So, I know I'm lucky on this, but DD6 is very social and does not really care that school is so easy for her. She'll roll her eyes at the work she's expected to do but she likes helping her best friend (who is actually a bit behind).


So that's great. Main issue is how to encourage a growth mindset with her when academics come easy. I note that she gets challenged in other areas. She's physically fit but not a natural at most sports so she pushes herself to run better, do better at gymnastics, etc. Also, she has the personality that homework would be a challenge to get her to do, but because it's so easy she'll eventually just get it done. But she's in physical therapy now and she hates doing the exercises so she's learning that responsibility and perserverence by having to work on her daily exercises. My husband says that since she gets challenged in other areas, it's perfectly fine that school is too easy for her as long as she's happy. Thoughts?

I agree with your husband. Sounds like she is pretty challenged in a few areas, she ought to have some aspects of life that come easy for her. She is also only six.

To learn a broad range of skills, kids need appropriate challenges and these can be found in real life, outside the classroom.

Kids also need "true peers" (academic/intellectual peers) or they sense they are outsiders. While gifted kids can form peer friendships with other gifted kids they may see once a year at a gifted summer camp, they see other children enjoying peer friendships in the daily learning environment.

With effort, your child may develop well without having appropriate challenge and academic/intellectual peers in the classroom,
however the poor educational fit typically takes a toll and keeps a child from flourishing. Parents often engage in advocacy in order to try to achieve a better educational/academic fit.

If your child is happy now, typically this would indicate that no change is needed at this time. This may be a good opportunity to look at resources available and lay some groundwork in preparation for possible future advocacy which you may need to engage in if/when your child exhibits stress, anxiety, regression, school refusal, etc.

Since she is only six and doing therapy she finds hard I would leave it for now.

Just make sure her eyes don't fall out of her head with all of that eye rolling.

If you know your DD is capable of learning more and is ready for much more academically, I'd suggest you start advocating for her now to try to get more appropriate level schoolwork. Before she gets jaded. My son at that age already had become cynical without my knowing until after we started homeschooling a couple years later. He didn't have physical challenges as your daughter, but can she grow in both areas without causing excessive strain? Could she be even happier at school?

Our 7 year old ds is very similar. He is clearly engaged and content at school, though the content is stuff he was challenged by in preschool. His friends outside of school are mainly 10 and 11 year olds in the neighborhood, but he is perfectly happy to spend his days with his age peers in class. When I've observed him and his age peers at school or at birthday parties, I notice that he enjoys their company, but has very few common interests or topics of conversation with kids his own age.
We do our own math curriculum at home, and he is constantly busy working on various projects of his own devising around the house,and I'm pretty satisfied that he's finding interesting problems to solve and pushing his own edge. I homeschooled my older kids, but this one really wants to be in school, and I'm inclined to support him. The school community really attracts him- he's always got a lot to say about the various teachers and students that he interacts with every day and really treasures those relationships.