Paula wrote:

Anyway, it's a life skill to deal with boredom productively. Who
hasn't had to sit quietly and at least seemingly attentively in
numerous boring meetings?


That's been my take pretty much. He is bored, he repeatedly states he
is bored. I figure he needs to find some way to occupy himself that is
not distracting to others. Teachers seem to have different levels of
tolerance for this. In 4th grade his teacher remarked that he "read at
inappropriate times." Turns out when she was reading aloud to the
class he preferred to read his own book. I don't see that as a
problem, but she sure did. Similarly, the example of his science
teacher who, despite quite clear evidence that the kid already knew the
material, was upset that he was reading in class. So, we continue to
work on that front. I've suggested doodling, but his teacher is not too
keen on that either. He gets frustrated with helping other kids, but
that is something he needs to learn to deal with better.

there is no requirement for gifted education, and in fact our school
district has come out quite strongly against any "special treatment" of
advanced kids, even before NCLB.

But beyond the "boredness" there is a distinct issue of fidgeting that
may be related to the boredom, but seems distinct in some ways. I
think the suggestions about limiting videos and increasing physical
activity, as well as possibly looking at his diet are good ideas that I
haven't really thought of as seriously as I probably should have.

chris