My Kindergartener Is Bored...

Hi M.,

First of all, you will need to have the cooperation from the teacher (and school) and your kid himself (according to his age and temper of course). M., consider that he has been there just two weeks or so. Let him know that he is a smart boy, and he has to be a little patient . Let him know that school means to be and tolerate other little people, respect teachers and have fun learning or reviewing what he already knows. Talk to the teacher, and agree together some kind of work that he can do if he is done with the assignments or school work in the class. The teacher can have him doing some additional activities or helping with things in the class. My older kid was the same way, and he was very active and talkative. He was very, very bored; his teacher ask him to help her with things in the class and prepare stuff for the other children . He loved to help the teacher! Sometimes, he also was given puzzles, or books a little more advanced to read chosen by himself. In other opportunities, he was working with a "partner" in different subjects, etc...
If any of these things doesn't work, just ask to the teacher about the gift program, I am sure they have one.
I don't know if make him to skip a grade will help or solve the situation, he may be very smart, intelligent and clever, but probably he is not mature enough for upper grades, and this may complicate things for you and him. It is important to observe the way he interacts with the other kids in his class, and see how mature he is, if he is OK I don't see the need to move him to the next grade, if not probably yes....
M., give him more time in Kindergarten and see what happens later in the class; probably is going to be more fun and interesting.
Good Luck!
A.

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I skipped...two grades. Kindergarden and third grade. I will tell you...it wasn't easy. I had to make new friends each time--all my friends were driving and I wasn't...everyone was bar hopping and I wasn't. I don't think there's any benefit to it...psychologists and educators are torn about it. However, could you enroll him in some sort of music/karate/chess/etc. program locally? All of those suggestions help motivate mind and body... It's tricky when they go to good preschools, like I did...and are ahead of the game. But, I don't suggest skipping him...just from my own experience. My friend (also skipped) feels the same way. Being called "baby" for 10 years wasn't fun. And kids thought it was funny I developed breasts earlier than others, yet I was 2 years younger. Not traumatic, but not fun.

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I guess I am having trouble understanding why you held back your son if you really believe he is so bright. Move him up to first grade where he belongs and he won't be bored.

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have him tested for 1st grade
if you can't get him in there
then keep him home another year and continue to home school him
and maybe next year he can start in 2nd grade.

i am a firm believer of children learning at their speed - not the system's.

S. Riemann

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Sounds like he is a year older than my daughter started last year and I wonder why it is 1/2 day? She is 6 and just started first grade. Last year when she was 5, she was in full time kindergarten.

I found last year that the beginning of school is the time the start assessments, let the kids learn the routine and then they get in to learning more.

One thing I would do is encourage him to realize that every part of every day is not going to be "exciting" and it's a group effort. Even if he thinks he isn't learning, he probably is learning, whether it's additional ways to do things or learning socially.

One more thought - sometimes my daughter says she is bored and doesn't want to go to school just because she wants to stay home and enjoy her regular home routime (kinda like when we wake up in the morning and want to just stay home from work).

I think it's an adjustment time and he'll be fine. I would check to see if there is any full time kindergarten available for him. Our schools get them through level 6 - that used to be almost 2nd grade.

Good luck!

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open communication is the key....start with the teacher. If you don't get results/positive response, then move on to the counselor. & then on to the principal.

These are your tax $$$ at work, find a way for them to work for you.

On another note, I would also counsel teaching your child patience & tolerance & that all moments do not have to be exciting - & that school (of some sort) is a necessity for the next 13 years! The 1st couple weeks are always remedial ....that's how a good teacher gets a handle on what each child knows. The next phase is moving on to new content, with academic testing provided for all....so that those children in need, whether it be advanced or remedial, can be placed where they need to be.

So maybe patience & tolerance on your part is also needed. I wish you Peace.

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M.,

When I was a teacher - if I saw a student that was performing above what we were doing - I would ask them to sit through the lesson, but then when the kids were doing work I would provide them with more difficult worksheets or puzzles or whatever - something in the same area that would challenge them.

I would first talk to the teacher - ask her/him how your child is doing in class - is he having any difficulty? Many times I would have parents tell me their child was bored and the work was too easy, but the child wasn't showing me what they knew. Let your son know that he has to show the teacher what he knows. If he is doing as well as you believe he is then the teacher (once she sees this in his work and gets to know him) will hopefully be willing to challenge him in class. Remind him of the other things he is there to learn - working with others, etc.

