We're done too!!!!

Hi does anyone know if you can enter this from outside the US - doesnt matter either way as new reading lists are always helpful - just interested as its always nice to work for something!

Hi
Ive been meaning to post for sometime as one of the mummys who started with Brillkids just on 5 years ago - to share our updated success. My eldest started school this September - it took the teachers until Oct to finalise their assessments but they now accept that her reading age is about twice her actual age and although she has had to sit through the pain of learning their phonics scheme (Mummy why am I doing this again? and mummy its soo boring!) they have declared her free of their book scheme s and a free reader. They are placing her with children older than herself but who may be able to challenge her a bit more. She is also demonstrating daily that its not just reading the words - but she understands what she is reading.... Its been an uphill struggle to get her current teachers to understand that she can do this - but we are there for now - and she is so much happier. She even told me the otehr day that she would like to teach other children how to read. I suggested that she start with her little brother.... which leads me to the frustration.....

My little one is 2 nearly 3. He can read, he wont. His nursery teachers who had to cope with my eldest say they know he probably can. But he is very painfully shy and will not engage with them or his peers and so because he is socially not where they want him to be they will not accept that he can read and will not supply any support materials. We are at the stage with him where he will do Brillkids, sometimes, starfall sometimes but he is bored and needs more. In fairness he takes time and needs support more than my eldest did and they probably cant manage it..... but we as parents need someone else to help tell him its ok for his voice to be heard - didnt face this one witht the eldst - any ideas please????

Congratulations!! 

Well done Brillkids - very well deserved - congatulations to you all
 

thank you all - food for thought, and at least I dont feel quite so isolated. Sadly much as I would dealry love to home school I cant as I have to go back to work full time in a 3 months.

I am going to try and have another go at the school owner, though I am sure that she will not like it. It worries me for the future as there is little choice in terms of schooling here - generally your cild will go to the catchment of the school they live in. I could change her pre school but thats about it - and Im torn between the devil you know and the one you dont!!   

Im afraid this is going to be rather long but Im really worried about what to do next and need some help!!

My daughter started at nursery school aged 2. She could read and knew her alphabet etc.  To begin with the teachers refused to believe it and insisted that she must learn jolly phonics – even when they knew she could already understand the phonics they said that she had to learn the actions!!
But we weathered that one – and last September they agreed she could start their reading scheme.
 I should explain that the nursery is divided into 2 classes – one for the 2-3 year olds (Peach Room) and the other for the kids who are going to reception class in the primary schools the following year (Apple room kids). My daughter because her birthday falls the wrong side of the date line has had to do 2 years in Peach Room and will be going to Apple Room this September.
The teachers and owner at the school have really struggled to cope with her reading needs. But once they allowed her to start their book scheme – normally reserved for Apple Room children – she literally flew through them. The scheme has 17 levels. They eventually agreed to ‘test’ her and were astonished to find that she was already at level 10, but they dropped her to 6 ‘to build confidence’.
Just over 8 months passed by and she has reached the top of their reading scheme – there are 6 books left and it has been a subject of much debate what they will do with her when she has finished with these – especially as she has another year to do at nursery. She is the first child in the school to have ever got this far.
Having finally recognised that she could read, they found the only way that they could cope with her development was to send her – at a time convenient to them but never properly scheduled so she got taken away from whatever activity she was engrossed in to read.- and send her to Apple Room where there are some other children on the other scheme levels. Here the teacher who deals with her most often has on at least 3 occasions denied her access to a choosey book (one they take home for an adult to read to them) saying that she has done too much already, and only allows her to read one or 2 pages of her reader. But whenever she reads at home I have to make her stop – usually after we have read most of the book not just a couple of pages. And as for books to be read to her – it’s a full time job keeping up with her!! But time etc allowing I let her drive when and how we read.
She continues to read fluently at home. Her eading age is about age 5 – 6 now. But sometimes she messes around or gets distracted. This applies to anything she does – Im guessing she is like most 3 year olds in that respect. So we turn reading into a game or we change the environment, remove the distractions etc. I cant get the school to see the benefits of this.
Yesterday, having yet again learnt from her that she was told she cant have a choosey book I left a note in her book diary. The school owner called me into see her and told me that she has never been denied a book and that they think that the issue is that my daughter doesn’t want to go to Apple Room – something I have been aware of for sometime. She went on to say that my daughter is struggling with her reading and couldn’t even read very basic words. And yet this morning she sat and read those same words fluently and clearly at home. The school will not take my word for it and are refusing to move her to another book until she has this one perfect. (which is daft – because they know she will refuse to read a book she has already read and she has a photographic memory  - their words not mine – so they must realise that this not about reading ability but about something else? The more I think about it its to do with the fact that she doesn’t want to go to Apple Room – and that the 2 things have become muddled because this is where she is sent to read even tho she isn’t old enough to go there properly yet.
Im sorry that this is a bit rambling but I wanted to set the scene, because what I would like to know is if there is anyone else out there who has had a reading child in this age group behave like this – reading at home, but becoming reluctant at school, and if so what they did about it. And also whilst typing this I think that I have worked out the problem i.e. the whole peach room / apple room thing and not the reading thing. But does anyone have any experience of managing schools in this scenario. Im really worried now that if a nursery cant cope with her – how on earth will the middle and senior schools cope ? Have I in exposing her (and her younger brother) to infant learning actually made things really hard for her?

