2nd grader bored at school?

bbe13

My daughter is in second grade and complains about school all the time. When I ask why she says it is so boring. I have met and spoken with her teacher who says things seem to be going well. I am puzzled because I feel 7 years old is too young to be bored or to dislike school. I want my daughter to enjoy school. Any thoughts/experiences/suggestions? TIA

dufferoo

Well I'm a month late but all I can say is that your daughter is probably right! At any age, it really does kind of suck to sit in class for 7 hous a day! Yeah, it would be nice if teachers found a way to make i seem more fun, but I think that is the exception more than the rule. I don't see much of a way out unless you want to homeschool...

neverblushed

I think that developmentally, by the second half of 2nd grade it's pretty normal for kids to realize that school is actually pretty... well... boring.  It's winter, there's no major holiday on the horizon to look forward to. If you live in an area with cold temps or snow, then kids have days in a row of indoor recess. 

In K and 1st, kids don't have such a sophisticated awareness of time.  By the end of 2nd grade, kids know that the part of winter that comes after Christmas break is kind of a drag.  But kids who are 7 or 8 also really enjoy spending time with friends, so it might help to remind her that even though school involves a lot of sitting and working, it also involves seeing her friends!

growingournest

Hi, second grade teacher here! I think I can speak for the majority (although not all) of teachers in saying we do everything in our power to keep school engaging and hands-on. Neverblushed has it right in what she said about second graders starting to go through that developmental stage in the second half of second grade. They also are moving away from the love of working with others, and start to feel a need for individual time- this can make school seem a lot more boring! My best advice is to try to focus on the positives at the end of each day- how what she's learning is so important, how proud you are of her hard work, and try to help her look for the fun in each day as she looks back over her day with you. If you would like any more information about the way second graders are changing in this year of their live, Google "Responsive Classroom Second Grade Development." It gives ideas and implications within school that might help you. If her teacher is not very aware of this stuff, although I certainly hope she is, they may at least give you good talking points with her as you look for a solution for your daughter! Second grade truly is the age of knowledge- it is a beautiful, but sometimes challenging, year!