Lastly, if he shows the teacher he can perform (finishes before all other students and the work is correct) and she is reluctant to give him more challenging work (there are those out there) then ask if you can send a book or workbook that is challenging for him - to do when his work is completed.

Hope this helps.

J.

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I am sorry your 6 year old is bored, but Kindergarten is also about learning how to behave in a social setting and following directions, tell him to do his best even if it is easy for him, I am sure it will get better, it is just the first two weeks into school afterall. Both my children were well on there way to reading at the end of the school year and doing quite a bit of writing as well and that was 8 and 12 years ago so I am sure they still have that as part of the curriculum. Also there is nothing stopping you from continuing to work on more challenging things with him at home in your own time. = )
B.

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Speak to the teacher with your concerns and come up with a solution together. The teacher may be able to come up with different (more difficult or challenging) assignments for your son. If that doesn't work, see if you can test your son out of Kindergarten and to a higher grade level.

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shouldn't he be 5 and in kindergarten. Have them test him and see if he can go up a grade.

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Have you considered home schooling? There really is very little benefit to a 1/2 day K class if he knows all you say he does. I would say either home school so you can be in control, or go ahead and let him skip. I don't believe that it should matter if he is younger than everyone else. When the kids tease, call him baby, and later when they are driving etc., he should be taught to skip to the beat of his own drum. I have always been extremely different than anyone in my sphere of influence. I enjoy being different and approaching life differently. I try and pass that onto my children. In this life there are leaders and followers and there are people that stand out on their own. I would rather my kids stand out on their own. But if not, then I want them to be leaders. If we are too sensitive to what others think, we'll never be able to be anything but a follower.

S.

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My daughter was the same way. First--TALK to the teacher!! Nothing will be accomplished by going over her head first. Give the teacher a chance to give your child advanced work -- harder patterns, more advanced reading, etc. but I agree that part of school is learning proper behavior in a social setting and learning to do your work, even if it's 'easy' for you. Ask about getting your child tested for a gifted and talented program also. That's what I did for my daughter.

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Can you talk to the school about putting him in first grade?

Hi M., I had that problem with my oldest daughter, she was the oldest in her class (August Baby). We were lucky that her teacher saw that my daughter would get done with her work and be sitting there bored so she would find her other stuff to do in the class. They had what the teacher called write the room. She would write a word down the side of peice of paper, like pumpkin, summer what ever, then my daughter would go around the room, quitely and find thing that stared with the leters of the word on the paper. This helped her to use her new skills of sounding out words, helped her with spelling and gave her something else to do. And sometime my daughter would be the helper for the class and kids that where having trouble she would help. She's in second grade this year and things are a little more challenging for her and she's not so bored in school. Good luck - and be happy it's only 1/2 day!!

Our schools have a IEP Independent education program .The kids can be advanced as needed ,check with your school maybe they might test him and move him up in certain areas.

it's only been 2 weeks. give it some time and only a 1/2 day he can handle it. My son was very smart too and went a full day. His teacher recognized that he was more advanced and got worksheets for him to do from a 1st grade teacher whenever he finished his kindergarten work quicker. She also let him go to the library more often to get new books so he read a lot when his work was finished. I would make an appointment to talk to his teacher to see what she thinks. They wouldn't advance my son to 1st grade because he was so tiny in size. He wore a size 2T and was already a young 5 as his birthday is in August so they didn't want to move him up. My cousin on the other hand was almost 6 with an October birthday so she was in Kindergarten 3 weeks and the school decided to advance her to 1st grade. With your son being 6 they may move him up but they will probably test him to see if he is above the level of everything he will learn in Kindergarten. The first 6 weeks are going to be easy for him with reviewing from preschool and getting students caught up that didn't go to preschool that didn't learn a lot at home.

He may also tell you he is bored because he doesn't want to go so may think if he complains enough he will get to stay home with you. Ask him how he likes recess and other fun activities. A lot about Kindergarten is learning social skills so if he tends to stay to himself while playing then his main goal in Kindergarten will be social skills.

Hi M., that is great that your child is ahead of his class and knows how to do the things they are teaching the children. I would talk to his teacher and see maybe if she can start giving him 1st grade things to do or maybe he can be tested to see how much he knows and they can put him in first grade. All I know is that if you don't keep his brain busy he will not want to do anything in school even when he is older. My husband and brother were this way, everything was easy to him so they didn't want to go to school. Infact my brother used to skip class a couple of times during the week go back to class the rest of the time, he would take the test and get an A+. My husband and brother ended up getting their GED. I would talk to the teacher though and see what you can do. God Bless you and your family!