Ive tried the click here to install and all I keep getting is "internet explorer cannot display webpage" - any suggestions or is there something wrong with the web page??

excellent !

Brilliant - thank you and karma to both - love the action figure - not heard of that one before!

Thank you Mom2bee - have found them on amazon.co.uk as well - cant think why I didnt see them when I looked!

I totally agree with you about educating your own - thats why I got into this - and everything I do for both my children is basis that it and them are the only things that matter.

But Im afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on the subject of Shakespeare !!
For the record I adore Dr Seuss too.

And Shakespeare isnt something I expected to be reading to my 3 year old. Like you I only did what was required when I was at school. I didnt give it to her - she found it after we borrowed a book that was the story of a boy from the current time who went back in time to the globe theatre. The whole thing fascinated her so I looked for a kids Shakespeare book - and here we are. She came in from nursery this afternoon asking me to read more Macbeth to her -  and then topped it by starting to quote some of a passage that we read yesterday - totally knocked me sideways.

So I guess it isnt so much what we as parents think we do or dont like - its what they get out of it so  I may try and  put something more together for her thats good enough to share with others - dont know need to give it some thought!! Either way H is still in the driving seat and if we end back on some more normal 3 yr old reading material then thats fine with me to!

Not cost you any karma - interesting debate - thanks!  

Hi

Ive been wondering if anyone knows of any authors of children's versions of Shakespeare. Ive found Marcia Wiliams who writes Key stage 2 books (for 7 -11 yr olds).

We borrowed this from the library last week as one of the usual 30 we take out a week. We've read all the rest but H keeps bringing this back for me to read again and again. Its only got 6 plays in it and I was wondering if any one knew of similar styles of Shakespeare for kids. Have looked around and cant find anything....

Am also wondering where she is now taking me - we're currently reading the chronicles of narnia at bedtime - but Im wondering about things like Jane Austen, James Joyce etc - are there kids versions of these - she adores having me read to her - but still needs the pictures to look at.

Am also wondering about putting thogether a shakespeare  play on little reader when Ive got 5 minutes!!!!   - would need to think about this especially the pictures!! But wasnt sure whether anyone else would  be interested and didnt want to waste time if it was something only H is into - am currently putting her school reading scheme books on for her as and when she needs an extra boost- but thats time consuming in itself!!

ok so now I feel really  stoooopid - have got it to work - even though I have no idea how!!!!

ok so I got brave and Ive installed the software.

But it still womt work - no sound from the keyboard at all - lights on - but nothing else - have been fiddling with this all day on and off and am starting to loose the will.

I know Im not very bright when it comes to these things but if this is easy then Im even dimmer than I thought I was -plse can someone help
 

 -Ive just tried to get help from the manufacturer to discover that will cost me yet more money 

Will be grateful for any help before I package the whole lot up and send it back!!!

Ouroboros1 -thank you thats what I was hoping was the answer karma to you for having more courage than me!!