ideas to help the teacher get 5yo interested and involved?

[Aranea]

Dd1 is in Reception and according to the teacher and TA is pretty bright. But the teacher is concerned that she is losing her attention. She has tried different strategies to keep her interested and participating actively but it sounds as though she is having a hard time managing this.

This is despite the school having lots of imaginative fun stuff going on. She has asked if I can suggest anything and I don't know what to say. I find dd1 quite frustrating myself sometimes - she is clever and imaginative but only on her own terms, and I have lost count of the number of times I have tried to set up exciting things for her to do which she has refused to engage with.

She loves reading and writing, but won't get involved in the wonderfully creative art activities in the classroom. She zones out when they have carpet time, and doesn't offer ideas or answers. This is definitely not because the questions are too hard for her. I don't know whether it is lack of confidence or lack of interest. She tells me she is interested but doesn't want to say things. And she is not shy about speaking in front of people - she loves to stand up and talk about what she's been doing, or a piece of work she has done.

Has anyone got any ideas? I don't know what to suggest to the teacher, and I feel a bit like shaking dd1!

I'd mostly leave her to it - the worst thing for her teacher to do is to put pressure on her or make her feel different. DS was a watcher to start with. Now they can't shut him up. But if you want to give something back to the teacher, maybe she could give your dd a special question that she alone has to listen out for in the story? Might make her listen a bit more. Or a special job during a creative session. I really wouldn't worry too much though. If she's doing okay and happy she'll grow into it I'd bet.

Thanks smee. I do worry a bit though, as the teacher says she thinks dd1 is great one-to-one but seems to disconnect in a large group. She says she expects dd1 to be answering questions in a more developed way than she does in group situations, where she tends apparently to just copy the others and so ends up operating on the level of the less able children.

I said I thought she probably just needed to have it explained to her as she might not realise what was wanted. Teacher agreed that she felt the same but was being hesitant as they try to let the children find their own way during reception. But she feels dd1 may need some firmer direction to keep her on track.

It's so hard to know what to think. Part of me thinks, 'but she's only just 5, everything could change by next year,' but another part of me sees that every achievement dd1 is proudest of and everything she's done that has given her most pleasure (with the exception of reading) has come following a monumental kick up the backside.