Help. Kid bored with school. Kind of Long...sorry.

I don't have kids so my advice might not be as helpful but I can tell you that when I was that same age I was ahead of my grade in some subjects and my parents and teachers debated bumping me up a grade. My parents were against the idea and I didn't want to do it either, because I found it intimidating and I didn't want to leave my friends. What they did instead was send me to tutoring instead of reading class since I was way ahead in that subject, and up to the next grade for one other class as well... I stayed with my class in most other subjects as well as recess, lunch, etc. It was a little bit of an awkward arrangement because in grade school most kids sit with their one main teacher all day and I had to be excused twice. But in the end it worked really well, and as I got a little older I was not so far ahead of my classmates anymore and was able to stay in all classes with them.

huskymom...that sounds like me in second grade.  Please get him into an accelerated program as soon as you can.  At the very least get him evaluated for one.  He's too smart to be learning at everyone else's pace.  If your son's school administrators won't help, go above their heads.  Keep on going until you get some results. 
 
I'd tell you my story but it's long and it's not pretty (and I don't want to steal your thread.)
 
Please, whatever you do don't stop fighting for him to get into a "gifted" program or a "magnet" type of school. 
 

Cutting can also be a sign that something is very wrong psychologically, either from some trauma, or illness.  Even a smart child can suffer from this stuff.  My advice would be to go to a really good children's medical center and have him evaluated to make sure that this isn't a sign that something isn't right.  Then, if nothing is diagnosed, perhaps the accelerated program is a good idea.  If there isn't one, maybe you could investigate private schools.

Whoa!  Really?  I thought that was when they were cutting themselves?  Not clothes. 

I did talk to our family doctor about it on Thursday.  She said it could be partly from anxiety about the new baby coming as well.  So it could be that I'm dealing with 2 or more issues here instead of just one.  I'm definately not gonna just let it go. 

I was wondering if anyone thought it might help to get him into some extracurricular activities.  Like Karate or Scouts or something. 

Ok  one option for the cutting up of stuff etc.  this may be an outlet for sensory integration needs.  If you are interested, you can examine information on sensory integration by doing a typical web search.  You can get sensory integration evaluations by Occupational Therapists who have been certified in the assessment and intervention.  You can read a book titled The Out of Sync Child for more insights into the behavior of kids.  Not saying your kid has this, just maybe something to examine.
 
Another option, check out Mel Levine MD  website  [linkhttp://www.Allkindsofminds.org]www.Allkindsofminds.org[/link]
 
Sustained attention and concentration in a school setting is a learned skill.  This website offers a number of ideas to address such issues.

With regard to extracurricular activites, I have always been a firm believer in them, to develop a well-rounded person.  Karate is a good confidence builder, soccer is great for expending energy, music lessons to keep the mind occupied.  I kept my son pretty busy from a young age, and he grew up to be a pretty talented person in a lot of areas.  In 4th grade he tested borderline for the gifted program, but back then the school didn't push it much, so I tried to make up for it.  You do have to be careful to keep up with the school work, though.

Thanks everyone for your replies.  MRV, I will definately take a look at that website but apparently not at this moment as I went to it and stared blankly at the screen for a few moments not having a clue as to what to look for.  LOL one of those days I guess.  I' ll have to go back when I have time to really look it over.

I have to stray from the norm and ask if you've ever considered homeschooling? I personally believe that every kid would do better being homeschooled, but Kale really sounds like he would do much better. I don't know what your situation is, and obviously if you have to work full-time it probably wouldn't be an option. But if there's some way you could make it work, I would suggest you do a little reading and see if it sounds like an option for you and Kale.
 
I know a lot of people have pre-conceived notions of what homeschooling is, and can't get over the stereotypes, but homeschooling can be anything you want it to be. It sure doesn't have to mean the kid sits at home reading textbooks all day, and never gets out of the house or has any friends, nor does it have to mean a kid who doesn't learn what he needs to know, and falls way behind his schooled peers. While people do go both of those routes, those are the extremes. Most homeschoolers are way closer to "normal", with normal social lives, normal educations, and normal lives.
 
