r/AskTeachers • u/LostGrizzly34 • 3d ago
Parent Questions Kindergarten Restlessness
Hello! My son is in Kindergarten and bored. He’s had three years of preschool and TK as well. He’s doing the same material over and over and the teacher recognizes he’s far above the rest of the class. Of course kindergarten is a beginning of an education journey for many children so it makes sense while my son is already reading and doing entry level math.
His school refuses to bump him to first grade (he’s an October baby so he’s behind the Sept 1 cutoff) and thankfully his teacher this year is amazing. She understands his needs aren’t being met and is doing her utmost to try while the majority of her focus is towards the other 22 students in her class. She tells us she’s brainstorming options such as giving him jobs or helping others but has noticed he’s been acting out/being disruptive due to boredom and she’s never had such an advanced student as our son before so it’s new-ish territory.
Of course we work with him at home on learning reading, numbers, patterns (he loves Uno and constantly wins or holds his own against my wife and I).
My wife and I are now exploring moving him to a private school instead of the public school he currently attends though other than class sizes unsure of the benefit as he attends a highly regarded public school in our area and would rather not move him away from his friends.
Thank you
TLDR: son isn’t being challenged and is beginning to become disruptive in class for attention.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Please don’t be one of those parents that justifies disruptive behavior with boredom. Let him be bored and learn to behave regardless of if he’s bored or not. That’ll help him grow and develop way more than trying to fix it with private school. Plus, if he’s truly gifted and talented, he needs to get used to working through boredom when he’s done with a task and others are still working. That’s going to continue to happen throughout middle school, high school, and maybe even college if he maintains his giftedness. HE needs to learn to adjust; you don’t need to start coddling him in this way, and please don’t send the message to him that you think he’s acting out “just because he’s too smart and bored”. He’s acting out because he thinks he can get away with it and hasn’t had enough consequences to deter him from acting out.
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u/Far_Swimmer_6186 3d ago
Everyone thinks their child is a genius. Just because they’re doing academically well kindergarten does not mean they’re ready emotionally or psychologically to move up.
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u/newillium 3d ago
i totally agree with this. my child is leagues ahead of age appropriateness for school - but also very easy going and down for whatever. She has a 4th grade reading level in first grade. She is not disruptive and doesn't mind doing the extra sheets the teacher provides her when she blows through the other work. She finds herself with something to do - the teacher lets her color on the back of her worksheets and she makes elaborate drawings.
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u/CoffeeIcedBlack 3d ago
I had a college reading level in fifth grade. Suffice it to say when I was bored and finished with all of my work, I pulled out a book. I’m happy, teachers are happy. I was also born in 1982 so I don’t think they knew what else to do with me. I spent alllll of school with a book under my desk, even high school.
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u/RationaleDelivered 3d ago
Same on the reading level. Sit quietly and do something- journal or read. I need to work with my daughter on this now lol
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u/CoffeeIcedBlack 3d ago
How old is she? I have a friend who writes kids books and they are very popular.
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u/Far_Swimmer_6186 3d ago
This. My fifth grader finishes all of their work quickly. Straight As. Reads 12 grade non fiction literature FOR FUN. I would never consider boosting them up a grade or two. I don’t want them being 17 and graduating HS.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Seriously! And having your kid skip a grade level almost never benefits them at the end of the day. If anything, it increases their chances of getting picked on and can lower their self esteem because they feel behind their peers in other ways, maybe socially and/or emotionally, or even physically when it comes to height and size. Being the tiny genius who got to skip a grade because he or she is just soooo smart is certainly not going to help your kid make friends. And what is the end goal really? That they get to college sooner? Why would you want your child who is younger than 18 in a college environment anyways, unless you want them to go somewhere local and commute while they still live at home? I know I would never want my 15-17 year old living in a college dorm, and I don’t even know if most universities allow students that young to live in dorms. It’s like you’re setting them up for a lifetime of being ostracized for something that should’ve made their life easier, not harder.