Hi M.!

Although this situation is awful for your son, it really is a good problem in the grand scheme of things! My oldest two children were in the same situations when they started kindergarten. Luckily, I had great teachers who modified their lessons to include my advanced students and strove to challenge them. We still have issues with boredom, even in 3rd and 7th grades, but my kids perfected the art of patience early! Patience is actually a good virtue to learn, but shouldn't be expected out of 6 year olds in an academic setting. He should always be challenged or you might run the risk of him just totally "checking out" of his school experience by not caring to learn anything anymore.
Here are my suggestions to look into:

Ask the teacher if there is any system in place in your school or district that motivates gifted or accelerated learners. If not, you could then suggest ideas to the teacher to help motivate your child. (My daughter was encouraged to continue reading on her level when she was kdg, so her teacher found a 'buddy' teacher in 3rd grade who would invite my daughter to their "Drop Everything and Read" time (DEAR time). She would get to pair up with an older student to read and be read to. What a HUGE difference it made in my daughter's outlook on school! She looked forward to that enrichment!
If that's not an option, I'd request a conference with the teacher, principal and maybe the "gifted" teacher in the school to help you find ways to enrich and spark his learning.
My son's experience was similar to that in that he was rewarded for any accelerated activity he finished. He was a super reader too and was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge about all animals and their habitats and geography. His teacher noticed how much he knew and would allow him to elaborate on his expert knowledge with his class. The classmates were very impressed and supportive of him, not jealous. He thrived on his friends' approval of him.
I don't know what your solution should be, but I do remember a time when my husband thought that the teachers weren't challenging our kids enough. I taught in their school and from a parent's perspective, I understood where he was coming from. From a teacher's standpoint, I also knew that there are so many demands on teacher's curriculums and not enough time to get to it all in most cases so I had to make the case to him that it's just as much the parents' responsibility to enrich their children as the teachers, especially in the early grades. Once a child "qualifies" for gifted services, then one should expect an accelerated curriculum for their child. Good luck in finding what works for you!

You may want to see if the school has a challenge program. Some districts might call it gifted and talented. In Raytown, there's a challenge program that is available. I've kindergarten children in the program.
T. H
Raytown

I had the same problem with my second child. He used to say, "Mom, when are we going to learn something?" He also was much more mature than the other kids and thought they were all babies. I think you should just encourage him at home. Continue to give him some extras at home, maybe find a more challenging level for reading, or tell him if he reads a certain number of books, you'll do something special. It did take a few years for my son to develop any close friendships at school. The rest of them just had to catch up to him. But, after that, it was not a problem at all. He ended up being very social! He was student council president and Homecoming King his senior year. I'm sure you're son will do fine. It just takes time to adjust.
(Hey, I have four kids too!)

I would ask about testing him and seeing if he can be moved up to first grade. Sounds like he's ready to be more challenged...certainly doing all the things you say he does he's ready for 1st grade.

If the school board is unwilling to test him I would think the only other choice you might have is homeschooling him. Congrats on having such a bright kiddo. Sounds like you set him on the right track!

First thing you can do is ask the teacher if there is any extra work your child can do. Otherwise, I suggest taking him out of kindergarten and homeschooling him for this school year. Our children learn alot faster than the school system allows. If you are not up to homeschooling, the only thing you can do is ask the teacher for more work and know that one day his smartness will catch up with him. In about two more school years, he will begin learning things harder for him. You can always give him extra work at home, but he will still be bored at school.

You've gotten all sorts of great advice. I agree that the first thing to do is to talk to the teacher. It will get more challenging. Remember there are kids in his class like my daughter who just turned 5 and had no preschool beforehand. They say that all the kids are pretty much on par by 2nd or 3rd grade, but starting out they're all over the place. There is a big difference between starting at 5 and starting at 6, too, I think. You do have that extra year built in there in case in the future you want to move him up (or now). I'm surprised that some people suggested finding all day kindergarten, as at our school they have both, but the same curriculum is taught in both, there is just more time to do it in in full day, so if he's ahead I would think he would be even more bored. I hope things get better, but I think that talking to the teacher about your and his concerns will help you get an idea of what your school is willing and able to do.

K.

