Why won't my 3 year old do his school work?

Question

I have a three year old son who has been at the same school for 2 years- (2 year old program and now Pre-K 3). Recently, he has stopped doing his work. He just plays while the others do worksheets. He knows the material being taught, but will not do the work in class. His teachers told me that he is just not interested in classwork.

I have to disagree with them, because I work with him at home and he is very interested. I received packets of untouched worksheets, with notes about how he played with crayons instead of coloring, writing his letters, completing the pattern...etc. But when I presented them to him, he did all of the sheets with 100% accuracy. Any ideas why won't he do the work at school anymore?

Answer 1

Maybe hes just bored with the work since he already knows it he sees no point in wasting him time doing it

Answer 2

He might be stressed out or thinking he doesnt have to practice stuff he already knows

Answer 3

HE JUST A BABY THATS WHAT THEY DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 4

I beleive the teachers should have a close watch on him to see why he is not doing it. Maybe he had some bad experience or some neglegence from teachers.

Talk to them and discuss the results, and ask teachers to treat him in a nice motivating method such as working on the sheets while playing and giving more time to play if he finishes the sheet in proper time.

Finally, Try to talk to him yourself and listen to each single word and will give you an idea why he is not interested any more. Give him some of your time.

God Bless him.

Ghassan

Answer 5

It sounds like your child is BORED in class. Many preschools thrive on the repetitive nature of their curriculum. They think by repeating the same thing over, and over, and over, and over again that every child in the class will have a chance to get the hang of the activities that they are doing and the material that is being taught. It sounds like your child is a fast learner, so the repetitive nature of the class is boring your child. When children get bored, they act out, show off, and do the opposite of what they are supposed to do. In most classrooms, teacher classify it as "bad behavior" but they fail to realize that the child is intelligent, needs a challenge, and is bored. Talk with your child's teacher, explain the situation, and see if she can give your child additional work to do while in class, or let your child be a special helper, or something else that will take your child's mind off being bored. Keep working with your child at home. In the long run, your child will remember more of what you choose to teach your child then your child will remember about what was taught in preschool...hence the reason so many kids are homeschooled this day and age.

Answer 6

Some student who is smart, they want something more challenging and interested. They know they can do the work and get it right, so thats why they dont bother doing it, and its just lack of interest. When he get all accurate, you should give him some rewards, which makes more enjoyable.  But most of all, dont push your 3 year old too hard, hes still young and needs to have fun.

Answer 7

It's because he is 3 years old.

He doesn't understand the importance of getting your work done. He probably thinks that it is a waste of time and coloring is much more fun. A toddler this young doesn't understand the concept of school and why he has to do all that work.

I wouldn't worry about it too much since he is so little and by the time he gets to elementary school he will probably be mature enough to understand that school work has to get done.

By the way, don't you think that three years old is a little young to be starting preschooling? Your going to get the poor kid burnt out of school by the time he is in elementary school.

Answer 8

He's 3 years old and is expected to do school work at home as well as school? It may be too much school work, and that you are offering him 'better' rewards for it, than his pre k does.

I dont disagree with encouraging education, but he needs to be able to "have fun time" at home at his age. When in school it wont be so boring to him to do his school work.

Answer 9

easily distracted....

Answer 10

Because he's only a toddler. He probably still doesn't know where the world goes when the blinds are closed. He's practically a baby, they're suppose to run around and play. Let kids be kids. Don't push them too hard. Let him have a childhood. What kind of school is making 3 year olds do classwork anyway? I honestly don't think anything is wrong with him from what you've told me. He's just being a kid.

Answer 11

check out this school and see how they are presenting their lessons.  We have 3 year olds and they are completely separate from our 4 year olds.  we have 6 3 year olds at a table with one teacher - they do a skill sheet which takes about 30 seconds (find the item in between and color it - find the one that is different, on top, on the bottom, that is supposed to be blue, etc.) - the rest of the time is for socialization, doing crafts together such as play doh, gluing and other sensory activities.  We have a snack together and play  cooperative group game.  I am concerned about these worksheets that you are talking about as well.  please, just check out the policies and make sure there are is a small staff/child ratio which by the way, is required by law.  At least, in our state of Ohio.

Answer 12

I agree with pretty much everything that has been said.  Your son is likely bored with the material, and he is too young to be doing packets of worsheets anyway.  At this age, children should be learning through play.

