School issues

[OmarsMum]

DS will turn 5 next week, he is the oldest child in class. All other children are 4 & will turn 5 in April- September next year.

He is advanced for his age, he's been reading for almost 2 years now, he still can't write properly as I didn't do any formal teaching at home. They used to send some writing practice sheets home for practice & I was happy with that, as they were practicing writing at school, however; yesterday they sent us a note from school stating that they will not work on pencil writing anymore, & they will concentrate on developing fine motor skills using playdoh, sand & board writing. I am not happy with that, DS is far beyond this stage. Last year this is all what they were doing, this year they are re-introducing phonics

DS doesn't have friends in his class, according to him they are all so young & they don't know how to play properly, he even got picked on & bullied in class. His key teacher is aware of this & she agrees that he is more mature than his peers

Today he wasn't happy with writing a letter using playdoh but he did it anyway.

His teacher is trying to help, he enjoys library time, gym, music & arabic classes, but English &. Math are basic for him, he doesn't feel challenged & he is bored in class & his teacher confirmed it. He doesn't want to sing hockey pockey or listen to we're going on a bear hunt, he's been doing those since he was 2 yrs in toddlers classes

His teacher will have a meeting with the HOD to give him extras in class but again I don't want him to feel different or isolated, he's struggling enough socially in class.

He doesn't have social issues outside school, but his friends are 2+ years older than him

They already enrolled him in the school's reading program & he's been assessed & given reading books to read at home. He's happy about it, his teacher suggested to give him some writing work to do at home, but now I feel sending him to school & paying all this money is useless if I have to do all the work at home instead of taking him out to play after school

What should I do??

 

[ItsJana]

Is it possible for him to skip a grade?

 

[Bex84]

Could they not send him to older class when they are doing writing. We did this for letters and sounds teaching. The kids would go onto streamed groups just for that session. He shouldn't be held back

 

[aimee-lou]

Is it possible for him to skip a grade?

This. If he's struggling socially as the children are all younger AND the work is too basic for him it would make sense to try him in the year above. Could you suggest he dies English/maths with the year above as a tester?

 

[kanga]

I agree that you should get him moved up a grade ASAP. Shouldn't be too much of a struggle, esp as he is the very oldest I his year.

 

[alicecooper]

Yep see if you can get him moved up a grade. My DD was the same and the school picked up on it and moved her up a grade too. She's 9 now and her best friends are 10 and 11 and that suits her just fine.

 

[OmarsMum]

Thanks for your comments & suggestions. Moving him up a grade is not an option now as he's struggling socially, he's been going from one assessment to another at school, today the social worker will attend with him for 1 hour to assess him.

I emphasized on the age gap between him & his peers, & I clearly told them that I am not looking for extra work at home.

He's too quiet at school but he's always frustrated & angry at home & I don't like it!

I will see what will go on after the assessment today xx

 

[lindseymw]

For reading, writing and maths, Joshua goes to a different class as he is ahead of his peers. For the rest, he stays with his normal class. Could that be an option for Omar?

Joshua hates writing. He can do it very well, but just doesn't like it. His logic is "If I just tell you, then why would I need to write it down?" We need to encourage it more at home.

 

[marie-louise]

Hiya, can they set him extra work? My son is 4 and is registered gifted and talented as he can already read and write anything, however he also has autism and therefore struggles socially and is immature so they won't move him up. He has an individual education plan so he does the classwork but advances on it. He also has extra homework. He gets bored and frustrated if not challenged. Ask the school if he can see an educational psychologist and they can make sure he gets an iep and then he will get work to suit his abilities. Good luck!

 

[tommyg]

Skipping a grade seem the obvious answer but I imagine to do that he needs to catch up with them and his writing skills and his grip.
You say he is struggling socially maybe he would fit in better with the older children in the year above.

Lets know how his assessment goes today.

 

[RachA]

Rather than putting him up a grade generally I would look at doing it just for selected areas where he is ahead. 5 is still very young to be writing properly and if he doesn't have the correct fine motor skills then he won't be able to write properly even if he's put in a different class to do writing rather than the play doh etc stuff.
They will be doing this to help develop the correct movements in the hands in order for then to be able to write properly so from the sounds of it Omar would benefit from it even if he finds it boring.

 

[OmarsMum]

Rather than putting him up a grade generally I would look at doing it just for selected areas where he is ahead. 5 is still very young to be writing properly and if he doesn't have the correct fine motor skills then he won't be able to write properly even if he's put in a different class to do writing rather than the play doh etc stuff.
They will be doing this to help develop the correct movements in the hands in order for then to be able to write properly so from the sounds of it Omar would benefit from it even if he finds it boring.

He has the skills to write but no one taught him how to, he "writes" all letters but not in the proper way, he has a good pencil grab, he can write few letters correctly as they used to do formal writing earlier.

He goes to IB/PYP school, I'm honestly still confused with their way of teaching, it fits Omar when it comes to his personality as children are assessed on their overall development not on their academic performance only, but again he is exceeding in all areas other than eating on his own (he doesnt touch food there) & social interaction

 

[tommyg]

Another thought is to get him some triangular pencils and crayons to help his grip.

Hope you get something sorted out for him soon as it's rotten that his early years could be tanted with boredom and frustration.