Well, we are very happy - over the last month, Carl has quite definitely learned to read, right after he turned 4. Not exactly reading Tolstoy yet, more readers of the "I went to the Library" variety, but still. Also, he can make short words by arranging letters and he can write very basic words.
It seems to me they are pushing kids into reading and writing earlier these days. When I was 4 I'm pretty sure the school did not hand out homework; Carl gets lots of home exercises he's supposed to do. Also, I'm pretty sure I didn't read until I was 5 or so.
What age were you reading at?
I think I was reading very basic stuff shortly after turning 4. I didn't start reading things that actually had plot or a semblance of a real story until around 2nd-3rd grade, though.
I was reading at 2, and started learning English shortly after. :smarty:
That Baby Can Read crap they push on TV annoys me. Also, homework annoys me too. :D
I don't remember the age I was reading at, but it was sorta early. I remember having to see a school headshrinker/pothead so I could go to Kindergarten a bit early.
I learned to read in first grade, when I was over six years old. Some people tried to get me to read before school, but they quickly gave up on account of me being completely uninterested.
5
Lets kids be kids.
I read newspaper articles better than my parents at age 5.
Also wrote poems in first and second grade.
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 08, 2010, 11:45:08 AM
5
Lets kids be kids.
Agreed. It's not like it's a skill that you must learn early, or never.
learned it in first grade, which is soon enough.
But was read to from an early age so the interest in stories was a given.
What is concerning for us is that Carl was born in mid December, making him the youngest one in his class. His cousin, born three weeks later, is the oldest one in her class - born early January.
A year makes a big difference at this age.
Reading was founded in the 8th century and endured the Battle of Reading in 871. It became Berkshire's county town in 1867.
I was 7 when I learned to read. I successfully struggled through a book that I found interesting and from that point the reading skill took off. The various reading schemes were a huge turn-off............though somehow the basic skills must have been inculcated one way or another.
I believe I learned to read in kindergarten, which means probably around the age of 4.
Next up: Spellus and/or CC who will claim they learned to read when they were two weeks old. :P
I remember the first book I liked in the school library, 1st or second grade. It was a giant book of WWI biplanes. Those things fascinated the hell out of me.
I think the Snoopy-Red Baron thing helped. :)
Quote from: Caliga on February 08, 2010, 12:03:51 PM
I believe I learned to read in kindergarten, which means probably around the age of 4.
Next up: Spellus and/or CC who will claim they learned to read when they were two weeks old. :P
Heh, some kids were lucky - their moms jammed a dictionary up themselves when they were pregnant. :D
Quote from: DGuller on February 08, 2010, 11:43:26 AM
I learned to read in first grade, when I was over six years old. Some people tried to get me to read before school, but they quickly gave up on account of me being completely uninterested.
I did too, with the books about Sam and Ann and Nip, their dog.
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 12:04:12 PM
I remember the first book I liked in the school library, 1st or second grade. It was a giant book of WWI biplanes. Those things fascinated the hell out of me.
I learned to read with Asterix comics, the French comic about the American Civil War "The Blue Boys", Lucky Luke and Reader's Digest "World History" in 2 volumes (though I very much preferred the maps in it). I think my parents were a bit disconcerned when I built a LEGO guillotine at age 8 after illustrations in the book.
Oddly, I never liked children's or youth books much and preferred non-fiction (there were some pretty decent aimed-at-kids books about history and science which I loved and read a lot at the library. The first fiction book I recall to have read was an edited children's version of Moby Dick (I loved the movie with Gregory Peck ... well, I still do). I had some sci-fi books I enjoyed, though (Commander Perkins, a sci-fi adventure series, and some short story collections which included something like Last Starfighter or some postapocalyptic stories which I loved).
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 08, 2010, 11:45:08 AM
5
Lets kids be kids.
And make functional illiterates later on right?
The sooner the better Malthus.
G.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:55:07 AM
What is concerning for us is that Carl was born in mid December, making him the youngest one in his class. His cousin, born three weeks later, is the oldest one in her class - born early January.
A year makes a big difference at this age.
