And We're Back...

The first three weeks of school went great!  Cap did all of his work, got tons of clothespins (for doing kind things for others), and did everything he could to help the teacher.  He had a great time and had good days. - Much like the little guy I am used to at home.

School this week has been like reliving last year.  He's exhibiting behaviors he never shows at home.  He's being disobedient and throwing fits and not being kind to others.  Sure, Cap has rough days at home.  There are days he struggles with doing things he doesn't want to do and occasionally he has trouble controlling his emotions.  But those times are few and far between.  The phrase that's especially difficult for me to hear is that he "isn't considerate of others".  That is NOT the kid I know.  The little boy I know always wants his brother to get his milk first and wants to help with everything he can.  He's always looking for some way to do something nice for someone else.  So, why the disconnect?  Why is it that my little boy has a habit of transforming into someone else at school?

I spent a large part of last year trying to answer this question.  I came to a few conclusions, but it was still perplexing.  I understood a little more through our homeschool experiment this summer.  The other day I read an article that I think may be a big piece of this confusing puzzle.

The article, Can Behavior Problems be a Sign of Giftedness, described my little guy to a T.

So how can you tell whether your child's misbehavior is due to giftedness?  One sign is if the unwanted behavior is specific to a situation. Maybe your child mucks up only at school. But at home, he's consumed with a project or pastime, often getting lost in the activity and losing track of time, or isn't easily deterred from the task (he doesn’t hear you calling him for dinner because he's engrossed in a book, say).

We saw a major turn around in Cap's attitude and confidence over the summer when he discovered something he wanted to learn - how to read.  He's been working hard to build and recognize words.  But reading isn't a big part of the activity in school right now.  They are doing worksheets that are either easy or boring for him.    I'm not trying to say that my child is a genius and that the work they are doing at preschool is beneath him.  For whatever reason, maybe he's just not engaged by what's going on in school right now.

His behavior may be understandable, but it's still inexcusable.  The disobedience, rudeness and unkindness needs to stop.  Hopefully looking at how school is and isn't meeting his needs will give us a starting point for preventing a continuous cycle of bad behavior.