Jamie: Hugs to you and DS. It sounds to me like the sub was over the top. There are ways to get a child to do what you need without grabbing an arm and moving him. How would any of us like that? I hope they DO move him to a first grade classroom for your sake. Hopefully, he'd be happier!

Kristen: Nice to hear good news. Let us know how it goes after you e-mail the teacher.

A small update here: Last night, DS5's teacher told me the principal wanted to talk with me. Talk to principal, who tells me that they'd like to move DS5 to a different K class (the one where he currently is going for reading a couple of days a week). They realize that the sporadic shifting of classrooms during the week isn't working and they want his whole reading group together in the same classroom. This particular K teacher was the school's gifted and talented coordinator for several years before moving back to teaching this year. Still, I want to be sure this is the only move that makes sense and the right one. I don't want to move him and then have to move him again. So, I asked principal about the redo on his reading assessment, explaining that the reading specialist was re-assessing him. I want to make sure that the reading group he's in is REALLY at his level. Principal said she'd talk to reading specialist today. When I asked about math acceleration and making sure he'll have math peers as well, the principal went on autopilot about different kids, different parts of the brain. I could barely get out of my mouth that he's ready for first grade math, too.

Have any of you heard of this kind of movement? I'm wondering how to handle a classroom switch when it's within the same grade. How does he explain to his newfound friends why he's in a different class? Are there other questions I should be asking?