Caroline is technically finishing up K this year, but she has been working with Joseph all year (3rd) because she was zipping through everything else.
I finally tested her today to find out exactly where she is. I need some ideas on good books for her that are age appropriate.
I used the DORA test.
Here is how she came out:
Graphophonic (letters and Sounds)
High Frequency Word Subtest (range K-3rd) high 2nd
Word recognition subtest (range K-12th) high 8th
Phonics Subtest (Range Pre-K-4th) maximum
Phonemic Awareness Subtest (good/poor/nt) good
Spelling subtest (range K-12th) high 1st

Semantic (Meaning Making)
Oral Vocabulary Subtest (range K-12th) mid 3rd
Reading Comprehension Subtest (range K-12th) low 5th

She also came out as:
Reading Profile H
DRA1: 44
DRA2: max 44
Reading Recovery: 28
Fountas and Pinell: S
Lexile: 600

I find it pretty interesting that her high frequency words are pretty age appropriate (comparatively speaking) but that her word recognition is up at 8th grade. She had to read words like crochet and armistice and decide which was the right spelling (those are two that she answered correctly).

She's a similar reader to Erik--he also has always had word recognition way higher than the others. He learned as a sight reader, and reads a lot.

I don't stress about books. She clearly knows how to read. I would go to the library and just find a variety of books she likes. I don't limit Erik to reading books that are exactly appropriate on level of reading. He reads a ton of nonfiction, lots of "reading candy" books like Stink and Junie B. and My Weird School kind of stuff, good quality chapter books (He really likes Roald Dahl), and even picture books.

But, for more suggestions go to something like Sonlight and look through their reading lists. You'll get some good ideas.

I have no idea what all that stuff means...but Savannah just finished kindy and she is reading well. She is enjoying all the magic treehouse books right now.

She was reading Magic Treehouse, the Tinkerbell series and Junie B Jones last summer. She hasn't really shown any interest in those since about Christmas time. Although, for a while she was stuck on them and didn't think there was anything else out there. :lol:
My problem is finding things she WANTS to read that are age appropriate, KWIM? She has read Hotel for Dogs and Despereaux, for example. So her reading tastes are 5th grade books, but not all 5th grade books are appropriate for a 6 year old. She usually has several books going at once, too, and is very likely to pick up a picture book and read it during a lull in activity.

I am absolutely not stressed about her reading. She loves to read. I just want her to be able to read books that are engaging AND appropriate.

I'm so bad at keeping track of what Erik actually likes. But mostly I just check out a huge pile of books from the library. Some are hits, some are not. Start at the beginning of the chapter book section, and just check out 10 or so at a time, and go once a week. ;)

She was reading Magic Treehouse, the Tinkerbell series and Junie B Jones last summer. She hasn't really shown any interest in those since about Christmas time. Although, for a while she was stuck on them and didn't think there was anything else out there. :lol:
My problem is finding things she WANTS to read that are age appropriate, KWIM? She has read Hotel for Dogs and Despereaux, for example. So her reading tastes are 5th grade books, but not all 5th grade books are appropriate for a 6 year old. She usually has several books going at once, too, and is very likely to pick up a picture book and read it during a lull in activity.

I am absolutely not stressed about her reading. She loves to read. I just want her to be able to read books that are engaging AND appropriate.

yes...i see. savannah is about to turn 6 and has just learned to read this school year. i can see us having this same problem in about a year.

My main piece of advice would be to look for books that were written a long time ago. Like the entire Little House series (the original, not the shorter-book rewrites), the Oz series (again, could keep a reader busy for a long time with all 14 or whatever books), My Father's Dragon (three books in the series, they are shorter than the Oz and LH books), the "color fairy" books (Red Fairy, Blue Fairy, etc.) which are filled with short stories, etc. There is much less to be worried about in terms of inappropriate content (IMO) in childrens books from 50-100 years ago. Additionally, the vocabulary bar is set higher in older books.

You might also check into the Nicholas books which are being republished by Phaidon press - they are hysterical, lots of physical humor, about a French schoolboy and his antics with his classmates. If she likes them, have her join their reader's club on the Phaidon website (it's free, and they send all kinds of cool goodies in the mail).

Tara

Thanks Tara!
She loves Little House in the Big Woods, so that is definitely on my list for her to continue that series. Oz was recommended to me by someone else (a librarian actually) so I am going to get that for her.
I had forgotten about the fairy ones...she would love anything fairy-like.
I will look into the Nicholas books...I am not familiar with them.

We read one Nicholas book (or rather, Erik did...) right before we moved; he enjoyed it. Oz is great. Seriously, look at the read-aloud lists on Sonlight. There is some good quality literature.

Yes, the Sonlight Read-alouds are very similar to the literature we read with MBTP. There is a lot of crossover. I have double-checked it for more ideas though.