DS10 was a confirmed ready by 3 (the director of his gifted preschool said he was obviously a self-taught reader by the way he read or wrote or something like that) i think he was reading his board books to himself before age 2 when i thought he was just looking at the pictures. He spent a lot of time looking at his books from a very early age and had a very long attention span and desire for books from day 1. I know he could read words at 18 months but we thought it was a funny party trick at that point (Hey guys, check THIS out!) because he couldn't talk. You could show him a list of words and say "Show me Moon" and he'd point to Moon. The order of the words didn't matter and I could change up the words. Maybe it was a photographic memory thing? Anyway...
He was definitely reading independently at age 4 but I don't remember what exactly! I remember he read the 1st Harry Potter at 5 and read on the bus from school everyday and at bedtime every night in gr K. but he preferred non-fiction until last year. (age 9)
I just came back to this post to add that my DD8 started independently last year at age 7. Before that she loved pop up books and books that were more visual than straight chapter books. She seemed a little less confident to read them. Right now she is reading Desperaeux and enjoying it but she is less enthusiastic and voracious of a reader than her brother. She couldn't read in gr K and she managed to do very well in a 1st gr program that year. She was independently reading BOB books and other simple books (the early reader Level books, Dr Suess books, etc) to build her skills. Now she finished a 3rd grade program and has very good comprehension and reads above grade level so she is doing well.
It's amazing how different kids, even siblings, can be when it comes to learning styles and needs!
Last edited by AntsyPants; 07/16/11 06:26 PM.
