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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DS is only in K but we can already see that school is going to pose challengers for him.

He is:
-- highly motivated and works hard at things that particularly interest him. 
-- not at all interested in things that' are not interesting him.
-- not motivated to be interested just because other parents or kids are trying to involve him in something.
-- doesn't focus well when asked to do something that he didn't pick himself.
-- a perfectionist and doesn't want to try things until he knows he can succeed.

We are struggling to decide what type of school environment (Montessori? Waldorf? Small classes?)  will work for him. He is smart but will likely have attentions issues at his current pace of adaptation.  He needs to learn to be more flexible and do what is asked of him. But if we stick him in a traditional public school, I really wonder if they will have the patience to deal with him. It could be totally miserable for all.

Has anyone had success with a particular educational approach with this type of child?[/quote]

I think this describes half or more of the boys in my DS's 1st grade class, including my son.  We are lucky he has a great teacher who lets him do a bulk of his assignments in ways that relate to his favorite things (what sports the Mayans played, a sports player for Black history month, filling his book box with sports-themed books, etc) and the school does nice things like reading pull out groups and is good at understanding that some 1st graders are writing and reading like 3rd-5th graders and some are like 1st graders - and that shakes out as kids age often.  But there are still times when he zones out during writing time or phones in the least amount of effort on something - which has no relation to how bright he is or isn't.   He does not have ADHD, he does not have autism, he does not executive function issues.  He's just young & would rather be playing...

K is really young - and they do learn to adapt to expectations and requirements of the outside world more starting in 1st - and you can help bridge his interest divides by relating what he's learning at school with fun things at home.

Waldorf would probably be a good match if you want to find a particular environment like you're describing.  But I don't think he sounds out of the range what you'll find is normal in 1st grade.  [/quote]

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