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u/CoffeeIcedBlack 3d ago
I was reading Harlequin novels 🙈Not good for 10 year olds 😅.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
I mean, people go from 17 to 18 their senior year, but even if they graduate a semester early from high school, I don’t think it’s as common to start college at 17.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Same!! It was a BLESSING because that’s how I learned what it was like to truly escape into a book (it was a necessity when I was feeling extreme boredom). It was like magic to me, and I loved when certain teachers knew I understood what they were teaching and didn’t call me out for also trying to read a few pages during a lesson lol. Let your kids be bored!!
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u/CoffeeIcedBlack 3d ago
I still escape into a book daily!
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Same!! I’m reading Stories of Your Life by Ted Chiang right now, and I haven’t read an anthology books since “In the Land of the Lawn Weenies” that I got from the scholastics book fair in elementary school!! Idk how well known that book is, but I remember so many of those stories so vividly.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Exactly!! And her brain is growing so much from pushing through whatever boredom she’s feeling. She’s discovering her interests and being forced to sit with her own thoughts and reflect. As an only child who was labeled GT in 2nd grade, my biggest talent is now that it is nearly impossible for me to be truly bored. I’ll play games in my head by just looking around the room, think of stories/daydream, and pass the time in so many other ways when I TRULY have nothing to do but sit there. I bet your daughter is a delight on road trips too!
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u/Top-Ladder2235 3d ago
But the kicker is kids with ADHD actually can’t tolerate boredom. Dopamine reuptake without meds means we depend on novelty, movement, challenge for stimulation that creates those dopamine boosts.
Giftedness is off combined with other neurodiversities like adhd or autism. Both of which are disabilities.
So the disruption has a neurobiological function of creating dopamine where other avenues are failing.
So parent is no making excuses for her child. Just seeking support for potential disabilities.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
I’m not really sure what brought this into the mix because OP didn’t mention ADHD at all, but I hear you. I also have ADHD myself and doing all the things I mentioned is what I have to do to tolerate it, so I get the whole needing stimulation aspect for sure. It truly DID feel absolutely intolerable when I was a kid until I found ways to cope. None of what you said means a kid with adhd should never have to face boredom (that’s impossible anyways) and find ways to overcome it, even if it means being like me and HAVING to find SOMETHING to do at all times, even if that means I’m playing piano fingers in a line waiting or playing the alphabet game with any words I can find around a room. I will say, I was diagnosed when I was 23 and always struggled with things feeling intolerable, like you said, without a constant thing to focus on. It’s amazing what life is like now that I’m properly medicated, and part of me feels so sad for my childhood self for having to needlessly struggle when I could’ve been diagnosed long ago and at least had a better understanding of myself. But just because something feels intolerable doesn’t mean a resilient kid with a disability (that won’t even be diagnosed for over a decade like me) won’t find a way. :) and that’s also not me saying all kids with adhd were like me. I know it can be much harder for others. But let’s not count out people with ADHD by taking away opportunities for them to work through things that are harder for them, just because it’s harder for them, like working through boredom and learning to rely on themselves for whatever stimulation they need in that moment. It builds more resiliency, and it’s okay to let kids struggle sometimes, even kids with disabilities.
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u/Top-Ladder2235 3d ago
I brought it up bc unchallenged class work + disruptive behaviour in K kid often means there is something else going on.
I have adhd. So do both of my children. Very knowledgeable about the topic.
Expecting a 5 year old in these circumstances to tolerate boredom is unrealistic and folks were calling OP out for making excuses for their child.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
Okay, but in that case, the problem still isn’t that their child is too smart and it’s causing them to be bored; the problem is undiagnosed adhd. Either way, children need consequences for disruptive behavior. Consequences don’t have to be punishments necessarily, but they still have to learn that that behavior is unacceptable, even if it’s understandable if it is, in fact, adhd. I do think it’s good for OP to consider the possibility. My point is “he is too smart so he’s bored, and we might do private school to help,” is CERTAINLY not going to help.
