What do you do for a kid who says he is bored in school?

prism207

My Kindergartner is (of course) pretty advanced.  He reads on a second grade level (Guided Reading Level L, I believe, for those who know them) and loves reading, devouring books like the Magic Tree House series.  He is also very good at his math facts.  This morning he correctly answered several multiplication questions, something I had no idea he even had a concept of how to do.  

The last few weeks he has resisted getting ready for school.  I thought Spring Fever had hit, but the last few days he has told us school is boring and the work too easy.  He breezes through what little homework they get, so I tend to agree that the work is easy for him.  He says when he finishes they are only allowed to read books that the teacher has on her shelf (can't bring his own) and he has read them over and over.  

What would you tell your kid in this situation?

 

Littlejen22

I would talk to the teacher and tell them what is going on and ask for advise on what you can do. If you open the dialog maybe you can offer to buy a few books for the class that are more advanced or if the teacher could borrow books from the library or other classes. I am in a similar situation where my child has a Lexile up to 416 or something like that and the books in his class are level one readers buy luckily he is not bored yet but I think that is mostly because he is only half day.

*sparky*

I would start by talking to the teacher.  Maybe there is some extra work she can give him to help him feel more challenged, or maybe she can adjust the rule that kids can't bring their own books to allow him to read other books as long as she approves.  I am guessing this rule is to prevent kids from reading books that are not challenging enough and/or bringing in coloring books, not to hold kids back. 

The other thing I would do is find out what the options are for him once he hits First Grade.  There are only a few weeks left in this school year, but it sounds like he will be advanced next year as well, and you want him to be challenged and/or at least engaged.  DS's school has advanced reading and advanced math groups for those that are ahead of the rest of the class, so they do the same work as the rest of the class, plus the work they do in the advanced groups. 

If you find that his school does not offer those opportunities, I would honestly look into different options for his education.

Andrewsgal

-auntie-:

Start with the teacher and an open mind.

It's my experience, it's rare that a bright kid is truly bored in a well run classroom. He has to do the same work as others in oreder to demonstrate competency with no gaps- kids who quickly master concepts on their own often "miss" parts of lessons which impacts them later. But once he's done what he needs to do, he could be allowed to explore more reading or additional math work.

I'd also look into how he's doing socially and in other subjects. I've known a lot of bright kids whose school refusal was a function of not being the best kid in art or gym or being excluded by others on the playground.

I agree with this. DD is on the same level as your child and in kinder. The kid is never bored. She finishes her lessons quickly but is always able to keep herself occupied. He teacher is good at keeping her challenged. The GT teacher actually told me that the difference between bright and gifted is that gifted kids are rarely bored. They find ways to push themselves and keep themselves occupied. DD has taken to writing and illustrating books when her lessons are done. They are poorly written and she is not artist, but she is always able to stay busy. The school has really worked with her and kept an open line of communication with us.

jlw2505

I would talk to the teacher and see if they have any extra workbooks or anything for him to work on or ask if you can provide additional books for him to read.  If that doesn't get anywhere, I would go the principal.  It is a huge challenge to keep all these kids that are on very different levels busy at all times so I can't see an issue with a parent providing some additional books to read/workbooks, etc to keep him busy.

prism207

Thanks for your ideas.  I emailed his teacher, and she doesn't see a problem in school.  Her suggestion is that we work on a chart of some sort with a reward if he cooperates and doesn't complain about getting ready for/leaving for school.

I'm not really sure that is our real problem, other than that I feel bad that he cries/whines.  I want him to not feel like crying over school!  

He does love his classmates, and I have been in lunch with them regularly and they all seem to get along, so I don't think it is a social problem, and the teacher doesn't see one. 

It may just be a bit of Spring Fever and wanting summer to get here.  

They did do some pull out instruction while student teachers were available this semester for reading instruction, but that has stopped, and was an unusual situation for K apparently.  The VP was surprised when I mentioned that it was happening, it is normal in 1-5 but not K.  They pulled Sam and 3 other kids for separate instruction, but they don't have the resources to do it without the student teachers.  

We do extra outside work fairly regularly, because Sam asks for it.  The problem is I can't give him extra work during class time!  I can remember in ES being bored out of my skull, so I do feel bad that we can't fix the problem right now.

Only 6ish weeks of school to go, right?   

