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

Wow, Ontario actually seems to be one of the easiest places to homeschool. [linkhttp://www.ontariohomeschool.org/FAQ.html#legal]http://www.ontariohomeschool.org/FAQ.html#legal[/link]
 
"There is no legal requirement in Ontario to keep home education records."
 
And...
 
"In Ontario there is no legal requirement to register with any government body in order to educate your children at home. If they have never been registered in school, you simply proceed with your plans to provide for their education in whatever way you see fit. If the children have been attending school or are registered to attend school, you will, of course, need to let the principal and school board know of your decision to withdraw them"
 
That's crazy, in a good way, IMO. []
 
Like I said, I'm not trying to convince you to homeschool, it may or may not be right for your family, I just hate the stereotyping of and misinformation about homeschoolers.

I'm not sure whether or not this site will ship to Canada, but I love the time timers they have
 http://www.difflearn.com/products.asp?dept=48
I actually just bought one, as I figured I would most certainly use it at some point in the classroom (and i'm hoping it gets here before Thursday because I am supposed to teach to a class of kids who love to waste time).

First they make school compulsory, taking responsibility from the parents, and then they say the problem is not enough involvement from the parents?

 
[sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif] Great post! I love other homeschoolers, and it sounds like your boys are doing wonderfully!

ORIGINAL: huskymom

Stacy,
The timer is a great idea.  In fact we use it for some things at home such as finishing supper or brushing teeth, although the latter is to make sure he brushes long enough and doesnt quit to soon.  I wonder if his teacher would be ok with him having a timer on his desk.  I suppose that it wouldn't hurt the other kids and may even give them a goal as well.  I think accelerated work would be a good incentive for him as he takes pride in learning what other kids have a hard time with.  But would that not just add to the problem later on?  I mean doesn't that mean that next year would be even more boring for him?

 
I don't think a timer should be a problem.  It could help keep the teacher on task too .  As far as accelerated work, it doesn't necessarily have to be new info, but maybe in a different way.  For example... my better readers are bored with these easy books they give in beginning of first grade.  So, with them, I am pushing the writing aspect more.  So at our learning centers, there are more games or worksheets for them that have harder tasks and more writing than for the lower level kids.  He could get extra computer time doing math games there instead of the basic worksheets the kids do.  Maybe where many kids are expected to write sentences, he could write stories.... things that challenge the brain more.  For example, if the kids have to use each spelling word in a sentence, he should have to write a story that makes sense,  using those words.  Perhaps he could then identify the characters, setting, climax, problem, and solution.  He could even create a second ending.  If the skill they are learning is questioning, he could write and answer questions about a story he writes and perhaps the class will have to read his story and answer the questions too!  For stories he reads, maybe he can create an additional book report.  It could even be a fun book report like a cereal box book report.  He could read 2 or 3 books by the same author and compare and contrast them.  Skills like compare and contrast are skills the kids learn every year, but he could take the assignmenet a step further...  I hope this makes sense... I am writing as I think .

The Ontario Ministry of Education site (link below) lists 106 Montessori schools in Ontario. As for falling behind, it's really less likely in Montessori or homeschool kids because if a child has difficulty mastering a concept, simply more attention is paid to that point. Traditional classrooms can only do that to a certain degree before the child would either be pushed along without mastery of the material, or left behind for a whole grade, throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Ontario Ministry of Education site :
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/privsch/

I'm going to be just a little different here and inquire about mixing homeschooling and traditional education.

I entered a G&T program in 3rd grade - we went to another school one day a week, but other than that were just integrated into the regular classes. When I moved in 6th grade I was thrown into a 5/6 classroom and an all 6th grade math class; I was bored stiff in the math class because where I moved from was 1 year ahead of my new school (OH vs. IN lol). I was getting Ds in math, yet telling my parents I was bored. My teacher was wiling to take a leap and put me in the algebra class and voila! I started getting As. [] In middle school I was in all advanced classes and in HS I took AP courses. In 10th grade I considered attending an alternative school because the traditional system wasn't working for me. In the end I stayed at my HS and ended up taking 2 to 4 class periods off campus the last two years by using independant study classes, community service courses, and taking college classes at Indiana University. That off campus time saved me I'm sure because it gave me the freedom and flexibility I needed.

Perhaps trying something like I did in HS might help if it's possible? Homeschool for 1/2 days and regular school for the other 1/2 so he gets both structure and access to peers, resources, etc. along with a more tailored approach and advanced work.

We're no strangers to this problem in our family, either. Of the four of us kids (5 if you include my half sister), all of us were always at the top of our classes and went to academically selective schools in high school. But it's funny, you know. Me and my younger brother breezed through the sometimes boring bits of school. I was always well catered for by great teachers and given extension work to do. When I was bored, I just did the work and coped. Same with my little brother. My older brother is practically a genius and struggled in primary school with boredom and stubborness and refusing to do work he didn't like. Mum had been there done that when she was a kid, so she found what my brother was passionate about and focused him on that. He wanted to be a physicist, so she helped him work out what he needed to do to get there and all the rest and the goal of becoming a physicist was enough to get him through the bits of school that he hated.