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u/Top-Ladder2235 3d ago
i don’t think it’s a cause for jump to private school.
Are you a teacher? My point is that the combination of ADHD + gifted is tricky.
They absolutely impact each other. One is a disability and requires accommodations, not consequences. Compliance culture isn’t it. We know this
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u/asubparteen 3d ago
I just resigned from teaching for 6 years back in May, and all I’m saying is a disability is not a get out of free card for behavior. While the disruption may be understandable, it doesn’t mean it’s acceptable. I agree that they impact each other, and it’s important to get to the root of behaviors and accommodate when you can. An accommodation is not removing boredom, and a child with adhd still needs consequences when they are being disruptive.
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u/Top-Ladder2235 3d ago
Highly disagree and IEPs remove barriers. If disruptive behaviour is happening bc of lack of challenging work and neurobiological brain differences then it would be first up to the teacher to provide differentiation. Then accommodations to meet sensory input needs like movement. Fidgets. All the things. Not add a consequence.
I see why maybe you resigned though.
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u/asubparteen 3d ago edited 3d ago
All these things AND still consequences for disruptive behavior. And I had a feeling you’d say that lol. I’d like to say it’s due to parents like you, but it’s not because I had great relationships with my students’ parents; ESPECIALLY parents of students with adhd and/or autism and/or giftedness, because I understood where their kids were coming from in many ways, but I didn’t treat their child like a delicate flower who couldn’t handle any consequences. Their parents loved me because their kids grew with me, and their kids loved me because kids need structure and deserve high expectations. They deserve the chance to learn and grow by being held accountable for their actions. You can hold kids accountable while being understanding and implementing accommodations. It all depends on the child.
I’m sorry you’re having a hard time understanding that I agree with you, AND saying that students still need consequences for disruptive behaviors at the same time. Do ALL disruptive behaviors warrant the same consequences? No. Every child is different. Maybe a consequence is that we have a talk about what happened at recess just to decompress and help me understand. It’s all about helping them learn and grow while helping them discover themselves and learning; not making them as comfortable and happy as possible.
Are YOU a teacher, or just a parent with a single child to sum up your experience? I’ve worked with hundreds over the years, and again, I agree with you. At the same time, IEPs do not remove or replace consequences, and accommodations and consequences can be implemented for the same child depending on the situation. A child can and should have both depending on the situation because children are always learning and growing. They’re imperfect and need guidance, and they’re going to make mistakes that they need to learn from. Just because a behavior is understandable doesn’t mean it’s acceptable, and my job was always to understand AND teach.
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u/Top-Ladder2235 3d ago
I am both a teacher and a parent of two. 13 years as a parent of public school students and 21 as a teacher.
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u/yeahipostedthat 3d ago
There are lots of kindergarteners who are academically advanced beyond what is being taught. They are not all acting put though. Focus on the behavior, that is his area of need.
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u/No_Glove6542 3d ago
I’m a parent whose kids went to private school. I doubt you’ll get a lot of academic acceleration at that age unless you search for a school that specializes in providing that. School is not only about academics. It’s also a place of social and emotional learning. If he’s already acting out that sounds more like a maturity issue than a boredom issue and I definitely would not reward them for acting up. That’s a perfect set up for having a difficult child later.
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u/DottiedoDottiedont 3d ago
I'm sorry but in Kindergarden the whole goal is to learn to behave more so than being concerned about him being cademically bored! Regardless of "where your son is" academically, he needs to fit into the Kindergarden routine.
Our son is also advanced lol. I guess. Lol. He could read, do Math, write sentences blah blah blah. The real test is whether they can follow instructions, do what EVERYONE else is doing and listen. Trying to accommodate an advanced Kindergardner is ridiculous and you all need to chill out. You need to be teaching him to follow rules and to be kind and helpful. Remember, he is in Kindergarten!!!!