My youngest was born Dec. 28; she is the oldest in her class, thankfully. She is incredibly shy and I would have been tempted to hold her back a year to keep her from being the youngest in her class.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:55:07 AM
What is concerning for us is that Carl was born in mid December, making him the youngest one in his class. His cousin, born three weeks later, is the oldest one in her class - born early January.
I was the youngest in class all 13 years of school and I turned out fine, I think. :unsure:
Quote from: Grallon on February 08, 2010, 12:18:49 PM
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 08, 2010, 11:45:08 AM
5
Lets kids be kids.
And make functional illiterates later on right?
The sooner the better Malthus.
G.
:rolleyes: I turned out fine.
I still remember the day I learned to read. It was the same day I learned to ride a bike. It was a pretty productive day. I was probably 5, but then we didn't have reading lessons or anything so I still don't think I was slow.
i knew basic stuff like how to spell cat in preschool, so probably 4. "Really" (little kid) reading startied in grade 1, so five. Kids get way too much homework. It started when i was little and it's growing.
It appears that schools are pushing for more and more at a younger age. Unfortunately a lot of it is driven by the disparity in learning between those that want to learn and those that do not i.e. the burbs versus the inner cities.
It's an agenda being pushed by some States that if they start a kid learning earlier than that gives the educators more time with the child and sparks an interest in learning. Which means many of the goals and benchmarks are set by the standards being applied to inner city kids. The result is the kids in the burbs get smarter faster which creates a bigger gap between inner city and other kids which in turns creates more issues for educators.
It has it's good points and it's bad points. It won't work because administrators and politicians just don't understand or refuse to understand the bigger picture.
Quote from: HVC on February 08, 2010, 12:35:31 PM
i knew basic stuff like how to spell cat in preschool, so probably 4. "Really" (little kid) reading startied in grade 1, so five. Kids get way too much homework. It started when i was little and it's growing.
I think my kids had more homework in elementary school( grades 1-6) than they do now in 8th and 10th grade. They get very good grades but never seem to have homework.
Quote from: sbr on February 08, 2010, 12:19:13 PM
My youngest was born Dec. 28; she is the oldest in her class, thankfully. She is incredibly shy and I would have been tempted to hold her back a year to keep her from being the youngest in her class.
Carl's not shy. At all. :D
The other day they had a show-and-tell, and he took his harmonica and played a "tune" (he doesn't yet play actual songs, but he's very musical) - he had the other kids dancing, apparently.
His thing is that he can be very silly - he is only four, and sometimes he just feels like tuning you out and babbling about racing and shooting bad guys. The older kids and teachers on occasion find this tedious.
OTOH, he's learning, albeit slowly, to play games without throwing a tantrum when he loses. He was playing snakes & ladders with his grandma, and she won - he said "well done!".
He was so impressed with snakes & ladders that he spontaneously invented a game by himself - something he's very good at: each person tosses a four-sided ball in the air and the colour uppermost is what they have to do:
Yellow = climb a ladder (good)
Red = burn up in flames (bad)
Blue = swim in the ocean (OK)
Green = run across the grass (OK)
You have to act it out.
Quote from: Syt on February 08, 2010, 12:21:16 PM
I was the youngest in class all 13 years of school and I turned out fine, I think. :unsure:
I was the oldest one, by several years.
Quote from: Grallon on February 08, 2010, 12:18:49 PM
And make functional illiterates later on right?
The sooner the better Malthus.
G.
Why? This is a silly concept, that learning earlier makes one better. It's simply not true.
Anecdotally, I learned to read when I was three and was reading chapter books by first grade. I'm still an avid bibliophile. However, my brother and sister didn't learn to read until they were in first grade (which was the norm). Both are extraordinarily successful business folks, read nearly as avidly as I do now, and are very articulate.
Of my own children, I had two learn to read at five, one at three, and one at six. They've all tested very well on standardized tests in Reading and English. They all love to read, and they're all perfectly happy with a book in their hand.