My youngest brother, though.... he doesn't have any passions except for playing computer games. He refused to do homework and wouldn't do assignments if they bored him. He was always in trouble and the teachers were very understanding because he was in a selective school, but there's only so much they could do for him if he wouldn't SHOW them how smart he was. Anyway, he dropped out of school at the start of the year. He says he's going to finish school externally through our tertiary system, because he hated the structure of school. He worries us all, he does.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's a complicated problem and I think smart kids all have their own unique issues with schooling aimed at kids well below them. Sometimes the best you can do is find them a private school where the classes are small and the teachers have more time to spend with each kid. I know someone who's genius of a son was bored witless in public schooling, but is now flourishing in a private school.

I hope you find a way to motivate him to do his work! It's so hard for some kids.

Everyone has given great advice and I just sort of wanted to sum up by saying that whatever you end up doing, make sure that your son's instructors at all levels are familiar with gifted children. This may mean switching schools, finding an alternative school or doing homeschool fully or partially.
 
It's a huge misconception that gifted children are just "faster". Gifted children and adults percieve the world differently and have different ways of processing information. Giftedness encompasses more than just intellectual ability. For instance, gifted people have a much greater concerns with issues of justice and fairness. This can cause gifted childern to just be labeled as "overly sensitive", but it is a product of their giftedness, not some inability to grow a thicker skin. Chances are the kid in class who is always saying, "But it's not fair!" and is able to express why, is gifted. Gifted children (and adults--hello large numbers of gifted adults on a dog-obsessed forum!) develop obsessions and resent being told they have to stop investigating the thing they're obsessed with and do something else. Gifted children do best in school when they are allowed to fully explore their obsessions to their satisfaction and then move on to another obsession, without being forced to be "well rounded" all the time. Gifted students need more than just "more work", they need a wholly different kind of work, and a school in which gifted kids are just given three times as much of the same boring meaningless work is a school that doesn't understand giftedness.
 
I was really blessed in my schooling. My dad is a college professor and just ridiculously gifted himself, so my education was the most important thing in our house. I only spent two years in a public school setting (first and second grade--I got C's and D's because I was reading at a 5th grade level but they were still doing "See Dick Run. See Jane Run." and it was deadly boring). I did my Pre-K and K in a montessori school (awesome!) and then from 3rd grade on was in small private schools where the majority of the students were gifted and talented and the teachers and administration understood our needs.
 
I've taught in public schools and, well, let's just say I'm a fan of homeschooling as a result. I think it's inevitable, any time you have 600 kids in one building, there's going to be an automatic regression to the mean, and the kids at either end are going to get shafted.

Homeschool for 1/2 days and regular school for the other 1/2

 
This is what my Mom tried to do for me in first grade. Be home in the morning, miss the parts of school I knew already and therefore hated (language, math), and go for the afternoon, for the parts I loved (science, art). The school was totally on board, just said we had to confirm it with the county, but the county said no, "She's either in or she's out", so out I came. I know it's different now. I think half days could be the best of both worlds.

ORIGINAL: saveastray2day

The Ontario Ministry of Education site (link below) lists 106 Montessori schools in Ontario. As for falling behind, it's really less likely in Montessori or homeschool kids because if a child has difficulty mastering a concept, simply more attention is paid to that point. Traditional classrooms can only do that to a certain degree before the child would either be pushed along without mastery of the material, or left behind for a whole grade, throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Ontario Ministry of Education site :
[linkhttp://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/privsch/]http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/privsch/[/link]

 
Not to take away from any benefit from Montessori, since each child is different, but here's my experience:  my husband was in a montessori school for many years before 8th/9th grades, and it really caused him problems.  He STILL spells phonetically (sp?) and needs me or a spell check, because that was how he was taught there.  That impacted him a lot on the year he took off between colleges and worked in industry, because the people he emailed, etc had to figure out what he meant.  Not saying AT ALL that DH isn't smart, just that he learned differently and it stays with him still today.  Basically he was allowed to learn what he wanted, so of course he liked math more than english so his english skills are lacking.  Integrating into a good (one of the best in NY state) HS that we both went to was very hard since he was all over the place in levels for every subject.  He was in a classroom with many grades all lumped together there and was way off public system. 
 
Perhaps it was just that particular school, who knows, but that system was not good for him.  I think each child needs something different.  Case in point, there was a 12 year old in my husband's physics 2 class last semester.  He struggled because of the age and maturity differences more than the information was hard. 
 
Good luck with finding something for Kale - and good for you for trying to get the best thing for your son.  Only the two of you will know what will work, and at least you care rather than leaving him to the public school system.