First grade prep

[jgale]

My son did preschool and kindergarden in a wonderful Montessori school where the activities were very 'child-led' and while he learned to read there, he definitely led himself more towards other activities. He will be starting at our local public school in the fall for 1st grade and I know that his reading level is way behind where the kids who did kindergarden there are.

I am not actually worried about his reading-I myself didn't really read until the end of 2nd grade and then became a voracious reader for the rest of my childhood. I'm more worried about him starting a new school way behind his classmates--how that will make him feel, what the teachers will think, etc. I would like to spend some time over the rest of the summer working on improving his reading, but I'm not sure how to go about that. I read to him every night, but getting him to read to me seems to turn into a power struggle pretty quickly.

Any suggestions? His comprehension of stories that I read is quite sophisticated (we've been reading Roald Dahl, the Ramona books, Harry Potter, etc), but the stories that he can actually read himself are kind of boring for him, I think. Plus reading is still really hard work for him, and who wants to work hard? Not him

Thanks,
Jessi

[Earthy Mama]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. My dd just finished 1st grade and there was a broad spectrum of skill level in her class. She was by far the best reader at a now 5th grade level, but she said there were some kids that couldn't read at all.
Have you tried Star Fall? www.starfall.com is what got dd into reading at a very early age. Fun interactive learn to read website.