Originally Posted by st pauli girl
So here's my question(s): Did your kids all just have the desire to start reading by themselves, or did you push a little? Do you think we should be doing anything else at this point, or just keep following his lead? (OK - perhaps selfish reasons for this - it would be a nice diversion if he'd give us a break and do a little reading on his own!)

thanks.

Both of my girls were reading at that age. The oldest was always interested in reading by herself and reading to us. She read everything she could get her hands on. Her younger sister, however, wasn't as motivated until recently (she's 7 now). I think part of it was that she was just interested in doing other things and too busy to sit down and read. Now she's reading 3rd-5th grade level books. She also had a great teacher this year who did a good job exposing the students to lots of different types of books. I actually talked to DD's teacher at the beginning of the school year and expressed my concern over her lack of interest in reading. She was very helpful in suggesting different material like nonfiction, poetry, and magazines.

If the ability is there, I think the interest will eventually follow with exposure.