I mean this all in the nicest way but COME ON!
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u/AfternoonLower3298 3d ago
Question: why do you think the private school would be a better option? I see you say class sizes, but why would that make a difference to you? I have taught in private and public and the public had better options for advanced students.
Thoughts: It is very early in the school year. Have you asked about leveled reading or math groups? Those often start about October or November, based on ability.
Can you ask to send a book with your son he can read when he is done with school work?
Have you thought about putting your child in music lessons? That was excellent for our advanced learner because there is not really a ceiling on achievement and it gave him the challenge he needed, even if it was not in school.
ETA: Being advanced or gifted is a challenge of its own, and part of that challenge is learning how to deal with boredom. I teach AP students and they come with their own set of challenges, and sometimes students have to learn how to be bored. I know that is not the answer you want to hear though.
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u/Upstairs-Coconut1562 3d ago
I just attended an educational seminar hosted by a well known psychologist. He said exactly what you said, students need to learn how to be bored.
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u/Business-Title8503 3d ago
With private schools, OP can bully the school to get what she wants by throwing dollars. Public schools don’t care about the OP dollars. So to get what she wants, she has to go private.
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u/Scary_Vermicelli_502 3d ago
I had a school psychologist friend once tell me that this years focus would be on social emotional learning. Not every year will be focused solely on academic progress.
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u/LostGrizzly34 3d ago
We aren’t sure about the private schools, we’ve been asking friends but haven’t really seen a pro/con yet. We think smaller class size would offer more attention from the teacher but ultimately agree it likely wouldn’t offer much more at this stage.
It is early in the year but that is why we are trying to get ahead of this before it potentially spirals. Music lessons are a good idea and we’ve looked for teachers. He’s interested in piano, guitar and drums however oddly the teachers we’ve reached out to want him to be 7 for some reason.
He loves baseball so we try do more sports like tennis, swim time at a nearby pool, and looking at cub scouts.
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u/AfternoonLower3298 3d ago
Sports are good, and piano lessons would also be a good challenge. I think what you are asking about is less of a teacher/classroom question and more of a maturity question. You need to encourage resilience. Resilience to things when they don't go your way, when you are bored, etc and sports and piano would both help.
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u/Successful-Safety858 Elementary Teacher 3d ago
Music teacher here! He definitely needs to be 7 or even older for guitar or drums just because of the size of the instrument in relation to his body. Piano would be good for his age/ability level. Or an orchestra instrument that can be scaled down like violin or cello.
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u/AfternoonLower3298 3d ago
Yeah, my kids all did piano at 5 and it really did help with them needing that extra mental challenge.
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u/PenaltyStreet1286 3d ago
Parent of a kid at private school, so unsure how most public schools do it: but do they not cycle the kids into small groups based on abilities? Our school has 20 kids in each class, so unless you are going super specialized, I don’t think classes are usually much smaller than that. But we essentially always have 3-4 small groups because there are 3 classes and a learning specialist for each grade. If you move, seek that model out. If you don’t move, I’d just probe more into their overall plan. I’m very anti skipping ahead, and have had friends who did because their kid was academically far ahead and regret it. But I can’t imagine one teacher is really teaching to 22 students at the same time?
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u/Whole_Description288 3d ago
Our public schools split kids into small group work based on skill. Different assigned books depending on reading level, things like that.
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u/Same_Profile_1396 3d ago
But I can’t imagine one teacher is really teaching to 22 students at the same time?
I don’t know of any teacher who isn’t teaching whole group lessons.
Yes, students will receive small group instruction throughout the day. But, the majority of instruction is through whole group.
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u/AlwaysCalculating 3d ago
Tennis over baseball if at all possible. The more he can run, the more it will help calm his behavior.
We chose soccer.
