Reading readiness and paino (video)

Children mature at different rates; that's obvious to say.
There are generalisation, but individual differences can make huge difference. B7 didn't get his first tooth this he was 16.5 months old, for example.

When R4 was newly-turned 4 yrs old, and should have been starting Reception year at school, I tried doing some reading with him. However I could tell almost immediately that he wasn't ready, it was as if his eyes were looking at the words, but his brain just couldn't decipherer what he was seeing. He was looking, but not seeing. We'd come across the word "the" multiple times in a row and he just couldn't recognise the letters; he'd blink and look at it, and blink again and just not recognise the pattern of letters at all. He was much too young to start reading, but I felt the pressure of "well, he would be starting school now, I should probably start teaching him to read...?"


So we just stopped altogether and didn't even bother trying.

For reading there are neural pathways in the brain and eyes that need to be properly matured in order to allow the reading to happen, and this maturation happens at different rates.
And the beauty of home education is that you can tailor your education to the child in front of you and there is no pressure to follow anyone's timetable but your own. No child needs to be labelled "slow" or "fast", as they are compared to an arbitrary schedule of reading set by the government;  they just fulfil their own individual potential at their own rate when they are ready.

And in home ed circles you hear of children learning to read anywhere from 3 years old, to 9 years old. (much like children getting their first tooth anywhere from 3 months old, to 16.5 months old!!)

Now, on the cusp of turning 5 years old, R4 is more ready to read...for one he wants to, he can sound out simple words, recognise patterns of familiar words, he tries to spell things and write his own words and he is trying to read of his own accord.


I had a similar experience with B7 when I was trying to teach him piano.
I first started when he was 5 years old and even with very basic tunes, he'd look at the notes on the piano music and was not be able to see what he was looking at; it was as if his eyes couldn't focus and his brain couldn't compute.

So we just stopped for two years, and started again when he was just about 7 years old....and he has sailed with it. He loves piano now, spends many hours of his free time composing his own tunes and tinkling at the piano. In 6 months we have already zoomed through Book 1, and are onto piano book 2.

His Uncle can play piano quite well, and B7 was enamoured with Fur Elise when his Uncle played it for him, and has, completely on his own, taught himself the first little bit! (we have a sheet of music and he has taught himself from that).  Okay, so the fingering is not perfect and the tempo needs work, but considering it is entirely self-taught over a few weeks, he did well!

Here is a video: