she made a huge leap, and by 5.5 she was reading anything she could get her hands on. She'll be six this month and reads a couple of American Girl books a day and has read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and things like that... It's funny how skewed having an early reader first can make you -- I was actually starting to worry about her! ;) Even though I *knew* that was ludicrous...

[AngieW in Texas]

With this definitition of fluency -
3yo for my oldest,
5yo for my middle,
8yo for my youngest (dyslexic)

[Jenny in Atl]

My oldest was slow to read well (6'ish), my youngest much younger (4). They are both very strong readers (adv for their ages). I feel when is not as important as many think.

[Cathy in TX]

One child was 5, one 5 1/2, and one 6 but actually closer to seven.

[Sarah CB]

My first child was able to read Bob books at three but wasn't reading things like the Magic Treehouse series until she was four. By five she was reading The Secret Garden and Black Beauty.

My second child had trouble learning to read. It felt like I was banging my head against the wall for 18 months. Finally, it just clicked. He was six and went from struggling to remember letter sounds to reading Nate the Great and the Magic Treehouse series in just a couple of months.

My third was reading well by age 5.

[Kathy in MD]

He had many, many LD's that took forever to uncover and treat. BTW, he started phonics when he was 3.5.

[Elisabeth in IL]

I voted for 8 before I really read your definition. They started sounding out words at 4 and 5 but my oldest still struggles with reading and is being tutored. He does fine with short common words but struggles decoding larger words and long passages. I think that he gets discouraged when he sees longer books and gives up before he begins.

[Renee in FL]

My oldest was in ps and was 7 before he started reading fluently. He was 10 before he really *liked* to read and he didn't have to work at it.

My next was 7.5 - he started phonics at 4. He didn't get all his letter sounds until 7 and then he jumped in ability (finally.) He still struggles with comprehension.

My 3rd is 7 today and he has known his letter sounds for 2.5 years, but isn't reading yet. He was a severe failure to thrive, though, and has always been a year or so behind everyone else.

My 5.5 yo doesn't care about anything related to school work. He'd rather play with his trucks in the mud.

My 3yo GIRL loves to do schoolwork and she is trying to teach herself to read. I need to get on the ball with her.

[cin]

My oldest was 3 1/2 when a FRIEND told me she was reading the BOB books to her. I was trying to humble myself and thought she just had the story memorized :o I moved her from BOB to Dick and Jane for 'school' and anything she could get her hands on for recreation. Now, at 6, she devours A.G. books, Magic Treehouse, and I'm getting ready to start her on the Little House series. My problem has been finding things that are suitable at her reading level. She freaks easily, so even Little House books, where they talk about making head cheese...UGH But she is slowly learning about life and I think she can handle it now.

DD2 is almost 3 1/2 and is starting to sound out words. I've just started doing 100 EZ with her. So far, so good. I'm not trying to push her, I'm just guiding her so she learns correctly.

[Lori D.]

We never pushed or worried about getting them reading. Our desire was to instill a love of reading and books, and so we have always read out loud a lot, and still do as a family even though the boys are now 14 and almost 16, and more looked for signs of reading readiness to move forward with instruction.

The older son learned in private school in kinder/1st grade, and was reading fluently (reading stepped readers and gentle chapter books) between age 7-8.

The younger son learned his letter sounds in private school in kinder, but didn't make the leap to actual reading until late in 1st grade when we started homeschooling. He was 7. Reading fluently didn't come to him until he was 8, almost 9.


It was the right timing for them, and they do enjoy reading today. Success! : ) Warm regards, Lori D.

[Sweetpeach]

Both of my kiddos were right at 5. They could then pick up a book and read most of it without assistance. AND for me the big indicator was that they would spontaneously pick up books and read. It was no longer something they had to "work" at. KWIM?

I love this idea of reading being a pleasure and not something they had to "work" at . . . you see, I have one son who got there very early --- early five year old that could read anything. My second son is turning 8 in July, and he still has to work at reading. He's just not interested -- he'll read whatever it is I have him read and he can do it pretty fluently, but to grab a book and read before bed or just for interest' sake -- not there yet. He can read his SOTW history, but enjoy it . . . now that's a whole other kettle of fish. *sigh*



T

[Wee Pip]

I voted "6" for my oldest dd. Age 5 was painful sounding out every.single.letter, forgetting the sentence by the time we reached the end, hating reading. Age 6, I taught her phonograms & then RELAXED A LOT! I started encouraging her to make mistakes, take a guess, and just have fun with her book. I used the philosophy behind Teach A Child to Read With Children's Books, and I picked the easiest, most repetitious books on the list. She still didn't like reading, but I persisted, and she slowly got the idea of what reading was supposed to be like. Now, at age 7 she can read somewhere around the 2nd grade level - stuff like Amelia Bedelia. There are a lot of books she just won't read (Frog & Toad, anything by Arnold Lobel. She hates Arnold Lobel - too dark). So its actually very difficult for me to find books she likes. She still likes to pick up picture books and read those. She refuses to attempt Magic Treehouse, or any small chapter books like that, so I'm just sort of waiting for the day when she is ready for that step.