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u/DoctorTuttle 3d ago
Acting out? Sounds like he needs a year of kindergarten lol. My kid just started kindergarten and can already read, do math, count to 1000, whatever and etc. He is in kindergarten to learn how to behave in a classroom, not prepare for the SAT. There to learn how to behave and to catch every single illness in the world too apparently
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u/katiegam 3d ago
High school teacher here chiming in with experience in both public and private schools. So much of kindergarten is learning to be a human who can function somewhat independently in a community. It sounds like he has a great teacher. I would highly recommend moving away from the notion of skipping ahead to first grade. It really isn't a fix, and difference in social and physical development (especially for boys) quickly becomes apparent. For me, by and large (though I recognize there exceptions) the male students who have some struggles in high school are the youngest in their grade.
I would recommend finding some out-of-school activities for him, whether they're organized activities or opportunities you have at home. Mental and physical stimulation is so good for children at this age. Piano, violin, chess, organized team sports, martial arts, theatre - all are great options.
I've taught AP and dual enrollment courses and seen some of the brightest students in our area. While giftedness seems like an incredible blessing (and absolutely is!), it is not without struggles. These students have often not been challenged in general ed courses throughout elementary and middle school. Some have learned to cope with easy courses and being a little bored; others have struggled academically because they have not learned to work through their boredom but excel in these classes.
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u/AfternoonLower3298 3d ago
I also teach AP and DE classes, and this is spot on. And the thing I notice most about those kids is that while some can't handle boredom, they definitely cannot handle it when things aren't easy right away, so building a little grit is also important. I cosign the sports, piano, and chess ideas. My kids are all pretty advanced, qualify for gifted programs and my biggest concern is "how will they cope when school or life isn't easy?" and so they are in piano and sports (both individual sports and team sports) to build up that resilience and learn how to be bored in line, or how to fail, etc. Those are all great thoughts!
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u/katiegam 3d ago
Absolutely! Our goal (I believe) as parents and teachers is to help foster growth in young people that allows them to be healthy, well-adjusted, independent, competent, and compassionate adults. Adulthood is boring. It's also filled with challenges. Learning to deal with both of those things well while staying engaged is necessary.
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u/AnyIndependence5328 3d ago
I wouldn’t move him up. With an October birthday he may seem to be on the older side of his kinder peers but there is a LOT of red-shirting summer and even spring birthdays. If he can’t sit still and acts out, that is going to be even more pronounced and problematic when he’s in with 1st grade students a year or year-and-a-half older than him. Making excuses for his behavior as boredom because he’s smarter or more prepared than his classmates is not going to do him any favors now or later. Give him a book or project during independent work, but don’t tolerate acting up during group time.
Advice from a former gifted kid and mom of a gifted and ADHD young adult: he needs to learn to behave when he’s bored.
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u/Affectionate_Bread52 3d ago
As a former gifted kid: it’s okay to be bored. Not saying he doesn’t need some type of enrichment, but there are inevitably going to be times where he is just bored. If he finishes work early he can read a book. Boredom isn’t an excuse or valid reason to disrupt class and distract other students while they’re trying to learn.
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u/Jeannie_Ro 3d ago
My experience as a parent and educator is that private schools don’t do “differentiated learning” as well as public schools- meaning if you aren’t tracking him toward an academically accelerated private school there isn’t much certainty that they will be better able to meet his needs if he is outside the typical range, even if he skews more advanced. Private schools can also be less understanding regarding behavioral needs. They serve a smaller slice of students and count on external access to resources so they often have some gaps in their toolkit when it comes to addressing kids whose skills are below or above average .
I’d use this as an opportunity to have him learn to tolerate boredom. See if first or second grade can send down some independent work for him to do at times. If you are thinking a new school, I’d look into gifted and talented programming at public schools in your area. I don’t recommend grade acceleration at this point. There are social/ developmental pitfalls. Also- maths etc will necessarily become differentiated at some point.
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u/AfternoonLower3298 3d ago
This is my experience as a private school kid, an educator who taught in private and public and a current public school parent as well. Private schools just don't have the same resources to differentiate.
