As the parent of a 14 yr old, I can say "been there". Our son moved to 3rd grade in the middle of his 1st grade year. The work was more interesting for him, but as your teacher recommended, we did provide a lot of enrichment at home. He started piano at five and played baseball and basketball. He also read constantly. He's now taking AP Calculus and other classes beyond his grade level. He's extremely well-adjusted, funny and kind. If I could offer anything, having been through it, I would say relax. Provide the best enrichment you can outside of class. We live in Central PA (I grew up in Penn Hills, right next to Woodland Hills), the school districts are what they are.
One thing that really helped all through elementary school was to get in-depth books on the topics they are covering in school and let your child go further into the topic. You will drive yourself crazy trying to make teachers do what you want. Every once in a while you will find a gem, but ultimately it will be up to you. Our house looks like a book store and a music store. We also take trips to museums, etc., and our kids see us always reading and learning new things so we set the "lifelong learning" example at home. Good luck.
Amy
