Kriston - I think it sounds like very good news! Especially the part about your son self-advocating and telling you he had a good day. But what I'm thinking the teacher was doing was differentiating in a pretty decent way. I have been told that teachers who are good at differentiating can do it without anyone else noticing it's happening. I think this is probably easier to do with reading/language arts than math, but I would take it as a sign that she noticed and is starting to do something about it. Hopefully, she will take it further and give your son more appropriate math in more substance. Or if she doesn't do this on her own, you can always chat with her about what your DS told you: "DS told me that you had given some multiplication in class, and he was really excited about it. I guess he's further along in math than I realized. Do you have any ideas about what to do for him?"

Oh - and I'm totally going to steal your well-thought out plan of discussing why, how and when to self-advocate.

I wonder if the teacher did it to see where he is, like you were saying. Maybe she didn't believe that he can do what he claims and that was her way of testing him out?

I got better info today. He has to be in the mood to talk about school or I get very little out of him. Once he is, though, I do get a pretty full account.

Apparently he asked her for harder math as soon as he walked into class. She gave him--and only him--the math problems at recess. I guess other kids were standing with them, and they answered, too, but the problems were really just for DS5.

He said he didn't get all of the addition right--multi-digit addition--but he did get all the multiplication right. (Including stuff like 60x60.)

So I guess the situation is actually better than I understood yesterday. Yay!

Hope the self-advocacy spiel works for both of us, SPG! So far so good from our end...

Do you think I should e-mail her to let her know how excited he was and how nice it is that she's so responsive to his needs? They're off from school today for election day, so I have time to survey you all.

GOOD!! I'd email her. That way she'll know that he talked about it and enjoyed it.

Well I guess today is a bad day.

I just got a call from the school counselor. DS had a sub today and got written up. I'm not exactly clear on how things work but when they get written up there's one type that just involves the school and another type where they get the state involved. The sub did the one where the state is involved and as they were walking to the office he threw a fit.

The counselor said that she can't suspend him today because the principal isn't there so she's going to try and stick him in another grade for the afternoon just to see if he can behave for the rest of the day. She doesn't know what happened because she wasn't in the classroom but the form says that he was disrespectful and wasn't listening. She though it had something to do with him not wanting to walk in line.

I'm thinking about going pick him up. When I talked to him he was whimpering and kept telling me that he just wants to come home. He hasn't had any meltdowns like this so far this year (last year he did) which makes me wonder what exactly went on in that classroom.

I think it would be good to email her Kriston. Teachers need those "keep up the good work" comments. Of course that reminds me of when I told DS's teacher that I was really happy she had given DS some double digit multiplication and about how excited he was when he told me about it. That was awkward because it apparently never happened and he made it up as it was something he wished could have happened. He had never made up stories like that before so I was shocked. Boy was I confused and embarrassed in front of a group of people in a meeting when I excitedly told her about it. I was trying to be positive. Oh well. But now she does give him double and triple digit multiplication for homework so we have made much progress. : )

DS5 told me yesterday that he was talking to his teacher and told her how he likes to do algebra. He said that she was surprised by that when he told her. I was glad he felt comfortable telling her that. He loves for me to give him verbal algebra problems when we are driving in the car. His class is still doing tally marks. They have been working on tally marks for almost 2 months. I am shocked as I had no idea that tally marks was such a big deal in life. Although I used them today for something at worked and laughed to myself as I used them. I am so thankful that they agreed to not have him do that homework. I am betting he still does a lot of that stuff in the classroom but we are working on it. They definitely allow him to skip some of it and go on his computer program instead during math and reading. That is a great step in the right direction.

Jamie: Sounds like a nightmare. I'd go talk to this sub today. Who knows whether she'll be around tomorrow.

I called back. The counselor said that they put him in another kindergarten classroom and he got out of the chair and tried to run back to his room. They put him in another kindergarten classroom and he's sitting there doing some work. She said if that doesn't work they're going to put him in a 1st grade class with a teacher that means business. She said "we're not manhandling him but..." which didn't sit right with me at all.

She said that if I go get him it'll only show him that he can act like this and go home and that's what he wants. School ends in less than an hour and a half so I'll just wait but if all of this is because he wants to come home so bad that makes me believe that things at school are worse than I thought for him

Tally marks? What are they learning about them?

Jamie B -- I have no answers but wanted you to know I am thinking of you and sending virtual hugs your way.