As for the homework thing, when the kids were in preschool they had "book bags" that came home with them. The idea was that we would read the books to the kids, write down that we did so, and the kids would draw a picture showing what they thought of the story. The intent was to encourage parents to read to the kids. I hated them. The stories were stupid, the kids hated the whole process, and overall, it turned all of us off from homework for quite a while. Instead of reading them silly books, we started in with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at bedtime. :D
Quote from: Barrister on February 08, 2010, 12:49:05 PM
Poor Grey Fox - he can't even be insulted even when he asks for it. :console:
Maybe he couldn't read your insult?
:face:
Pity thyself
Quote from: Caliga on February 08, 2010, 12:03:51 PM
Next up: Spellus and/or CC who will claim they learned to read when they were two weeks old. :P
Had a lot of trouble learning how to read. I went to a Jewish preschool in one of the more academically-oriented bits of the planet, and I think a lot of my intellectual anxieties/interests stem from inferiority issues I had in Pre-School.
That said, I was reading Asimov's Chronology of the world by Third Grade, and basically memorized it.
Quote from: Caliga on February 08, 2010, 12:03:51 PM
I believe I learned to read in kindergarten, which means probably around the age of 4.
Next up: Spellus and/or CC who will claim they learned to read when they were two weeks old. :P
I was never that delayed in my learning.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:55:07 AM
What is concerning for us is that Carl was born in mid December, making him the youngest one in his class. His cousin, born three weeks later, is the oldest one in her class - born early January.
A year makes a big difference at this age.
That year will always make a big difference in some things. But not his school work. I was a late December baby and was always the youngest. Where I experienced the biggest difference was in Athletics. I was always competing against older kids. I often wonder how things would have worked out if I had been in been able to play against kids my own age.
Funny story, when I was in grade 10 I was 14 and starting for the senior team - playing with and against kids that were 17-18. I was shooting around on an outdoor court one weekend when some members of the junior school team (some grade 9s) showed up. I played them one on five and beat them. One of them sarcastically said, "too bad you can't play like that against kids your own age". He was only a couple months younger then me.....
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 12:56:43 PM
I was never that delayed in my learning.
:lol: :blush: I think of you as cc, not CC. I think of Banana as CC, whom I should really think of as DSB now. In conclusion, nick changing BLOWS. :mad:
The only thing I know about your childhood is that you drank like a whole tanker truck full of milk every day. :D
Quote from: Caliga on February 08, 2010, 01:10:00 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 12:56:43 PM
I was never that delayed in my learning.
:lol: :blush: I think of you as cc, not CC. I think of Banana as CC, whom I should really think of as DSB now. In conclusion, nick changing BLOWS. :mad:
The only thing I know about your childhood is that you drank like a whole tanker truck full of milk every day. :D
I keep forgetting what DSB/CC's nic on Kapland was... :blush:
The normal age, 4-5 or so.
Kids who learn to read early are generally nought special, its best to just let them wait till school.
My mam (a teacher) often observes the kids that come in already knowing how to read usually don't end up being the ones who are top of the class- its the parents doing in teaching them to read, not any special intelligance on the kids part afterall.
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 11:42:26 AM
That Baby Can Read crap they push on TV annoys me.
All that stuff is garbage. It's been repeatedly proven that reading to your kids is much more effective than any of those babysit-my-kid-and-teach-them-shit videos.
I entered kindergarten at age 4 and could read before that.
Quote from: merithyn on February 08, 2010, 12:45:12 PM
Quote from: Grallon on February 08, 2010, 12:18:49 PM
And make functional illiterates later on right?
The sooner the better Malthus.
Why? This is a silly concept, that learning earlier makes one better. It's simply not true.
Anecdotally, I learned to read when I was three and was reading chapter books by first grade. I'm still an avid bibliophile. However, my brother and sister didn't learn to read until they were in first grade (which was the norm). Both are extraordinarily successful business folks, read nearly as avidly as I do now, and are very articulate.
Of my own children, I had two learn to read at five, one at three, and one at six. They've all tested very well on standardized tests in Reading and English. They all love to read, and they're all perfectly happy with a book in their hand.
