He is also an extreme perfectionist, and this trait is sometimes debilitating in that he will choose to not attempt a task if he is afraid of failure. He is also very emotional and sensitive- he cried reading Charlotte's Web
She is wholly unimpressed by him, thinks his perfectionist streak is a problem (admittedly, *sometimes* it is), and thinks his sensitive soul is emotionally immature.
If this is the best teacher in the school, I guess that's a blessing because I'm wholly unimpressed by her!
This sensitivity/immaturity question is a tough one and will be with you for a long time, but do stick to your guns on this one!
As for the perfectionistic behavior, the best cure in the world (although it doesn't always work) is to have him in an academic situation where he actually has to work to keep up. Really! In fact you can take a rough estimate of how perfectionistic he is and use that as a guide that you are making changes in the right direction.
He sounds very gifted musically. Check if he has perfect pitch. Some kids (and adults) really suffer when off pitch music is playing, and that can cause some wild behavior in young ones!
Love and More Love,
Grinity
Welcome -
My son could easily be yours, other than the path of schooling thus far. And I quoted Grinity here because I whole heartedly agree with her - especially on this. My DS(just shy of)6 is worse than I am, as far as perfectionism is concerned, and while he is still at the top of his class now, having him in an environment where he's challenged a bit more has been WONDERFUL to help curb some of the overdramaticness (yes, my new word) with the "I can't" and "I'll choose A because it's easy instead of choosing B where I might not figure it out on the first try", etc...
My DS was tested by his school. They used more than just an achievement test - they used the Iowa Acceleration Scale, which takes things like maturity level into consideration.
His testing and his whole grade acceleration have been a tremendous relief to us. There are still things that are too easy for him, and there are still moments of him being "just 5", but I would highly recommend testing for your DS! Even if it is just a number, it will really assist you in deciding what is next!
