Obsessing Again, Kindergarten Issues

[FreshTressa]

Okay, so I got my son switched to the afternoon class, and the kids and teacher are all nice and it seems to be going okay, but DS keeps complaining about being bored. He says the teacher gives him a worksheet ( i have seen them, they have like 3 questions on them) and he finishes it right away, and has to spend the rest of the half hour coloring. He brings home about 10 sheets of paper that he has colored on in school that day.

They are working on their alphabet, a letter a day, and she is reading very simple books aloud, like this little piggy went to market. He says she reads baby books. And according to the teacher, their goal for the year in math is to learn the numbers up to 100 and to add up to 5.

Now, DS is one of the older kindergartners cuz his birthday falls on September 14, so that might be part of it.

My son reads chapter books to himself (magic tree house, pokemon, etc.) He can add two digit numbers and has a firm grasp of mathematics through the late second grade early third grade level. He seems to pick up academics very quickly and understands concepts after only a few repetitions.

Now, I thought that it would be no big deal and that Kindergarten would be about socialization and learning the rules anyway. But according to my son, there really is no time to play, just to color by himself and listen to the teacher.

I talked to the teacher. I don't want to sound like a pushy mom, bragging about her kid (which I probably do since I already had him switched once). She said that there was nothing she could do and that that was the material they covered in Kindergarten and that I was free to teach him whatever I wanted in the hours he was not in school.

Is this something I should be concerned about, or am I just being a pushy mom? It is not like I want to rush him to college or anything. I don't really want him to get too far ahead, I just don't want him to spend the day horribly bored and coloring.

 

[Cindy B]

My son was the same way. He is still the same way, in the third grade. I keep on telling him that he is lucky, some kids struggle, and it will get harder later.

I bring him home middle school work and he is challenged.

Kindergarten is so tricky. Some kids have no preschool or prevuous socialization experience so this is new.

You have to do what you can outside of school. Is it full or half day? Give him a challenge packet or workbook to do besides coloring, or ask the teacher if he can do some indpenedent self selected reading (ie... chapter book from home) Or ask the guidance couselor for some additional work.

He is an older student, (my son is as well). and the older kids are much older socially and academically than the just turned 5's. (think they are just turned 5's!).

It is a bridge year, a transistional year, and well for some kids a challenging year. For some kids ( both my son and daughter) is was a review year.

Its just kindergarten.. is this your first child in school? I was like this with my first child in K, and when my daughter came around.. (2 school years later), so I know what was going on.

Beleive it or not, it may seem easy, but there is a lot on socialization, working together, respecting one another, and listening... those skills you can't really do with worksheets.

Don't worry about it.. he will be fine. Remember the first few weeks of school are review.. so that may be it.

But do things at home.. but don't make it like Mommy's school (or teaching) is more challenging... or they will go to school and say Its too easy.. and this is BORING!!!!! (I had that embarrsing thing happen to me.. )

Supplement the classes lesson. Some families don't have that luxury to do that.

 

[Tinkbell]

Ask the teacher if she could provide some enrichment projects for your son to do when he finishes work quickly. For example, if the rest of the class is learning the letter "B", your son could be finding words that begin with "B" and using them in sentences and stories. She can also easily get her hands on some second or third grade story books and let your son do short book reports about them. I think teachers need to customize work to each student's level, if need be. Most of the kids fall in the middle, but we have to look out for those who are below or above the norm too.

 

[disneygals]

There are so many variables in a Kindergarten class and hopefully it will pick up for him. Maybe when things get more settled the teacher can give him some extra work or more freedom.

But I have to say, I have 3 girls now 11, 9, and 7 and there is something about the 5-6 year olds and the "boringness" (to be said long and drawn out as if in pain ) of life.

Vivienne

 

[Michelemouse]

This is exactly what happened with DD (now 11) and is the primary reason we chose to homeschool. She had an okay Kindergarten year followed by a fantastic First Grade year. Her First Grade teacher would give her more challenging work while the class was working on their basic reading skills. (DD was also reading well before Kindergarten and at a 4th grade level in 1st grade.) When she got to Second Grade and consistently got 100% on the spelling tests without even looking at the word list I became concerned. One day she asked the teacher if she could learn how to multiply and the teacher said that she couldn't now but would be able to sometime in 3rd grade. I went in to talk to the teacher and she explained that if DD was given harder work she would just be ahead the following year. So their plan would have DD basically twiddling her thumbs for the entire 2nd grade year. That wasn't okay with me. We pulled her out in November and have homeschooled ever since.

Now I know that homeschooling is not for everyone. I do think that you should prepare yourself to run into this problem every year, however, until middle or high school. Teachers have so much on their plates these days that it is difficult for them to give every child what he/she needs. Since the advanced kids are at least up to curriculum guidelines they are often the ones who get overlooked or passed over.