Now, writing is another story...we're lucky to get a 4 word sentence without tears and whining!! She's definitely been my tricky kid to teach. My 2nd dd, 5yo, is at the sounding out each word phase.

[Kay in Cal]

My older son was my very early reader (so far, he's the only 2 year old)... though he was past Bob Books and such before he turned three. He's six now and he reads fluently--in this case meaning he decodes words on an adult level, though his comprehension is clearly not on an adult level. Occasionally he'll mispronounce a new word ("sylph" is one from recently--I think he said "slyph") but we simply correct him and he'll never miss it again. He's just wired that way.

My younger son is 4 and is just starting to sound out words (as you may have noticed on the other board!). It was such a thrill to see all the pieces fall into place as he realized he could actually sound the word out... wow! I'm not expecting fluency for a while, but it will be nice to start Kindergarten next fall with a little bit of reading under his belt.

Part of our dillema is that we've never really had a non-reading child before, and most of our family activities involve reading (we play lots of games--board games, role playing game, card games, etc). It's been hard to adjust and make life fun for the younger son as well, and we are pretty chuffed that he'll be reading sometime soon.

[dragons in the flower bed]

I'm greatly enjoying hearing how each of you has seen the leap between learning to read and being a reader. Fascinating stuff!

[freethinkermom]

I said four, but I guess by your definition of fluency it would have been younger for my oldest. I don't really know when he reached that fluency point. Four was when I caught him in his room with a flashlight finishing the Harry Potter book his dad had been reading to him at night. Dh was both proud and a bit hurt that ds did not want to wait for him :o

Ds11 reads at a college level now. Ds6 reads somewhere around a middle school level, maybe a little higher.

[5wolfcubs]

I voted for my oldest, but here is the breakdown:

DD 13: Fluent at 7...after 3 years of frustration & tears (both of us).
DD 11: Fluent at 4.5, she wanted to learn to read and quickly surpassed big sis.
DS 8: Fluent at 4, completely self-taught by watching dh play online role-playing games (I was going to teach him when he turned 6).
DS 5:Not reading at all, knows sounds of letters but can not put them together. Recognizes a few sight words. I keep putting off teaching him formally...

[Kimber]

I put other for my dd, first born. I have no idea because I was so ignorant that when she started reading to me at 4 1/2, I told her she wasn't she must have memorized the words. Poor thing. Her response to me was, "Yeah, I rememorized them."

A few months later a slighter older cousin, about 8, gave her a book to read and she's been without one ever since--almost. :)

[Dr. Laura]

A newbie here...I had to think really hard about this one. I vascillated between four and five for quite awhile, but settled on five, because that is when DD began reading chapter books and could sit by herself and read for stretches of uninterrupted time. She could do the Bob-type books at three, but then she just seemed to stall for awhile. Dr. Suess books were easy at four. I don't know why Magic Tree House and five stands out as a hallmark in my mind...that question was way too hard for my first outing on this board!

[5sweeties]

In our house:

Oldest dd was 3
next dd was 6 or even 7 (I considered her a late reader)
next dd was 6
next dd was 6
youngest and only ds was 5

[Mrs Mungo]

My eldest was 4. My middle daughter was 6. My son is 6 (he'll be 7 in April) and is *almost* but not quite there.

[Moira in MA]

It absolutely would look different for my younger dd -- she didn't read fluently until she was at least 7. She just didn't see the need as she had 3 willing readers. When we all refused to read Garfield to her, she finally saw a use for reading.

[Musical Belle]

My 9yo ds was reading fluently at five, but we started kindergarten when he was four (his birthday is in October). He is my History and Grammar kid. My 6yo dd is finally almost fluent now we are halfway through first grade, but we didn't press as hard in kindergarten -- it took me all year to figure out how to homeschool two, and some things fell through the cracks last year. She is also my Science and Math girl (she has been doing Saxon Math 2 all year with no trouble), so reading is not her greatest strength.

[Testimony]

My youngest was 7 years old. The funny thing is that they both fly in their reading now. You would never know who started early and who started late. They just flew once they could do it.

Blessings,
Karen
www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

[Vanna]

...when they began to read fluently. Middle dc (almost 8) still struggles, but excels in just about every other subject.

[susie in tx]

My eldest was 9, 1st middle was 6, and my current 6 yo is not yet.