You mentioned that it is a private school. Perhaps you could talk to his teacher about allowing you to substitute your afterschooling work for his homework. Afterall you are paying for private education above and beyond taxes. The beauty of private school is that you get to choose one that suits your needs. Therefore I would imagine that they should be more accommodating.

I have a ds ( age 8) who is diagnosed with ADD inattentive type. He has trouble paying attention and carrying out instructions. Sometimes it feels like he can't focus on the important stuff because he indiscriminately pays equal attention to everything in his environment. He isn't "zeroing in" on the main event (such as the teacher). On the other hand he can focus on things of interest. Then he becomes so hyper-focused that he can't focus on anything else including gravity. He has trouble following multiple step instructions because he gets distracted during the task and leaves things undone. He also loses things and forgets things. Then there are also some less obvious ADD inattentive commonalities. These kids often have very poor short term memory and are very clumsy. Many also have dyslexia and they have a higher probability of having a tic disorder than the general population. Sometimes physical activity can help them focus - sitting still makes their brain sluggish. A final thought is that "inattentive type" can have mixed symptoms (hyper + inattentive) but are predominately "inattentive". Overall, kids with ADD inattentive type are extremey disorganized. I hope it is just a developmental fluke with your daughter. Good Luck, Lori

Wow how awful. I believe the teacher is suppose to be evaluating whether your child has met the kindergarten standards. I think she should have told that you child is excelling in all areas. Also I think there should have been some discussion of him being identified as gifted. She should be concerned about how to keep him challenged. There should not be other concerns. I think she is intimidated by your teaching ability. The attendance issues are ridiculous. A kid can be out sick 4 days with one virus. I can't believe the sick policy is so strict. Here in NJ you can't have more than 10 "unexcused" absences. Also educational trips count as excused. Lori

I love the "Mr Putter and Tabby" series by Cynthia Rylant. They are like chapter books with training wheels. There are small illustrations sprinkled on each page. The print is larger with more white space than most chapter books which alleviates any developmental eye tracking stress. They are less dense than average chapter books but much more substantial than easy readers. It might help him build up reading stamina. I love them, but they might be too easy for your son. I wish I could find more transitional choices. Chapter books feel like such a leap in skill level. Lori

I feel like there is a lot pressure to give kids more freedom despite their lack of frontal lobe development. I know that many parents think I'm a helicopter mom. Kids go on unsupervised play dates as early as second and third grade even though the parents just casually know each other from school. Kids have sleepovers at age 8. And obviously 12 yrs olds are allowed to roam the mall unsupervised. My kids may be unhappy but I'm not having any of it. They will continue to be completely supervised until I'm sure that they can govern and protect themselves. Then I may still need to check in a lot via cell phone just to ensure that all is well.