As for the homework thing, when the kids were in preschool they had "book bags" that came home with them. The idea was that we would read the books to the kids, write down that we did so, and the kids would draw a picture showing what they thought of the story. The intent was to encourage parents to read to the kids. I hated them. The stories were stupid, the kids hated the whole process, and overall, it turned all of us off from homework for quite a while. Instead of reading them silly books, we started in with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone at bedtime. :D
Dunno why you would bring facts into the discussion.
The fact of the matter is that there is plenty of evidence to show that "the later the better" when it comes to schools teaching kids how to read. Kids that learn on their own earleir are not disadvantaged, but kids that feel a compulsion to learn to read before they are developmentally ready can suffer from this for life.
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 01:07:06 PM
That year will always make a big difference in some things. But not his school work. I was a late December baby and was always the youngest. Where I experienced the biggest difference was in Athletics. I was always competing against older kids. I often wonder how things would have worked out if I had been in been able to play against kids my own age.
Funny story, when I was in grade 10 I was 14 and starting for the senior team - playing with and against kids that were 17-18. I was shooting around on an outdoor court one weekend when some members of the junior school team (some grade 9s) showed up. I played them one on five and beat them. One of them sarcastically said, "too bad you can't play like that against kids your own age". He was only a couple months younger then me.....
Yeah, but aren't you a giant? No fair, having to play against giants. ;)
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 02:01:18 PM
Yeah, but aren't you a giant? No fair, having to play against giants. ;)
He is, and I think his story is a little disingenuous that way...
Quote from: grumbler on February 08, 2010, 01:53:44 PMThe fact of the matter is that there is plenty of evidence to show that "the later the better" when it comes to schools teaching kids how to read. Kids that learn on their own earleir are not disadvantaged, but kids that feel a compulsion to learn to read before they are developmentally ready can suffer from this for life.
That's really interesting. Would you care to elaborate?
For my part, I think I was 7 when I learned to read.
The difference between jake and melanie in their reading is striking.
Jake learned to read very easily, loves it, and reads like crazy. He is in 4th grade now, and has read all the Harry Potter books twice. The hardest thing is finding him new things to read. He is currently on his second run through the Percy Jackson books. He loves fantasy, and reference books, like the Guiness Book of World Records, or books about science and scientists, as long as they are sufficiently "cool".
Melanie loves to be read to, but does not seem to much care for reading itself (1st grade). She will certainly do it if asked, and she is pretty much required to read 20 minutes a day for school, although she gets to pick the book, and being read to counts as well, so we try to divide it up. I imagine at some point it will click and she will figure out how to enjoy reading, and then it will take off.
It doesn't really bother me either way - the elementary school certainly stresses how critical reading skills are, but they don't seem to really find beating the kids up over it to work, so they seem to be pretty good at leading them, rather than pushing.
Calling them tetrahedrons would be elitist, maybe racist too :o
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on February 08, 2010, 02:14:32 PM
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 12:42:37 PM
a four-sided ball
:huh:
Do you own such a ball?
:D
Well, balls don't have "sides" at all - this one has four different coloured sections.
I know that at 3 I had to start reading as I can remember being given worksheets (pre-school mind you) that also featured spanish words. Uvas!
I cannot remember not being able to read, so I guess I must have learned around 3 or 4 or so (my memories of my early years seem to be a lot more fragmentary than a lot of people around here.)
I do know that at some point when I was in "Infants" School my mother and grandmother were called in to discuss "how poor I was at reading", at which meeting my grandmother pointed out exactly what books I was reading at home and laughed in their faces! I guess the lesson is that whatever idiot teaching method they were using was just confusing someone who already knew what to do.
Does anyone else remember those tests which assigned your reading age that you used to take back when you were nine or ten or so? I used to have a reading age consistently five years older than my actual age; I remember as a kid wondering what the test would say when I actually got as old as fifteen or so, but of course they didn't test us like that when I reached that age! :)
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 02:01:18 PM
Yeah, but aren't you a giant? No fair, having to play against giants. ;)
Back then I was only about 6'3'' so pretty short. :D
But I was fast and I was a white man who
could jump.
Could read by the time I turned 2. Kindergarden and the first few years of grade school bored the heck out of me.
