I second polarbear's idea to volunteer in the classroom. When I went to DS's kindy classroom, I could see that the teacher was differentiating througout the day, especially during group discussion times (even though it wasn't quite enough). The teacher would ask some higher level questions. Of course, even though I knew my kiddo could answer the questions, he wouldn't volunteer in class, so it didn't help the teacher see his abilities!
Yes, there is a lot going on in a kindergarten that is not academics. The trouble is that many GT kids go to school thinking that it's primarily a place to learn new things, and they are greatly disappointed. So they get to kindy, discover that school is not a place for learning and develop a bad attitude for school. At least that's what my kiddo did.
And even though it may seem obvious to the principal that we need to give the teacher time to get to know your kiddo herself, a few weeks is a terribly long time for a 5 year old. Add to that the amount of time it takes to really "see" your child, then the amount of time it takes to get some real differntiation in place, and half the year is gone. Sorry - just venting! I remember feeling the same disappointment when my kiddo complained about kindy too.
Polarbear's stories about letting your kids see you advocate ring so true. My son has come to believe that his parents will try to help him when things aren't right at school. He's just 8, but hopefully he will start to take over with the advocacy one day too. You're doing a great job punkiedog!