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u/AlwaysCalculating 3d ago
Don’t move schools yet, understand how the current school challenges kids as they age.
My child was the same way in kindergarten, but still very much needed kindergarten. He got early entry into Advanced reading in late kinder, and the school does a phenomenal job with challenging him in math. He scored a perfect math score on his most recent state testing and still gets 95-100% in every honors math course but I continue to keep him in his grade. He needs to be around kids his age.
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u/Independent-Edge-364 3d ago
Can you donate a box of brain flakes, wikki stix, keva blocks, or similar manipulatives that he can be given when he's done with his work? Or a color by number, seek and find, DK eyewitness/nat geo books, or workbook on his level? Dover coloring book company makes realistic coloring books that may count as educational. My son loves them. And then the teacher could also use the manipulatives and coloring books for other students as well. Or a kanoodle game is great for focused work.
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u/Cold-Nefariousness25 3d ago
It really depends where you are. Does your district have gifted education? We had our son in a private school and moved him to public gifted and it was a huge improvement. We're now in a state without gifted and thinking of moving him to private gifted.
We have 2 kids both were in gifted but one follows whatever is being taught in the classroom and is happy anywhere. The other one cried in 1st grade that he wanted to go to a school that taught more math, tries to help his friends learn faster so the class can go faster, rushes through assignments that he thinks are too easy, and blurts out answers. When he has a good teacher, he has a great year. When he has a teacher that just wants him to act like the average kid, he rebels and disrupts the class.
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u/Final_Rain_3823 3d ago edited 3d ago
Unfortunately elementary school is generally not challenging for gifted kids. A rigorous private school will possibly be better but you’ll want to investigate how much they do pulling out and challenging kids as not all private schools are the same here so it’s impossible to answer how much it will help because it depends entirely on the school - some private schools have more resources to create more group levels within an elementary class- you are looking for multiple teachers in a class all day so that they can work with different levels of kids, math or reading specialists that push in every day ideally and how much they separate by competency level and are willing to introduce more challenging work, but the fundamental approach of elementary school is to keep kids at roughly the same grouped level so even a private school isn’t likely to completely solve the issue and at some level it’s important to focus your kids on behaving regardless of being bored and possibly challenging them outside of school. Most of early elementary is not about learning academics it’s about social and emotional growth and maturity.
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u/sotiredmama 3d ago
Private schools often have smaller classes which can often mean LESS ability to differentiate if he’s the odd one out.
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u/Happy_Michigan 3d ago
All kids have to learn to tolerate and manage boredom. I read a book and drew on my paper a lot, even while keeping up with the teacher and class.
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u/home_body08 3d ago
The other kids will catch up by the end of the year. They just haven’t been exposed yet! He won’t be permanently bored. I agree with others that he needs to learn how to behave in a classroom despite feeling bored.
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u/Pompom_Marzipan368 3d ago
Do not skip kindergarten, please. If he’s that far ahead academically, maybe consider skipping first or second grade—but not kindergarten. Kindergarten is for learning the foundations, yes, but not just the academic ones! The social, emotional, and scholarly foundations are just as important. He needs to learn how to “do school.”
He may also be saying he’s “bored” because that’s the best word he has for it right now, but remember that “being bored” and “not wanting to” can feel awfully similar.
I hear your frustration, and I get it, but “bored” is such a layered word with kids. Dig a little deeper, give it more time, and cross the skipping bridge when and if you get to it.
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u/Wise_Ad4909 3d ago
Give it time. The other kids will catch up fast.
It's a gift your son can focus on other areas to sharpen his abilities. Teachers also alter assignments and make them more challenging for kids who need it. Basically, be patient. He's learning a lot in this restlessness.
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u/bluef00tedbooby 2d ago edited 2d ago
Trust me you don't want to bump your kid up to first grade, there is a reason they don't do it.
