Anyone have ideas on how to keep a smart kid interested in school?

amieeyoung

Anyone have ideas on how to keep a smart kid interested in school? My son has always been at the top of his class (not bragging just for reference), and every year has been a struggle getting him to stay interested in doing well in school. I try and do extra stuff at home that goes a bit beyond what he is learning just to keep him wanting to learn. I also do his cub scout troop and make it as fun as possible, but am running out of idea. Most of the school year is review for him each time and now that he is in 4th grade he seems to be losing interest. Maybe since the gifted program and 4 H start this year that will help? Anyway, any suggestions?

littlemermaid

Are the gifted programs starting soon?  If so, I would do a wait and see.  If not, then I would most make an appointment with the teacher and principal and see about having him do more advanced classes or see if they would test him to skip a grade.

amieeyoung

A student can't get into gifted here until 4th grade. I know the woman who does it and she mentioned my son's teachers talking to her about it. It isn't an every day thing or a set class though there will be some changes this year. She is the gifted person for the whole county- so once a week per school she serves.

I have talked to his teachers and they said they would challenge him, but only so much of that happens. My ex is against him skipping a grade and honestly I am as well. While he is smart and does well with the kids in his grade - he is small for his age and it takes him awhile to warm up. In other words he is somewhat awkward. Also, he is very sensitive and until he can control that I would hesitate to put him in a higher grade.

Thanks for the suggestions ladies!!

neverblushed

Mom of two G/T kids here!  Both of my kids are in selective magnet programs in our public schools.  My son is also in 4th grade.

Before the magnet program started, it was tough keeping my kids really motivated.  By 3rd grade, they were both aware that they were "different" and it bothered them, so they both began to shy away from activities that made them stick out.  It was tough.

Here are some things I did to enrich at home:

--when I was a SAHM, I took them out of school occasionally for a special outing or educational trip.  We went to aquariums, museums, historical sites, etc.  They always had an "assignment" or learning goal for the day.  

--I read aloud to my kids every night -- still do!  Once they were past picture books, I switched it up to classroom classics and more challenging stuff that they wouldn't tackle on their own, but makes for good discussions.  Some of my son's favorites have been:  The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Watership Down, The Sword And The Circle (King Arthur legends), Edith Hamilton's Mythology, and All Creatures Great And Small.  

--I keep books of brainteasers and math problems around.  My kids both like Balance Benders and Logic problems.

--My kids really enjoy reading newspapers and magazines.  Our neighbor gives us old copies of Scientific American and Smithsonian magazine.  They also get Nat Geo Kids.

--My son writes and draws his own comics.  They're funny, even though he's not too artistic.  I just try to keep him well stocked with paper and pens and encourage him to do another comic if he's bored.

--He also LOVED doing the whole "Hour Of Code" programming tutorial on the computer.  He's gotten very interested in creating his own levels in Minecraft and in Little Big Planet.  Creating levels in those games is probably more educational than a lot of so-called "educational" software.  He's learned a lot about programming and logic from these games.

HTH!  Hang in there -- it's tough!

amieeyoung

I wish we had a magnet school or local college, but we live in a fairly rural area. We do extra science activities at home, challenge math problems (his fav subject) and are always reading together (we are on book 5 of Harry Potter- not sure where to go once this series is done... lol).

Hopefully the one day a week will help- though I ran into the gifted teacher yesterday and she said they are going to try to implement some new things during reading intervention time for the kids who don't need reading intervention so maybe that will help.

I'll be glad when school review is over - maybe they will soon have a few challenges in class. Thanks ladies- it's nice to know I'm not alone. I often feel like you can't talk about it with most parents b/c they don't understand. They think well your kid is smart so it's no problem. I just smile and think- if you only knew the challenges hahah