Dealing with high energy kid with cuts to PE

[Anonymous]

Our school recently switched from PE 4x(sometimes 5x)/week to just 2x due to a staffing change. My third grader is high energy and I think is missing the wiggle time but he’s also looking very tired with the huge increase in classroom expectations and homework load this year. He’s been tossing things around more as a result, I don’t know how else to explain it! Is this pretty typical or is this a sign to get him a neuropsych evaluation?

I don’t think it’s crabbiness or moodiness and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 with a wake up at 6:30.

[Anonymous]

you have PE 5x a week??? I have never heard of that , at least in most schools. It usually twice.

[Anonymous]

Try getting him exercise in the morning before school. Hard this time of year but it can help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try getting him exercise in the morning before school. Hard this time of year but it can help.

This is what we try to do. Even 5-10 minutes of walk round the block will help. We aim for daily, but sometimes skip (today was skip due to the rain).

Probably premature for an eval. Try AM exercise first. See if that helps.

[Anonymous]

We do a dance video

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you have PE 5x a week??? I have never heard of that , at least in most schools. It usually twice.

Yes, for some reason we had 3 PE teachers and an assistant! I don't know why, but recently that was cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try getting him exercise in the morning before school. Hard this time of year but it can help.

Maybe we will try walking to school. I'm just worried about him being physically tired when school is so demanding, but maybe he needs to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our school recently switched from PE 4x(sometimes 5x)/week to just 2x due to a staffing change. My third grader is high energy and I think is missing the wiggle time but he’s also looking very tired with the huge increase in classroom expectations and homework load this year. He’s been tossing things around more as a result, I don’t know how else to explain it! Is this pretty typical or is this a sign to get him a neuropsych evaluation?

I don’t think it’s crabbiness or moodiness and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 with a wake up at 6:30.

Ask the teacher how often they take movement based breaks. Any chance you can walk to school or walk home?
Is he tossing at home or at school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school recently switched from PE 4x(sometimes 5x)/week to just 2x due to a staffing change. My third grader is high energy and I think is missing the wiggle time but he’s also looking very tired with the huge increase in classroom expectations and homework load this year. He’s been tossing things around more as a result, I don’t know how else to explain it! Is this pretty typical or is this a sign to get him a neuropsych evaluation?

I don’t think it’s crabbiness or moodiness and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 with a wake up at 6:30.

Ask the teacher how often they take movement based breaks. Any chance you can walk to school or walk home?
Is he tossing at home or at school?

I haven't heard of any tossing at school but we havent had teacher conferences yet. But I'd think the teacher would have said something to me?? The tossing is happening at school and some extracurriculars. He's in a building group for fun and the supervisor told me that he something "lofts things into the air," like WTF? Supervisor said he is always on task, the lofting is not AT other kids and it's not mean, but like an outflow of energy. The instructor said he put DS in a different seat to allow him to be able to have a little more space and even stand if necessary while working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our school recently switched from PE 4x(sometimes 5x)/week to just 2x due to a staffing change. My third grader is high energy and I think is missing the wiggle time but he’s also looking very tired with the huge increase in classroom expectations and homework load this year. He’s been tossing things around more as a result, I don’t know how else to explain it! Is this pretty typical or is this a sign to get him a neuropsych evaluation?

I don’t think it’s crabbiness or moodiness and he goes to bed around 8 or 8:30 with a wake up at 6:30.

Ask the teacher how often they take movement based breaks. Any chance you can walk to school or walk home?
Is he tossing at home or at school?

I haven't heard of any tossing at school but we havent had teacher conferences yet. But I'd think the teacher would have said something to me?? The tossing is happening at school and some extracurriculars. He's in a building group for fun and the supervisor told me that he something "lofts things into the air," like WTF? Supervisor said he is always on task, the lofting is not AT other kids and it's not mean, but like an outflow of energy. The instructor said he put DS in a different seat to allow him to be able to have a little more space and even stand if necessary while working.

Oops typo. The lofting is happening at HOME and at some extracurriculars, not at school (that I know of).

[Anonymous]

Drop the building group and take him to a playground or pool

[Anonymous]

2x weekly is normal.

You shouldn't be relying on PE for your kids activity needs. Do they still have daily recess? What does he donat recess?

Walk or bike to school if you can. My high energy kid needed that instead of sitting on the bus.

[Anonymous]

Yep there is not enough movement in schools for daily activity for higher energy kids.
My son walks to school 50% of the time (0.7miles) and walks home 90% of the time including when freezing. He plays outside for a minimum of 1hr daily including on days where he has organized sports. He does one sport per season with higher energy requirements like soccer or wrestling. Baseball is too much sitting. Swimming during the summer. We have a playroom with mats a pullup bar and a wrestling dummy that he can slam to the floor. Our next big ticket items will be a climbing dome and a sensory swing from the ceiling.
If he has a lot of wiggles at night we either wrestle or take a walk in the cold including the toddler. Just bundle up and get outside before bedtime. By the time we get home from 20-25 minutes the toddler is asleep in the stroller and he is ready for bed.
Many higher energy kids are also sensitive to overhead lighting. If your classroom has no natural light and relies on overhead lighting all day, then it may be overstimulating. We dont have lights overhead during the summer and we do those battery candles at night after 700pm. For reading we use an attachable red light reading light.

[Anonymous]

This is why my kids play 3 sports every season and walk to school no matter the weather. When sports practices are canceled they run sprints on the field at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is why my kids play 3 sports every season and walk to school no matter the weather. When sports practices are canceled they run sprints on the field at school.

I assume this is a joke, but why