Littlejen22

prism207:

Thanks for your ideas. nbsp;I emailed his teacher, and she doesn't see a problem in school. nbsp;Her suggestion is that we work on a chart of some sort with a reward if he cooperates and doesn't complain about getting ready for/leaving for school.I'm not really sure that is our real problem, other than that I feel bad that he cries/whines. nbsp;I want him to not feel like crying over school! nbsp;He does love his classmates, and I have been in lunch with them regularly and they all seem to get along, so I don't think it is a social problem, and the teacher doesn't see one.nbsp;It may just be a bit of Spring Fever and wanting summer to get here. nbsp;They did do some pull out instruction while student teachers were available this semester for reading instruction, but that has stopped, and was an unusual situation for K apparently. nbsp;The VP was surprised when I mentioned that it was happening, it is normal in 15 but not K. nbsp;They pulled Sam and 3 other kids for separate instruction, but they don't have the resources to do it without the student teachers. nbsp;We do extra outside work fairly regularly, because Sam asks for it. nbsp;The problem is I can't give him extra work during class time! nbsp;I can remember in ES being bored out of my skull, so I do feel bad that we can't fix the problem right now.Only 6ish weeks of school to go, right? nbsp;nbsp;

Did you tell her he is saying he wants to read more advanced books? If you I would respond and say after talking with him again he is telling you that he wants to be able to read harder books than what she has. I would ask her what he is reading and if he could bring something from home or what the reasonin is behind it.

neverblushed

-auntie-:

look into how he's doing socially and in other subjects. I've known a lot of bright kids whose school refusal was a function of not being the best kid in art or gym or being excluded by others on the playground.

This is very true, although not every bright kid has social problems by any means. But you want to rule it out. You also want to be aware when you go in to talk to the teacher that most kindergartners are not uniformly advanced in all academic areas.  You'll get more traction if you go in to talk about what you can do to help your child become balanced than if you go in complaining that he's bored because the work is too easy.

My kids were both reading more than a year above grade level in kindergarten, and both were already doing math facts, just as you describe.  However, they benefited from work on writing, and from having to go through the processes and learn to "show their work."

In addition to academic content, they both REALLY benefited from the "soft" lessons that are such a big part of the day in primary grades: how to work in a group, how to be independent, how to solve problems, etc.

ETA: Now that I've read the replies, I'd ask for a face to face meeting.  It's too easy for a busy teacher to brush you off via email.  Sit her down for an actual conference. 

prism207

neverblushed:

-auntie-:

look into how he's doing socially and in other subjects. I've known a lot of bright kids whose school refusal was a function of not being the best kid in art or gym or being excluded by others on the playground.

This is very true, although not every bright kid has social problems by any means. But you want to rule it out. You also want to be aware when you go in to talk to the teacher that most kindergartners are not uniformly advanced in all academic areas.  You'll get more traction if you go in to talk about what you can do to help your child become balanced than if you go in complaining that he's bored because the work is too easy.

My kids were both reading more than a year above grade level in kindergarten, and both were already doing math facts, just as you describe.  However, they benefited from work on writing, and from having to go through the processes and learn to "show their work."

In addition to academic content, they both REALLY benefited from the "soft" lessons that are such a big part of the day in primary grades: how to work in a group, how to be independent, how to solve problems, etc.

ETA: Now that I've read the replies, I'd ask for a face to face meeting.  It's too easy for a busy teacher to brush you off via email.  Sit her down for an actual conference. 

I definitely don't think he should be in a different class, I know he needs to work on lots of things-including his atrocious handwriting.   And his ability to write summaries of what he has read needs work, although he verbally does this fairly well (per his teacher).  This is pretty much a function of needing better handwriting, so writing isn't so laborious, which is only going to come with practice, and we have the Handwriting w/o Tears K and 1st grade books and practice at home too.  He is most definitely NOT above grade level on every part of the curriculum-academic or social.  I guess the big lesson he can work on the last part of this year is being patient.  Wonder if I can teach him to meditate?    

And he needs the social aspect of being with his peers.  He is anxious with new people and can be very shy, but has adapted well to K.  We moved last summer so he knew NO ONE in his school when he started, while most kids seem to know at least a few others from the neighborhood and preschools.  He's had kids over to our house and gone to their houses, and he plays on a soccer team with 4 or 5 kids from his class too.  After school they all play on the playground together well.  I see the class at lunch approximately once a week and everything seems fine.  I SAH with his little sister so I haven't been in the classroom to volunteer, but my husband has through a special Dads only program where they are there all day.  The last time was mid March.  Obviously some interactions are different when a parent is there, but my husband didn't pick up on any social problems.  

I can't imagine school anxiety in K over art or gym, but I guess it is a possibility.  He doesn't only complain on a specific day though. 

I taught HS and I believe his teacher is a good one.  We actually really love this school, their is a wonderful administration and a great community feel.  But of course they are bound by their curriculum and by the need to meet the entire classes needs.  

 

ridesbuttons

I'm just going to chime in and say that I am certain that 'art' in K has been a source of anxiety for my 5 year old.  Every day they 'write' in their journals and draw pictures.  DS is horrible at drawing, I mean, really bad.  Eventually I was able to get out of him that he had nothing to draw, that he only could draw rainbows.  On classroom visits I would look at the student drawing that were on display and my kid's would stick out like a sore thumb.  I know it bothers him.  He's in a French immersion class of 21.  17 girls and 4 boys.  And the girls love to sit and draw.  And it makes him anxious and self conscious.  They don't post the math up on the corkboards, right?  You can't show off how well you can read for the whole class and any visitor to judge.  Nope.  Just the damn 'art'.  lol.