I think maybe you should discuss this with his teacher. My DS had a preschool teacher who demanded perfect order, and sent a note home at least twice a week telling me that Andrew was "refusing" to follow directions and causing a distraction in class. I was worried, and tried everything I could think of to get him to stop. Since I taught high school at the same school, I started stopping and peeking in the window. I found that pretty much EVERYONE in the class was squirming around and having a hard time focusing. It was because (1) obviously, they were four - and that's what four year olds do, and (2) she had a preschool class spending a significant portion of the day sitting in desks, and not enough time doing "active" learning. Yes, part of the beauty of preschool is that they learn to sit and focus. But it's just that - LEARNING. It takes time.
This year he is in first grade. He has gotten better, but still has a hard time sitting still and focusing. I spoke to his teacher about this, and she told me that she sees it a lot in the "smart" kids. She believed it was because they don't HAVE to focus as much of their energy on learning in order to do well, and have almost a compulsion to burn it off somehow. (This makes sense to me - because the only time I see him sit still is when we're doing higher level math at home and it's more difficult for him). This could explain why he focuses in science class - it's more interesting, and more of a challenge for him. She told me that Andrew paces around the room while he reads. Her solution? She lets him. As long as he's not bothering any of his classmates and is reading his book, he can pace all he wants.
I would try to schedule a conference with his teacher, and find out in more detail what is going on in the classroom during the day. It could be he just needs more exercise time. Or maybe she is just being too restrictive for preschoolers.
Last edited by treecritter; 11/04/10 04:24 AM.