The idea of supplementing with materials at home is a good one. We found, however, that we were doing so much supplementing that it was pointless for DD to be in the classroom all day. She was spending extra hours doing level-appropriate work when those hours could have been spent playing or doing other things.

Good luck with your situation. I do know of others who have had similar issues resolved satisfactorily so there is hope.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by FreshTressa
She said that there was nothing she could do and that that was the material they covered in Kindergarten and that I was free to teach him whatever I wanted in the hours he was not in school.

.

This is EXACTLY what we are going through with DD6 in first grade. The teachers response begs the question of why have your DS attend school at all if you will be teaching him at home anyway.

We are researching and considering our homeschool options at this point. We have a teacher conference in a couple weeks and will be talking about how to enrich and challenge my DD. If we hear "There's nothing I can do" then we are taking her home.

Good luck.
Peggy

 

[Toby'sFriend]

FreshTressa I really have to ask.
You've posted on a couple of threads that you really wanted to Homeschool and are doing this as a trial basis.

I'm not trying to slam you, but it seems to me that you are really looking for an "excuse" if you will to dump the school system and Homeschool.

So why don't you just Homeschool? Kindergarten is an excellent year for it and I do truly believe that if a parent is competant and committed that can provide an excellent elementary education.

It just seems to me that you are making yourself miserable.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Originally posted by Tinkbell
Ask the teacher if she could provide some enrichment projects for your son to do when he finishes work quickly. For example, if the rest of the class is learning the letter "B", your son could be finding words that begin with "B" and using them in sentences and stories. She can also easily get her hands on some second or third grade story books and let your son do short book reports about them. I think teachers need to customize work to each student's level, if need be. Most of the kids fall in the middle, but we have to look out for those who are below or above the norm too.

I like this idea. If the teacher isn't will to do the extra work, perhaps you can give you son this assignment, and ask him to bring the papers home for you to inspect.

Kindergarten is about learning HOW to learn and how to get along with others in a society. If he has a negetive attitude, you can turn that around by giving him these assignments and being excited about them when he returns home with them.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

My son is very bright and I've always enriched his education at home. At back to school night the other day, his teacher told me that he gets very exasperated when the other kids aren't paying attention or doing the right thing and that my DS needs to realize that different people have different expectations and he needs to adapt to that. Point taken, and we've spoken to DS. Not every kid is at the same level or has the same inclination to strive for achievement.

IMHO, if you are going to homeschool do it, but otherwise back off and let your kid experience kindergarten. School is not always going to be fun, and kids can't expect mom to step in every time a little boredom sets in.

 

[2tinksmom]

Yikes!! OK, I am a former Kindergarten teacher and I have to vent. First of all, "free" time after completing work should be spent in educational centers around the room where the children are "playing" but the concepts being taught are actually reinforced. My centers usually had a range of difficulty so everyone was successful and those who needed to be challenged, were. Also, it is your child's teacher's responsibility to provide enrichment and to challenge your son, not suggesting that you give him extra work at home. I sometimes suggested activities to do at home that extended what we were doing in class for those who needed to be challenged and for those who were struggling, but only as an extention. These days, most children come to Kindergarten with a pre-k experience or have been exposed to letters, sounds, etc. at home. We were expected by the state to teach letters/sounds, count to 100, add up to 5, etc. but our school district extended the state requirements and added to the curriculm so that by the end of K most of our classes were reading and writing in complete sentences using proper punctuation. It just blows my mind that this teacher has your son in her class and is not just so exited to be able to challenge him and take him as far as she can. Now, being a former K teacher, I believe it's the most important year of school. It's fun, there are lots of exciting new things, and I always felt one of my most important jobs was to make sure every child in my class left loving school and feeling succesful. With that said, have you checked into having your son tested and placed in first grade. He is older and sounds like he would be successful. Just a thought.

 

[jfranklyn]

My daughter just started kingergarten too, after turning 5 two weeks ago. It's the "trend" in our area to keep late summer babies back a year also. Listening to your story, I'm SO glad that we sent her this year instead, otherwise we'd be in exactly the same situation as you next year. As it is, she still ahead of the game educationally in her class. I can't imagine what it would be like if we'd held her until next year.

I feel bad for you - I really do. It must be frustrating to be in your situation. However, I think I'd be taking a more positive spin on it. Look at it this way. You're kid is bright - really bright from the sound of it. Be thrilled with that! Be thrilled that he isn't struggling. Challenge him at home if you want, and let him enjoy kindergarten for what it is.

Does your district have any kid of "windows" program for gifted kids? Ours starts in the 3rd grade, and can be QUITE challenging from what I've heard. Maybe you could look forward to that. Or, as someone else suggested, ask if he can get tested for 1st grade - which in reality is where he belongs based on his age.