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 03:13:12 PM
Back then I was only about 6'3'' so pretty short. :D
Hate you :P
I'm amazed at the number of people who started school at the ages of 4 and 5. When I started the minimum age was six and a half.
Anyway I remember reading my birthday card when I turned 4 and, according to my mom, when I was 3 I asked her why tea was spelled the way it was rather than "tee" so I must have been doing some reading then. I don't remember where I learned it. Probably from my sister.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:35:30 AM
What age were you reading at?
3. Like abridged versions of the Three Musketeers and similar.
Quote from: Maximus on February 08, 2010, 05:46:06 PM
I'm amazed at the number of people who started school at the ages of 4 and 5. When I started the minimum age was six and a half.
Anyway I remember reading my birthday card when I turned 4 and, according to my mom, when I was 3 I asked her why tea was spelled the way it was rather than "tee" so I must have been doing some reading then. I don't remember where I learned it. Probably from my sister.
Yeah, I'm surprised too, but I just assumed that's how things were always done here. Back where I come from, we had kindergartens, but they only babysat the children.
The first grade was sort of an advanced kindergarten, and only in second grade did we start going to an actual school, but before that there was very little in the way of academics.
Over here when "I was a lad", infants school was for three years (age 4-7), Junior school was for four years (7-11) and then you toddled off to a Secondary School for five to seven years (11-16/18.) It seemed normal to me, but these days I get the impression that people aren't going to a proper school until they are 5 or 6 in parts of the country.
Of course, at 11 I was shoved off to a private school, which ran the same system except with different years for each school (infants 4-8, Junior 8-13, Senior 13-16/18) so there was a bit of variation even then.
When I was a kid at least (unsure about these days) when you started school was '4 1/2' which ended up rather odd.
My birthday is in October so I started in September (so yeah, on thinking about it my answer is 5), my friend whose birthday is in May though started in christmas as did all kids with a post-christmas birthday.
QuoteOver here when "I was a lad", infants school was for three years (age 4-7), Junior school was for four years (7-11) and then you toddled off to a Secondary School for five to seven years (11-16/18.)
7 years at comp? Blimey...
It should be that way but I've never came across it. I suppose in giant schools with their own sixth form it may be. For me it was secondary until 16 then off to sixth form college until 18.
Also junior and infants were just differnet ends of the same primary school building in my school and they were the same in most schools in the area.
Here, "junior kindergarden" = you turn 4 by December 31 that year.
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/_site/ViewItem.asp?siteid=96&menuid=319&pageid=247
They most definitely attempt to teach stuff, it isn't at all the same as daycare. Letters, numbers, etc.
I was reading at 4 or so, before Kindergarten
Quote from: Tyr on February 08, 2010, 06:12:02 PM
QuoteOver here when "I was a lad", infants school was for three years (age 4-7), Junior school was for four years (7-11) and then you toddled off to a Secondary School for five to seven years (11-16/18.)
7 years at comp? Blimey...
It should be that way but I've never came across it. I suppose in giant schools with their own sixth form it may be. For me it was secondary until 16 then off to sixth form college until 18.
Also junior and infants were just differnet ends of the same primary school building in my school and they were the same in most schools in the area.
My town (split by an A road that they bulldozed through the old town centre in the Sixties, I believe) has a combined infants/Junior school for the kids from one side of the road, and a separate Infants school and separate Junior School for the kids on the other side of the Road (the larger part of the town, with the older schools/school buildings.) I lived in the larger, and as we all thought as kids, "better side of the road."
The local Comprehensive was built with a catchment area of two towns and several villages, so its quite a large affair, thus the sixth form capacity. It is also now apparently calling itself a Community College, to my disgust (the word College is being degraded beyond belief these days.)
I thought my oldest was reading early. He would turn the pages and read aloud. But really he had just memorized the story from the times I read it to him. I really cant remember for sure what ages my kids started reading or when I did. I am just happy they developed the same love of reading that their parents have.
Quote from: Barrister on February 08, 2010, 01:15:52 PM
Quote from: Caliga on February 08, 2010, 01:10:00 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 12:56:43 PM
I was never that delayed in my learning.
