6 Yr. Old, Lazy? No Self Esteem?

He might do better, next year, in a different classroom. My daughter (3) was in a pre-school class this year with a very wild child. Unfortunately, my duaghter is a follower and would often follow this wild child into trouble. The school just moved my daughter up to a new class (3/4 where she was previously in 2/3). She has blossomed in the new classroom and I think a HUGE part of that is being away from the wild child that was leading her astray (and being away from the squeaky wheel - as you say). I think her class room environment is more stable now.

Good luck!
L.

Can you imagine being stuck in a classroom for hours every day with a bunch of challenging kids and a teacher who has lost control? What's to get excited about that?

I don't blame your son for not being motivated about school. He probably has to go numb and zone out to endure being around that chaos every day. It's not a safe environment for a 6 year old who is not in a position to speak up and change things. Worse, my kids found that their teachers would try to control the problem students by seating them next to the the best students (my kids). They felt like they were being punished for being good.

If your son has no fight in him, it may be because he's given up. My advice would be to get him out of there. If you want him to have some fight in him, fight for him. Show him that he is worth the trouble, and that it's possible to speak up and change things. He's only 6 so the way he'll learn this is to have you model it for him.

Keep motivating him at home, but it's possible the lack of enthusiasm at school from the teacher enforces the behavior of what might have been a typical 6yr old. It's no fun if your peers are not interested in learning...why should he right!. That seem like the attitude he is adopting.

Well... he's only six years old. I would ease up a bit on him and just make sure that he's enjoying kindergarten. He's going to have the next 12 years to work very hard academically and doing extracurricular activities and then college after that.

So if the teacher seems to be the problem, have you requested sit down meetings with the teacher? If that hasn't solved anything, have you requested that your son be transferred to another class? If that hasn't been possible then at this point be relieved that there's only a month left of school, and you compose a letter of complaint about the entire situation regarding the teacher and how it's been handled. Submit it to the Board of Education and CC (carbon copy) the printed paper copy to both them and the school principal.

Schools almost out, but I would make sure that he had a GREAT teacher next year. Someone who has good classroom control but is also fun and challenging.

For this summer, try to get him into some sort of high quality day camp that has something to do with his interests. Get recommendations for good camps, meet the people in charge, see what you think about them, explain your worries.. Look for people that are high energy and positive.

Keep being positive with him at home, and maintaining high expectations. Google "effort based praise" and read up on that - pretty much - praise the child's effort instead of the outcome. "You worked so hard on that problem! You worked and thought and figured it out, even though it was hard. That is great!" Instead of "Wow! You are so smart. You figured that problem out and made it look easy!"

Good luck!

That is really sad.. a 6 year old should be excited about school, but in that kind of environment, who could blame him? Is your school year almost over? Hopefully summer will give him a break from the negativity. Ask him what HE would like to do over the summer... camps, sports, outings, etc. I would also see if your library does a summer reading program where kids earn incentives for their reading. He probably needs more positive reinforcement outside of home. If you can find books that he enjoys reading that will have great benefits in the long run. As for the school, I would make a request that he be placed in a different classroom with a different group of kids next year. Hopefully the school is already working to split up the difficult kids, but definitely let them know of the negative impact this is having on him. Good luck!

I'm wondering if this is an age thing... my 7 year old never went through it, but my almost 6 year old most DEFINATELY is!! Hope it gets better for us both :) Sounds like you're already doing everything right mama :)

I am not sure if it is an age thing or not, but I was wondering if he is still interested in his after school activities? If he is not involved in any, perhaps it is time to find something after school that he will enjoy. It strikes me that since he is not being challenged, he might simply be bored and nothing else...