A few days ago
DH

teacher help!?

I teach preK and have been teaching for 18 years all levels up to high school but I am stumped with this problem.

I have a 4 year old in my class who goes to bed every night at 9pm and comes to school absolutely exhausted, he is falling asleep in my reading area and has difficulty concentrating. He is having so many cognitive problems but I’m not sure if it due to a learning disability or just the fact he needs more sleep. When I spoke to the mom about she told he is not tired, has always gone to bed that late and is basically brilliant. I’ve showed her his work and it is not up to par with even the most average student in the class. This is a private school and we have a very small class with 1 to 7 ratio it’s perfect. I have been spending so much time trying to help him but he is just not there. If I ask him any question most of the time he looks at me and says “it;s a J.V Jones” (I just learned from one of my other students he is a pirate of the Caribean.) How do I get mom to help?

Top 2 Answers
A few days ago
Snickerdoodle

Favorite Answer

Is she letting him nap when he gets home from school? If she is, I would suggest cutting that out. It could be the reason that he doesn’t want to go to bed at night.

You can suggest she develop a nightly routine (bath, p.j.’s, reading time, etc) but if she’s not willing to take your suggestions, I don’t think there’s much you can do about it.

0

A few days ago
nitesong
You have talked to the mom about the problem, but she chooses not to agree with you. You need to have her come and sit in on your class. Of course he may act differently while she is there, but it is worth a try. Or have the school administrator observe and then you have someone else who knows how he is acting. You could all sit down for a conference and the other person will back you up.

Otherwise, just let him rest his head on the desk/table when he is tired. He may miss some of the class work, but at least you can work with the others. When his mom asks about the work you tell her that he was so tired he couldn’t do it. He is only four, so he doesn’t have to be in school yet anyway. Perhaps she could put him in a different program.

You can not even be sure that he is going to bed at 9 each night. Maybe that is just what the mom wants you to believe. Perhaps other stuff is going on at home that has him upset and not resting. You may never know exactly what is causing it. You have told the mom and she is aware of the problem, so there is not much more you can do unless she is willing to do what she can to help him.

2