:lol: :blush: I think of you as cc, not CC. I think of Banana as CC, whom I should really think of as DSB now. In conclusion, nick changing BLOWS. :mad:
The only thing I know about your childhood is that you drank like a whole tanker truck full of milk every day. :D
I keep forgetting what DSB/CC's nic on Kapland was... :blush:
He had a few. But mainly ShameonMe
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 08, 2010, 06:27:01 PM
I thought my oldest was reading early. He would turn the pages and read aloud. But really he had just memorized the story from the times I read it to him. I really cant remember for sure what ages my kids started reading or when I did. I am just happy they developed the same love of reading that their parents have.
From what I can see, that's a stage in the learning to read process - i.e., memorizing or guessing at the meaning of words.
You know the kid is reading when s/he starts puzzling through unfamiliar words, phonetically.
I think kids learn to love reading by being read to; certainly Carl loves his story-time! We bribe him my asking that he read a (very short) reader story to us, then we read a couple of stories to him. He doesn't (yet) love reading himself, but he loves being read to enough to do some reading to get it.
I can't wait to read Gor to my son. :)
Quote from: katmai on February 08, 2010, 06:28:58 PM
He had a few. But mainly ShameonMe
Oh, no you don't. A certain Mr. M. Butt and C.C.R. were the ones with all the socks, not me. I just got access to Kain's account because he and I were always hanging out then and he thought it'd be funny to stir the pot a bit. I'm strictly one account per board; besides, I couldn't act well enough that you wouldn't immediately know it's me.
Anyway, 3-4 years, not two weeks, Cal. While Ed may have gone to Kindergarten early, I was more prone to rebutting the teacher asking me why I wasn't doing the work with the class with "read it, not interested". :P
First book that I can remember reading was a junior version of Return of the Jedi. :nerd:
I didn't say you had multiple accounts, just different screen names, you dork.
Or did you forget the Captain Carrot nick that Caliga remembers you from.
Quote from: katmai on February 08, 2010, 08:10:48 PM
I didn't say you had multiple accounts, just different screen names, you dork.
Or did you forget the Captain Carrot nick that Caliga remembers you from.
Did you miss the "per board?"
Kapland: ShameOnMe.
Old Board: Captain Carrot.
New Board: DontSayBanana.
Next thread about: math aptitude? :P
I HAD TWO (2) SOCKS. THAT'S IT. I ALSO DIDN'T CREATE THE YTMND WITH THE DOG.
No, that was Caliga.
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 08:18:56 PM
I HAD TWO (2) SOCKS. THAT'S IT. I ALSO DIDN'T CREATE THE YTMND WITH THE DOG.
Whatever Lettow
Quote from: katmai on February 08, 2010, 08:22:11 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 08:18:56 PM
I HAD TWO (2) SOCKS. THAT'S IT. I ALSO DIDN'T CREATE THE YTMND WITH THE DOG.
Whatever Lettow
MEW Sirrah, MEW.
To be fair, the only socks that actually stand out in my memory are Giuseppe and Fluffy.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:55:07 AM
What is concerning for us is that Carl was born in mid December, making him the youngest one in his class. His cousin, born three weeks later, is the oldest one in her class - born early January.
A year makes a big difference at this age.
I'm mid-December, and was always a few months older than everyone else. Made me feel better than them. ;)
I started reading early, but I don't know what age. At least 4, since that's when I started using my dad's Apple II GS.
In Illinois, you cannot start kindergarten unless you turn five prior to the first day of the fall semester. MOST kids attend preschool for at least one year (usually two) prior to going to kindergarten. If they don't, they spend the first half of kindergarten in "special" classes to help them catch up. By the end of kindergarten, children are expected to be able to sight-read a list of 20 or so words, know their alphabet (capital and small letters), count to 100, and handle sitting in a classroom for X amount of time without interrupting things. If they can't do these things (and don't have an Individual Education Plan, aka IEP), they can't go on to first grade.
This is the grade most likely to be repeated for kids since it has the least affect on them socially. After this, social promotion becomes much more likely.
