1) Ask yourself if the current differentiated worksheets are really going to be in the readinesss level after a week or two. If yes,
2) Are you able to 'drop by' the classroom' every day for two weeks to go over the harder worksheets with DS? If so, tell the teacher that you understand that she believes that if DS were truly advanced, that he wouldn't need any extra support with the harder worksheets, but that you suspect that it's a matter of confidence, and that if she will cooperate and allow you to come by every day for 2 weeks for 0 minutes of support to provide that extra confidence that at the end of 2 weeks you and she can sit down and re-evaluate the situation and if DS still isn't able to work independently, you will see that you are wrong and she was right, and you'll leave it be with the easier sheets.
3) If you can't physically be in the classroom, then ask the teacher to send home the harder worksheets the night before so that you can review the directions with DS the night before. If the teacher seems unwilling, again try the 'wager' approach.
4) If the teacher is completely uncooperative, try hot housing - such as http://www.aleks.com/independenthttp://www.aleks.com/independent
with particular emphasis on providing support and scaling it back gently, so that DS has a chance to be frustrated with the process at home. DS may not want to do this at school because he knows that tantrums aren't allowed at school (or he may be aware that they have a high price socially that he doesn't want to pay) and he may actually REQUIRE a good old tantrum or two as he reverses his enforced underachievement. It's pretty monstrous to force a child to sit for hours and hours doing work that is 'way too easy' and sometimes the healing process from that hurt can be more noise than what school requires.
Then, after about 2 weeks of your son being able to face whatever it is that he needed to face, ask the teacher to let him try the harder worksheets again. You might even ask her for some 'already used' worksheets to send home so he can practice 'being brave' with you at home.
The behavior you seeing is very 'classic' for kids of a certain personality who have been enforced to work at levels far below their readiness level at school for a period of time.
Aleks offers a free 3 hour trial, so don't worry if it says that it starts at a '3rd grade level' just plow through and see how he does, ok? Say to yourself, I want to get to know my child as a learner.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
