6 year old hates school

[Hitchyhero]

I was wondering how normal is this. My 6 year old (year 1) used to love going to school when it was mostly play based but now he tells me he hates going to school now because it's not fun anymore and 'hard work'.

This is probably normal as I wouldn't like it either going from play based to not....but the teacher a few weeks ago said he is more unsettled than usual and not paying attention and distracting others. I've had the convo with my son that's important to not distract others learning as it's unfair and that if you don't understand anything ask the teacher. Today he's told me he got another orange card (their warning system after already being warned)....a red card they miss break time.

I'm wondering if there's anything I can do or should be concerned about (especially the latter bit). Do most kids go through this.... Do they eventually settle. I have no issue getting him to school and he happily goes in the morning no questions asked, just his normal routine. Doesn't cry or go in upset. So that's good.

Firstly this time of year is hard and from what I've seen, following the May holiday lots of kids struggle with the final term. They're tired, fed up and ready for a proper break.

DD is 10 and every year we see this final month slump,

Is the work actually too hard, have you seen any of his recent work or gotten any idea from the teach of whether he's on track if struggling in any particular areas? It may be that he does need a bit of extra help, either from you, or he may have something like dyslexia that makes it more difficult.

Yr 1 is a gradual phase from the play based learning they did in reception to more of a structured curriculum and worksheet approach. So it is less 'fun' and he does need to learn to not distract other people by messing about. It's important to rule out any genuine problems he may be experiencing to ensure he's not being told off for something he should be getting help with.