By the way, those milestones used to be first grade end-of-year goals. Things changed about 25 years ago when preschool became expected.
EDIT: I should point out that kids are not required to attend school until first grade. Those students who do not do so until then are usually at such a disadvantage (unless they were homeschooled) that they are placed back into Kindergarten anyway.
Quote from: Strix on February 08, 2010, 12:39:51 PM
It appears that schools are pushing for more and more at a younger age. Unfortunately a lot of it is driven by the disparity in learning between those that want to learn and those that do not i.e. the burbs versus the inner cities.
I've a friend who teaches 4 year olds and she says that giving homework (which I never had in primary school) is largely driven by pushy parents who have no fear phoning the school or trying to set up a 'meeting' because they don't think their kid's getting the educational push they deserve/need.
I think I learned early but I loved reading from the start. I was, though, a late talker - but when I started :o
Quote from: Maximus on February 08, 2010, 05:46:06 PM
I'm amazed at the number of people who started school at the ages of 4 and 5. When I started the minimum age was six and a half.
In England 4's the standard age you start school. In Scotland it's 5. I started school in England and then moved to Scotland but stayed in my educational year meaning I was always the youngest.
Spider-Man, Richie Rich, & Cookie Monster taught me how to read at age 4 or so but never learned writing til grade one. There was no such thing a pre-school back in Bedrock, where I grew up.
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:35:30 AM
Well, we are very happy - over the last month, Carl has quite definitely learned to read, right after he turned 4. Not exactly reading Tolstoy yet, more readers of the "I went to the Library" variety, but still. Also, he can make short words by arranging letters and he can write very basic words.
It seems to me they are pushing kids into reading and writing earlier these days. When I was 4 I'm pretty sure the school did not hand out homework; Carl gets lots of home exercises he's supposed to do. Also, I'm pretty sure I didn't read until I was 5 or so.
What age were you reading at?
It took me a while to learn to read, I don't think I really got it down until the 2nd grade. However from 3rd grade on I was one of the most, perhaps the most, prolific readers in school.
Quote from: Syt on February 08, 2010, 12:17:39 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 12:04:12 PM
I remember the first book I liked in the school library, 1st or second grade. It was a giant book of WWI biplanes. Those things fascinated the hell out of me.
I learned to read with Asterix comics, the French comic about the American Civil War "The Blue Boys", Lucky Luke and Reader's Digest "World History" in 2 volumes (though I very much preferred the maps in it). I think my parents were a bit disconcerned when I built a LEGO guillotine at age 8 after illustrations in the book.
Oddly, I never liked children's or youth books much and preferred non-fiction (there were some pretty decent aimed-at-kids books about history and science which I loved and read a lot at the library. The first fiction book I recall to have read was an edited children's version of Moby Dick (I loved the movie with Gregory Peck ... well, I still do). I had some sci-fi books I enjoyed, though (Commander Perkins, a sci-fi adventure series, and some short story collections which included something like Last Starfighter or some postapocalyptic stories which I loved).
A French comic on the American Civil War? I'm intrigued.
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 09, 2010, 02:24:33 AM
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:35:30 AM
Well, we are very happy - over the last month, Carl has quite definitely learned to read, right after he turned 4. Not exactly reading Tolstoy yet, more readers of the "I went to the Library" variety, but still. Also, he can make short words by arranging letters and he can write very basic words.
It seems to me they are pushing kids into reading and writing earlier these days. When I was 4 I'm pretty sure the school did not hand out homework; Carl gets lots of home exercises he's supposed to do. Also, I'm pretty sure I didn't read until I was 5 or so.
What age were you reading at?
It took me a while to learn to read, I don't think I really got it down until the 2nd grade. However from 3rd grade on I was one of the most, perhaps the most, prolific readers in school.
Why prolific and not prochoicic?
Quote from: Malthus on February 08, 2010, 11:35:30 AM
Well, we are very happy - over the last month, Carl has quite definitely learned to read, right after he turned 4. Not exactly reading Tolstoy yet, more readers of the "I went to the Library" variety, but still. Also, he can make short words by arranging letters and he can write very basic words.
