DS8 just got his mid-term report card and some of his grades are slipping slightly (let me state I don't care nearly much about the grades as the patterns). He went from an A to a B in art... claimed to have no idea why, teacher says he talks too much (despite several attempts at moving who he's next to) and doesn't focus on the artwork he's supposed to do. Main classroom teacher says he needs to follow directions. He told us that he missed a question in class because he didn't understand it... our guess is that's because he wasn't paying attention.

Is this normal behavior at this age? He's our oldest and this is not the first time we've been down the path of classroom behavior issues. Trying to figure out if he's getting bored, simply behaving badly, etc. He is at the PG level, not accelerated other than higher (2 levels up) reading and 2 levels accelerated in math. Plus a small group pullout.

My own childhood makes me lean toward "bored and acting out." My own report cards are littered with this kind of statement beginning in about... um...




okay, "always." Starting in Kindy, in fact.

HK... I hear you. I'm the one who sat in place while the teacher moved all the students from sitting next to me before she figured out who was the root cause of the note passing, etc. I may or may not have conveniently forgotten whatever else I did. On the other hand, I suspect I was a more compliant student. At least in my early years.

Bored in art class makes me wonder, though... it's not like he's way out ahead in that subject.

I also fear that bored may be the answer, and that the novelty of a new school year is wearing off, because, well, there's not really a good plan b here.

If anything about my experience can be called "normal," they yes, I suppose it is normal for his age, because my report cards at his age always said I talked too much, and I was getting Cs and Ds in penmanship (because you can read it, I can read it, that's the point of the exercise, so quit bugging me), and neither "issue" has had any major impact on my life.

Honestly, I wish I had your problem. I'm actively encouraging my DD9 to talk more in class as a coping mechanism/safety valve when she isn't learning anything. She's way too compliant, and that brings its own set of problems.

I'm not convinced that a majority of NT kids are all that interested in gluing pasta to paper plates.

Lol, Dude! To be fair, the art is beyond pasta. The assignments seem pretty interesting, although perhaps not to DS. Honestly, I think he's just generally more interested in sharing whatever's on his mind, whenever something's on his mind. That's a bit of an exaggeration. I think... maybe not, unfortunately. It can definitely be disruptive.

I would agree about the art class (or music or PE for that matter) - unless it is an area of passion for your child, it is entirely possible to be bored even if you are not "ahead" in that subject. I can definitely remember being bored in some segments of art and music classes and the teachers noticing that I was not all there during those times, and although I loved PE most of the time, if a basketball showed up in class, you would have seen a completely different side of me (I hated basketball).

Re "bored in art class":

I don't know what your DC's art class is like. But for DS7 in public elementary school - the kids get VERY specific instruction about what they are "creating" and how they will "create" it and what their "creation" should end up looking like. The teacher hangs the completed work, and you have to look for the kids' names, because the "art" all looks very much alike.

DS routinely acts out in art class, because he loathes it. He gives a very succinct reason for this - "Mom, it's not art. It's copying."

He's right. And if your son is subjected to this, I'll bet he's bored out of his mind.

I will add though, that DS is certainly not a model for what is "normal" in a classroom. Far from it, in many, many ways, both good and bad!

Yup. This was me as a child.

Er.


I suppose some people might judge this to have been something of a stable personality trait, now that I think about it. AHEM.

again.

This will be my youngest daughter. She's felt the need to verbalise every thought she has the second she has it from, well, birth. Her mouth does.not.stop. Fluid reasoning 150, fsiq 145, inhibition of urge to speak 0.

I have one with Aspergers and one with ADHD, so i know ehat girls look like with these issues, and although she is distractible (always by her urge to talk or socialize) I really think she's NT, just REALLY extroverted and verbal and in need of constant stimulation. And yes we are scared about school.

ConnectingDots, I can only speak with sideways experience - DS10 is quiet (at school!), but of his two best friends, one has a strong streak of "class clown", and the other sounds exactly like MumOfThree's DD above. Over the years, I have watched some teachers go crazy, and others do an excellent job of, shall we say, harnessing it for the power of good?

DS's clowning friend had a terrible year last year, finding himself in a completely quiet class where his behaviour was way off norm. Had he been in DS's class - where moving around and full group debate of big issues was the norm - he would have been great. Class composition and style can make a big difference.

Our non-stop talker friend has been in DS's class for six years running now. The good teachers have found him interesting things to talk about, let the two of them do a lot of group work, and generally found ways to make him talk about important things that were relevant to the class, in ways that weren't disruptive to the group at large. DS and this friend are usually intentionally sat together these days, as the teachers have found ways for it to strengthen the performance of both kids in class. When the friend was younger, teachers would sometimes give him a whiteboard, so that if he had a thought that had to come out *now*, he could write it down immediately, and share at a more appropriate time.

All that to say, maybe you can help the teacher find ways to channel it positively? And perhaps create protected spaces where he knows he will be able to let it out, and ways to divert the thoughts to something constructive in the meantime? (and maybe also recognize just how much of that PG brain is unoccupied by grade 3 art, even the interesting kind?!)

My DS talks incessantly in art class - he hates art - he hates the coloring, drawing, cutting and pasting of anything. He is usually done in under 3 minutes and spends the rest of the time talking and clowning with his neighbors. The teacher has to return the work back to him with specific instructions on how to color in more area on the paper or how to add more embellishment to his craft project etc. I tried to volunteer during art time last year to help out with that part of instruction. This year, I just let it go. If something is uninteresting to my child or if he is developmentally not ready to sit still and color and cut and glue and enjoy that process, then so be it. I have other issues about his education that I want to spend time worrying about

PS: he got a "below average" grade in art.

I don't know if this will happen with your dd or not, but fwiw my oldest dd fits the same profile re non-stop talking. TOTALLY drives me nuts at home lol! But for whatever reason - she's actually quite well-behaved and raises her hand to offer up information at appropriate times at school and up to this point (7th grade) has been the model student... so go figure. The minute I pick her up at the end of the school day the non-stop chatter (often about nothing) begins, and when she's hanging out with her friends it's like being amidst of cacophony of squawking seagulls or worse - they all talk at the same time and never give it a minutes rest. But she's happy, has a ton of friends, and manages to somehow appear totally normal (re talking) during the school day - so perhaps there is hope for your dd!

Best wishes,

polarbear

ps - her friends have discovered texting this year. You can not even begin to believe how that opens up the world of communication for a non-stop talker who has 900 best friends lol. On a positive note, our house sounds a lot calmer when she's busy texting

polarbear, so far daycare and preschool teachers love her, she's social, well behaved and bright, teachers dream child. So I had hoped we'd get your scenario... But the talking seems to be getting worse not better :-), I am pretty sure that if bored she will channel her intellect to talking to EVERYONE about EVERYTHING and ALL the time....