Thanks, Momx2! Your DD and DS's experiences with reading sound very similar to what a friend told me about her DS's. She said that he didn't start reading until he was 5, almost 5.5, but when he did, it came "like an avalanche," and he was reading well beyond his agemates who had begun reading, in some cases, years earlier.
We read to DD4 constantly. She's got an amazing attention span (when she wants to!
). We do what you suggested--stopping and asking her to sound out a key word or a sight word--and she can usually do it without too much trouble, but typically puts up a lot of resistance, because she just wants to get on with the story or learn more about whatever we're reading. It can be somewhat frustrating for us all, but DH and I are trying to strike that delicate balance between helping her develop her skills but not pressing too much, KWIM?
I'm interested in learning more about the 145+ school that your kids attend. I just realized that I may have mischaracterized the 145+ charter school I mentioned in my previous post--if so, APOLOGIES! The admissions requirements for the 145+ school that we're considering actually sound just like yours: 145+ to automatically apply for the lottery, but 130-144 may be considered on a case-by-case basis. I wonder if it's the same one?
Our local library system is stellar, and I've been fortunate to have good access to foreign language materials for DD...
Many thanks again for the welcome and ideas--they are much appreciated!