It seems to me they are pushing kids into reading and writing earlier these days. When I was 4 I'm pretty sure the school did not hand out homework; Carl gets lots of home exercises he's supposed to do. Also, I'm pretty sure I didn't read until I was 5 or so.
What age were you reading at?
I was reading and writing before school as well, had it down pat at 4.
You're giving Carl Jr a headstart in life, where he'll become more accomplished than his peers.
Foster a love for reading, and he's stay at the tip of the spear.
No other trait will help him more in life than the ability to read and write well. It is a commodity that becomes rarer each generation. You can't believe the shit I read, from supposedly accomplished, educated people.
Hell, my boss makes more spelling errors than Berkut on crystal meth. While wearing mittens.
I write good. :)
Quote from: jimmy olsen on February 09, 2010, 02:29:12 AM
Quote from: Syt on February 08, 2010, 12:17:39 PM
Quote from: Ed Anger on February 08, 2010, 12:04:12 PM
I remember the first book I liked in the school library, 1st or second grade. It was a giant book of WWI biplanes. Those things fascinated the hell out of me.
I learned to read with Asterix comics, the French comic about the American Civil War "The Blue Boys", Lucky Luke and Reader's Digest "World History" in 2 volumes (though I very much preferred the maps in it). I think my parents were a bit disconcerned when I built a LEGO guillotine at age 8 after illustrations in the book.
Oddly, I never liked children's or youth books much and preferred non-fiction (there were some pretty decent aimed-at-kids books about history and science which I loved and read a lot at the library. The first fiction book I recall to have read was an edited children's version of Moby Dick (I loved the movie with Gregory Peck ... well, I still do). I had some sci-fi books I enjoyed, though (Commander Perkins, a sci-fi adventure series, and some short story collections which included something like Last Starfighter or some postapocalyptic stories which I loved).
A French comic on the American Civil War? I'm intrigued.
It's pretty good. It's about 2 friends, 1 is always trying to desert while the other is a loyal soldier.
I am gooder then you.
I was taught to read before I went to school so 3-4 or so. I don't remember it to well. In fact I don't recall not being able to read. Take that for what you will.
Quote from: Razgovory on February 09, 2010, 11:40:34 AM
I was taught to read before I went to school so 3-4 or so. I don't remember it to well.
QFT
Quote from: garbon on February 08, 2010, 02:34:57 PM
I know that at 3 I had to start reading as I can remember being given worksheets (pre-school mind you) that also featured spanish words. Uvas!
I started English at 3 as well, I remember singing "Heads, shoulders, knees and toes" back then. Though I don't recall reading anything until I was at least 5 (truth be told, I don't remember much from those years at all).
Started talking shortly after turning one. Was reading and writing by 3 or 4. Taught myself spontaneously. Remember reading stuff to the other kids at my kindergarten and they didn't believe me and they claimed I had asked an adult what it said. Was reading history books for adults, the lord of the rings trilogy etc at 7 or 8.
Quote from: Pat on February 09, 2010, 07:30:22 PM
Started talking shortly after turning one. Was reading and writing by 3 or 4. Taught myself spontaneously. Remember reading stuff to the other kids at my kindergarten and they didn't believe me and they claimed I had asked an adult what it said. Was reading history books for adults, the lord of the rings trilogy etc at 7 or 8.
There, Kat and Cal. It
wasn't me. :yeah:
Quote from: DontSayBanana on February 09, 2010, 07:33:46 PM
Quote from: Pat on February 09, 2010, 07:30:22 PM
Started talking shortly after turning one. Was reading and writing by 3 or 4. Taught myself spontaneously. Remember reading stuff to the other kids at my kindergarten and they didn't believe me and they claimed I had asked an adult what it said. Was reading history books for adults, the lord of the rings trilogy etc at 7 or 8.
There, Kat and Cal. It wasn't me. :yeah:
Hey moron, I didn't say anything about you being a pretentious twit, that was just Cal.
Quote from: katmai on February 09, 2010, 07:39:46 PM
Hey moron, I didn't say anything about you being a pretentious twit, that was just Cal.
:blush:
:P