Is it normal for children who are starting kindergarden to not read??
My daughter turned 5 in March and is going to kindergarten in the fall. What your son can do is more than they could ask for. At least where i live, anyways. When we went to the enrollment, the only thing they were really wanted to see was the kids knowing how to recognize their names (not necessarily reading their name, but able to recognize the letters that make up their name), count to 10, recognize at least 10 letters of the alphabet, and be able to recite the alphabet with little to no help. So, i think your son will do just fine. Never say “good enough” because we all know that any thing our children do is way more than good enough!! Help him enjoy kindergarten and talk to him about his day. If you would like to help him learn more, talk to the teachers about doing some of the things at home that they are doing at school. Im sure they would be more than happy to help you to help your son! Good luck!!
We just got a handout from our school’s kindergarten on this issue. It says that while some kids do enter kindergarten reading, there is absolutely no expectation that kids entering kindergarten can read, and that it’s also expected that not all kindergarteners will read even by the end of the kindergarten year. It’s normal to read well when entering kindergarten; equally normal to read a little bit or recognize a few words; and also normal not to read at all until first grade. Read and talk to him a lot, since his vocabulary will end up being just as important (if not more so) than whether he can read at the start of kindergarten. You can also do a lot of playing with sounds (like making rhymes or words that start with the “s” sound. But no need to worry at all. He sounds very typical.
In my opinion, as I just finished my phonics/reading classes for my early childhood education degree, your child is right on track. He will learn more words and learn how to count further in kindergarten. Kindergarten is meant to prepare children for the learning they will be accomplishing in grade school and you need to learn the basics first. If you feel your child may be behind, you could always work with him more if it would make you feel more comfortable, but don’t make it seem like he has to know this and this before the first day of school because he knows more than what a many of the kids will when they walk into the classroom.
