DS and DD have started in their joint Yr1/2 class last thursday and things are not going too well. DD (Yr 1 and one of the youngest in the class) came home in tears yesterday and doesn't want to go any more.
Although the children are grouped by ability there seems to be little differentiation at the moment. Yr2 DS is a very able top group child and is doing the same maths, spellings and general work as DD. She is also an able child (top third of her year) but obviously not at the level of most of the year 2's. I have one child sobbing that the work is too hard, she can't cope with all the writing and needs toys to play with and the other is bored of easy spellings and maths he can do standing on his head. He was given 2a's at the end of Yr1 and is now doing the same work as his younger sister.
DD seems to have lost all confidence in her abilities over the course of a week. She wants to move down a level in reading and desperately wants to go back to her old class (mixed Yr R/1). DS also wants to go back to this class because the teacher gave him harder work to do!
I don't want to be a pushy parent and question the teachers ability to teach a joint year group (first time the school has mixed Yr1 and 2). She is a very experienced teacher and I'm sure she knows what she's doing but I feel I need to do something. I've got two unhappy children :( Any advice?