I went to public school for kindergarten, and was pulled out halfway through first grade. I never went back and don't regret that for a second. I was raised by a single Mom who always worked full-time, but I had three older sisters who were around.
 
Anyway, if you're interested in even learning more about homeschooling, I have a ton of links and book recommendations, but I figure I'll wait til they're asked for before I post them, as most people won't even open their minds for a nanosecond to learn about something so...abnormal.

I was in gifted and advanced classes too.   When I got to high school I was in a program called C.A.T.S. which stands for Creative and Academically Talented Students. 
 
Recently, they did a count of all the mistakes that the employee's make at the company I work for.  I had the least amount of mistakes out of all SIX sites, even less than my boss! 

I can only imagine how advanced the kids must be now days.  What with those Jump Start programs and Baby Einstein and all the computer tutorials. 

I also had a thought too, is it possible someone is picking on your son?  Did someone else cut his clothes or make him cut them?  Sometimes kids pick on smaller or smarter kids than themselves.  [&:]

I agree on the extracurricular activies, sport and music are great in exercising both the mind and body. I did a lot of both when I was younger and think I really benefited from it.
 
I was ahead of my class in a number of subjects at primary school (K-12) too, and often my teachers would give me extra/more difficult stuff to do or get me to "tutor"/help out some of the other kids- I'm not sure what the school systems are like in the US, but would it be possible to talk to his teacher about doing some in-class extension stuff?

I agree with Chelsea_b and say home schooling is a great option.  You then can teach the kid at your own pace. And if you don't want to teach them, there is 'homesat' and other video programs that do it for you. 


If you can't do that, what the other people said is great. Extracurricular activies and other stuff could help.  

My DSs are both advanced.  My older one is waaay ahead of where I was at his age...and I was in all the AP classes! DS #1 was making maps of our town...as a 6YO, among other things.

DS#2 is artistically gifted.  Both boys get bored at times wuth school.  DS#1 was in a mixed 2/3 grade class and to keep him busy, the teacher had him do all of BOTH year's work.  Good, right?  Yes...until you hit the 3rd grade when you have a bored 8YO on your hands.

Both boys need to be challenged on a regular basis. They ar eboth involved in Scouts and DS#1 is in drama, so is involved in the next play.

I would recommend that your son get involved in some outside activity (mine couldn't care less about sports, but love Scouts) and give him time on the computer as well.  DS#2 reads all the hot car sites and DS#1 spend time on the National Geographic site. Both learn LOTS from their computer time, but I have to limit DS#2 (he likes to play computer games waaay too much).Check with your library; we have many programs for kids and teens. Maybe he could find something he feels passionate about and volunteer to help this cause? We are doing the yearly Scouting For Food next weekend and are going out to pick up bags of food for the food bank. Both boys like to do this each year.

As for homeschooling, IF you think you can do it, go for it!  You can probably find other homschooling families in your area.  Our town has a large homeschool base. They use the library extensively, so I meet a LOT of these folks.  Be prepared--many are very conservative and some homeschool because of religious convictions, but are very nice nonetheless. I have the educational background to do this, but NOT the patience! I supplemented the public school with different things when the kids were younger.  We still go on educational outings, watch documentaries, play educational games (Yahtzee and Scrabble are great math/vocabulary builders!) and try to do the best we can for our kids.

You can explore the whole site or start with specifics.  I like to use the Library link and check out the learningbase  specifically the attention and concentration.  There will be a set of descriptions, use those to talk to your son about school.  Once you have decided (together) which best describes him, click on that link.  It will bring you to a list of suggestions.

Sorry but not every kid would be better off home schooled.  I see the results of extremely poor homeschooling annually in my position.  
 
Yes it can work,,, but it can fail too.