Before reading the other posts, I was going to suggest enrolling him in the first grade (still an option given his age since he wouldn't be "the baby" of the group); however, after reading about other people's experiences, I would recommend having the school write an IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for him. These IEP's often fall under special education; however, they are not only limited to the learning challenged.
My son has an IEP since he is so bright and bored by the school curriculum. It has made a HUGE difference. He gets to learn at his pace and at his challenge level while still associating with peers his age. I'd strongly recommend that you seek an IEP for your son. Then, he would be able to learn at his challenge level, but still be with his peers.
Good luck! Thank God for your bright young man! He will go far in life!
K.

Its only been 2 weeks! Every year, actually, my kids get a refresher of what they should know from the year before to make learning easier for everyone. If you have worked with him quite a bit at home, its going to take some time for some of the others to learn the basics, but probably the beginning of every year is going to be this way. Just tell him it won't be long and they will all be learning. Sounds like he might have been able to be in 1st grade also though since you have already taught him so much.

If you live in KS Kindergarten is no a must. see if he can skip to first grade.

Hi M.,

First of all, I would say that if he is already six, he seems to need first grade activities and not kindergaten. Kids go to kindergarten when they are five not six.
I wouldn't rush in considering bright a child that is a year older than the rest in his class, if he is brighter than others, he should be compared with first graders and not 5 year old kids.
I am a teacher and had this same experience several times, and the only reason why I would consider holding back a child is if he is inmature and not ready to start kindergarten when he is 5. If this is the case (which it doesn't seem to be with your son) then holding them back helps them to learn to behave, socialize and make friend,etc.

I would start by talking with teacher/principal and ask the district to test him, if he is ready for first grade, he should move on, he won't be the baby since all of the first graders should be 6. He'll make the right friends and learn the proper things.
Hope it helps, anyway, my two cents:)
Good luck!

Good Morning M., We had the same problem with Corbin in pre-school when he went over a year ago. He knew his numbers, letters, shapes, colors, knew all the kids names, spoke in a more adult way etc so he was a bored and active little guy. We ended up removing him from that pre-school as the teacher said she never had a child like him in her 14 yrs of teaching. BOLOGNA!!

Now we have him accepted out of district to a pre-school in a reg school, in Park City, Ks. with our other grand children. The first few days he said he did nothing in school but play out side. Our son showed me how to get to to tell us what they did in class, it worked great.

Then the other night his mom was reading him a story and he stopped her in the middle to sing her a new ABC song.
We were concerned he would be bored again also. I think he was overwhelmed this time with the size of the school so many kids and so many things offered in the class room.

I spoke to his teacher yesterday and asked how he was doing, cause before we were getting CORBIN reports daily.
She said he is doing great, a little chatty (I'm Sorry lol)
NO he is great as some children won't speak at all it helps them to open up. He is very informative.. ( Opps, wonder what he's telling them lol)
I hope he hasn't told you to get over it...lol or given you Options. LOL not yet but we give them options also in class. He is doing very well.
He is a people type of person, he talks to everyone. Maybe if your son could find a child to befriend and maybe help them open up a little more it would help your son not to be so bored.
There is a patrolman out in front of the school daily greeting the kids as they come in, giving them HI 5's telling them to have a awesome day in school, etc.. Corbin told him yesterday he could go catch some bad guys now and if he needed help come get him cause he was Nana's super hero...lol What a hoot. Officer Davis bent down to his level and bumped fists and told him he would be sure to look him up when needed.

They told us in our school M. they would have a 2-3 wk evaluation and see if they needed to be placed in another class. Your son may be needing to be placed in a gifted program. Giving him more challenges. Talk to his teacher or the school counselor.

I could of kept on teaching Corbin here but he needed the interaction with other children.

God Bless you M., hope you can keep encouraging him to do well
K. Nana of 5

M.-
I get the same from my son, he doesn't want to go, he is already reading level 2 stories and knows his numbers, colors, math, addition, counting by 2's, 5's, 10's.etc...I have already talked to his teacher about this, she asked me to try to wait it out until they get settled into a routine with school about the first two to three weeks and if his attitude doesn't change then we can discuss further. He gets to do the reading of the activities to the class and be a helper (so he thinks he is in charge!!), he also likes music and loves to draw so the extra classes of P.E., music and art are holding him together right now. Try and talk to the teacher about anything special that she might be able to make him in charge of? Is he a reader?? Maybe something like they did for my son will work for you?
Hope this helps!
T.