I'm sorry it went so poorly - it doesn't sound like the school is giving you any support. How unfortunate. Personally, I think some of the comments here are really harsh - I'm guessing he hasn't been locked in a closet for the past five years. But, these days, it really is unusual for kids not to have gone to preschool, taken 22 park district classes, and have 6 scheduled playdates a week. However, if you think back to the past, many many kids learned to entertain themselves when they were younger, lived in more isolated areas so they didn't have the constant playdates, and never took a class or joined an organized sport before school. I'm not saying that it was better then, but, come on - your son is 5! And the behaviors that he exhibits could VERY well be part of his giftedness, or because he's shy, or because he has an anxiety issue... don't assume that you somehow did something wrong and that's what is causing these problems.
Personally, I would lay off the flashcards. After all, next year when he makes the cut off, the school won't have the option of kicking him out after a measly few-days trial (if I am understanding correctly that he was there on a somewhat "trial" basis due to his age). It sounds like he really doesn't need them anyway, it's more a matter of him not wanting to do them than it is a matter of them being too hard for him.
I have a friend who had a rather shy, quiet kid who started K a few days before he turned 6. He eventually skipped 2nd grade and is now thriving in a 6th grade gifted classroom. It took a few years for the school to really catch on to how bright this kid was because he was fairly quiet in the classroom. Your son might well need a skip a few years down the road, or differentiated work, etc..
My oldest never went to preschool either and she skipped first grade (late Aug birthday, so already young) and thrived. She also got along better with adults for the most part, but that lasted all the way through school and wasn't really about her not being socialized early (IMHO)- it was about her personality and her giftedness. She had no patience for silly kindy games and activities and found things like reciting letters when she was reading fluently BORING!
Another thing to keep in mind is that your son may just LIKE playing alone. I honestly think that if he wanted lots of interaction he'd be seeking it out. My ds12 has always wanted "alone" time and really enjoys his own company (just like dh). Ds10 seeks out company ALL the time - he wants to talk to us, play us a song, sing for us, play a game with us, show us a drawing, etc... Even when we say we can't pay attention to him right then, he'll be back in three minutes, forgetting what we said.
So, rather than assuming that he can't interact because he's been playing alone in a corner, ignored, I immediately thought that maybe he preferred quiet, alone play and didn't like the loud, adult-directed, chaotic atmosphere of a kindy room (needless to say, ds12 didn't love it and ds10 could have moved in there 24/7 - woohooo - playmates all day long!).
Anyway, I mostly wanted to offer a cyber-hug and some sympathy... sounds like a stressful and frustrating start to kindy. Hang in there and I hope next year goes much more smoothly!!
