http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it He is not organized. he wants to finish with the least amount of work. He is very bright and has very good memory. He is a very good and kind child. He loves to play. he thinking of playing during homework. he loves to be with his friends and watch tv. GreatSchools en-us italgal If your son is gifted, he can definetly be bored. IF there is an attentional problem (which can co-exist with giftedness), it complicates the process of identifying the source of ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=1#comment_432047 5100.432047 Sat, 23 May 2009 11:45:24 -0700 italgal I would first explore the reason why he's shutting down. There are MANY possibilities. He may be struggling w/ a learning disability, tired, hungry, having difficulty in the classroom, overwhelmed ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=1#comment_432038 5100.432038 Sat, 23 May 2009 11:24:23 -0700 healthy11 FLMommy, your suggestions are very helpful....In fact, my son had a teacher who decided the best way to handle the matter was to give EVERY child a notepad (so none ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=1#comment_369756 5100.369756 Wed, 04 Mar 2009 06:56:53 -0800 jade9767 Get involved. Go with your son to school and volunteer. Show him how much you are interested and proud of the children who succeed. He will want to be like ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=1#comment_369568 5100.369568 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:17:07 -0800 FLMommy If your son's teacher agrees that he is having trouble staying focused and is willing to try unconventional tactics, I can share something my daughter's teacher used to keep her ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=1#comment_368831 5100.368831 Tue, 03 Mar 2009 10:28:38 -0800 noelrivera1552 "Allow me to express my point of view from a different perspective when it comes to help your child when having difficulties in learning and staying focus" This is my ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=2#comment_365034 5100.365034 Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:45:49 -0800 healthy11 anon4242, I'd like to invite you to join Greatschools Gifted Group at http://community.greatschools.net/groups/11537 http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=2#comment_364515 5100.364515 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 15:51:30 -0800 anon4242 I'm trying to head off these same problems. My son is in the gifted program in the 4th grade, but the program is being cut and is barely existent. He ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=2#comment_364270 5100.364270 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:12:27 -0800 healthy11 Stressedmom, do your son's school teachers feel he's got a learning disability, or ADHD, or ? Please do talk to your son's pediatrician first, and ask for a referral to ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=2#comment_353912 5100.353912 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:30:33 -0800 stressedmom My 11 year old is a boy also and my 2 year old use to be a good student who enjoyed school. Until 3 years ago. He failed 4th grade ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=2#comment_353907 5100.353907 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:09:17 -0800 TeacherParent Your son has been in school all day and many classrooms expect children to sit fairly still through most of the day and to stay on task through changing sit- ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=3#comment_353752 5100.353752 Thu, 12 Feb 2009 14:25:43 -0800 ilikipie99 Depending on your son's school area, he may be overwhelmed by the work itself. We live in South MS and the ciricullum is based on the MCT state testing scores. ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=3#comment_350822 5100.350822 Sat, 07 Feb 2009 13:10:00 -0800 mygreatschools Hello Stressedmom, I understand how you feel. it's difficult when you see your own child in need of help and you don't know how to help him. I agree with ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=3#comment_350093 5100.350093 Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:32:10 -0800 healthy11 Stressedmom, is your 11-year-old is a girl? Has your 12-year-old always had a poor attitude towards schoolwork, or did something change along the way? It sounds like you're single parenting, ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=3#comment_349587 5100.349587 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:24:10 -0800 stressedmom I am having the same problem! I have a 12 year old and an 11 year old. they are both in 5th grade because my older son failed fourth grade ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=3#comment_349521 5100.349521 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 16:07:21 -0800 mygreatschools thank you for the advise. I was thinking that by now he should be doing work on his own. but maybe he still needs the monitoring. I thank you all, ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=4#comment_341855 5100.341855 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:33:50 -0800 TeacherParent Your son is still very young - our attention spans and our ability to focus improve with age. Your son sounds like a healthy, active boy and it's understandable that ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=4#comment_341743 5100.341743 Wed, 28 Jan 2009 05:57:39 -0800 healthy11 A gifted program sounds like it's worth trying, especially since it sounds like the current class environment isn't ideal. He might just "rise to the occasion" and become inspired by ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=4#comment_341606 5100.341606 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:52:19 -0800 mygreatschools thank yo, I did speak to his teachers his problem at school is lack of organization and neatness. she did also say, that on couple of occasions, she had to ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=4#comment_341550 5100.341550 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:46:09 -0800 Anonymous I do not know a lot about your son but chances are because he is so bright, he may be extremely bored. You have not mentioned whether or not you ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=4#comment_341343 5100.341343 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:31:15 -0800 mygreatschools thank you Healthy11 and Beachcomber. Actually, my son is very good at doing his homework as soon as he comes home and he does understand that there is not TV ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=5#comment_340811 5100.340811 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:07:37 -0800 healthy11 Hello, and welcome to Greatschools. Has your son always had problems focusing on schoolwork, and with organization? Did teachers, when he was younger, also express concerns, or have his difficulties ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=5#comment_340584 5100.340584 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:06:01 -0800 Anonymous I have a twelve year old who is the same way. We created a notebook with folders (one for each subject) with a pocket in the front (finished - homework ... http://community.greatschools.net/q-and-a/340482/My-son-is-in-the-4th-grade-I-need-to-help-him-focus-sometimes-he-shuts-down-and-i-cant-get-him-out-of-it?cpage=5#comment_340529 5100.340529 Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:33:48 -0800