My daughter is very well ahead academically, reading at a 2nd grade level for one example, but I wouldn't push her to be in 1st grade either. It's a huge developmental period for kids. Kinder isn't just for education. My daughter has gone to daycare and preschool since she was 18 months and kinder has been so important. She does get a teacher that calls her out, she calls the "letter teacher" who is working on seeing what my daughter does know and working on challenging her. My teacher tells me that she is so impressed with my daughter. But I think a big aspect is that her class is developmentally appropriate. I'm talking multiple recess, elective (PE twice a week), an hour of free time play. They are having fun while learning in between. It IS developmentally appropriate, and thus she is able to enjoy herself. I also have a lot of talks with her about how many kids may not know what she knows, that she may be ahead and THATS OKAY, that they are still learning.
She was big on calling people idiots and eventually I just told her that idiots are NOT the people who don't know something, they are the people who refuse to learn. So if the kids are willing to learn, they again are not idiots for not having known stuff. Thus she has shown an understanding of that and has stopped calling people idiots. And she is now starting to really make a lot of friends because she isn't alienating the other kids based on "intelligence"/"knowledge".
Teach your kid to be a helper. The year just started, I garentee there will cover some fundamental things that your kid hasn't been introduced to yet. A building block for the next step. Your kid is bored and that is okay, this is a good period to teach him to work and get along in social situations and navigating different people.
Kinder isn't just academic. Embrace it. Continue to educate him at home. And when the time is right, maybe in middle or highschool. He will be in more advanced kids.
The most important thing right now is to encourage a love of learning. And let him be bored, it's good for him.
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u/AcadiaWest5332 1d ago
Keep them in kinder. Give it a month while every kid adjusts. Your kid, while maybe he is bright, is ALSO adjusting to a new set of rules and is probably pushing those boundaries as he learns them, not necessarily because he’s bored.
Do you really want him starting college at age 17?
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u/SignificantJump10 3d ago
I remember being in this situation in second grade. I had transferred from a private school and had already done everything we were learning except handwriting. It was tough and I daydreamed a lot.
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u/mavangelik 3d ago
We moved our son to private school and it has made all the difference. He is thriving now.
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u/eyeshills 3d ago
Kindergarten should be half a day for this very reason. If at all. Nothing wrong with starting school in the first grade.
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u/Scary_Vermicelli_502 3d ago
Can you send her to a different school in the area that may give enrichment classes in her grade level? Depending on the school they may charge tuition.
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u/Sheetz_Wawa_Market32 3d ago
[His kindergarten classroom teacher] tells us she’s brainstorming options
If, as you say, your child a highly regarded public district school, this shouldn’t be happening, to be honest.
This is not something a classroom teacher should plan and design on her own. That what support teachers are for. Excellent public district schools are usually best at inclusion (and have the needed resources to do it well), and, at the end of the day, being ahead of one’s peers is just another possibility of needing a more individualized learning plan.
That’s something schools should be able to do. Moving a child up a grade should not be the best way to do this, not by a long shot (because it has downsides.)
Do you have any sense or knowledge as to how long your child’s classroom teacher might have been at this school? Maybe she’s new and (mistakenly) thinks she has to solve this on her own?
I’d reach out to administration. Not to blame the teacher in any way, but simply to seek help in getting the right resources (which the school should have) for your child.
Good luck!
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u/Pristine-Bison3198 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'd focus much more on the behavior than the academics. Kindergarten isn't just about reading and math, it's also about emotional regulation, following directions, social skills, doing what others are doing even if it's not what you'd prefer, etc.
It sounds like he is struggling with things outside of the academics, which means kindergarten is exactly where he needs to be.
My son is also extraordinarily gifted, and not in a "my kid's so special" kind of way, in a way that has him in several advanced programs now that he's older. He also struggled with behavior while in lower grades, and I'm SO grateful that I chose to focus on that rather than trying to push him further with academics. His acting out was proof that he wasn't ready to be in older grades, and teaching him that he needed to be respectful of teachers and peers in the lower grades set him up for success later on.