Here are some fun activites yu may want to try with him at home:

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/...

Relax and enjoy your son.  He won't be this little for long.  He has the rest of his life to do formal work.

Answer 13

may be he his distracted or might feel to play in school & being at home he may feel that u may get him something new or anything like that so he completes his work quickly

Answer 14

The poor child misses his mommy!  He is way too young to be in school and has been away from you since he was 1.  What a sad commentary.  He performs well at home because he is getting your attention, but not at school because you are not there to encourage him.  What a shame!

Answer 15

Because he's three.  There is no reason for a kid to be going to school at three unless they are in dire need of social interaction.  Apparently with your kid that's not the case because he's been in it for two years.  You can teach him everything he needs to know at this age and do it with a lot more love and attention than preschool teachers.  And he seems to agree with me, considering he'll do the work for you, not them.

Answer 16

idk

Answer 17

Children his age learn best through play. Through play they make sense of their world, explore new concepts and ideas in a "safe" way for them, they have control of the situation.

To expect a 3 year old to sit and do worksheets is too much.

Offering them a chance to do them isn't necessarily "bad" if it is done in the right way and the child is able to choose whether or not to do them. If your child understands the concepts being taught by the worksheets, I don't see a need to worry, he probably just wants to enjoy his time as a kid by doing what kids do:playing!

Answer 18

Because he's bored and 3. A three-year old should be playing, not doing worksheets.

Answer 19

It's time to change schools.  Honestly.  If a school is giving a 3 year old worksheets, it's time to get out of there.  

Worksheets are used in preschool for one purpose and one purpose only: to distract the child and fill up time.  

Sounds like you have a smart child.  Why should the child prove to the teacher that he knows things?  Can't the teacher observe and see what the child knows?

Matt

Answer 20

You son might be bright that class work no longer interests him or tickles his grey cells. From what you have written, by doing all the work at home, he might be feeling work in class to be too monotonous. Encourage him with gifts like a star if he gets all work done in class or extra playing hour or something like that at home. He surely will respond. Also reduce work at home, so that there is something to work at school.

Answer 21

maybe he isnt getting enough 1 on 1 attention. if you are right there next to him then he will do his work, but if the teacher is paying attention to other kids then maybe he isnt inspired. maybe you make it more interesting. maybe reward him for doing his work at school. be really proud of him if brings home a completed worksheet.

hope this helps, good luck

Answer 22

he is very young!!

he is learning while playing too

At home is different because he is with you

there are many distractions in the class room as well that may seem much more interesting to a 3 year old

Answer 23

Because he's 3 :-)  

He likely won't do it because it's lots more fun to look at everything and everyone else in the room.  There's really no way to reason that out with a 3yo boy - they often just don't care about sitting at a table and coloring for very long.

My son was in a gifted preschool (every kid there was gifted) and they did sheets like these for fun...the kids loved to do them.  However, that was a very small part of their day.  They did large-motor skill activities, story time, play acting, they built things, etc.  

I did find out that he learns best through one-on-one or small group interaction, as he got older.  (He's now 10.)  If I allow him to learn in this manner, he just takes off for hours on end.  If I make him try to learn in a large group (more than 8-10 kids), he's lost and bored.  This is something that he's learning to adapt to as he gets older, but individual and small group interaction is still his best bet.

**Something to pay attention to - some kids, especially boys, do not work well in a group setting.  They prefer to work in a one-on-one environment.  If your son enjoys these sheets while doing them with you, but really doesn't care about doing them at school, this is probably the case.  If it is, chances are he learns better with individual attention.  Children this young will naturally gravitate toward the situation that helps them learn the most.  Conversely, they will pay little to no attention to things that do not cause them to learn.  The setup in his preschool may not be the best environment for him, even though it may be an excellent school.**

At 3, you really shouldn't be concerned that your son isn't doing his school work.  3yo boys aren't wired to do that - they're wired to build things and knock them down, find bugs outside, chase each other around the play yard, and be the "daddy" for the girls that want to play "house".  A few skills worksheets will help his fine motor skills develop, but if he's already doing them for you, he has the skills down.

He just plain isn't interested in doing them - he's either bored with them or he's in a phase where that's not what's important.  In the greater scheme of things, it's not.  He'll naturally use the skills that will help his development, which right now includes exploring and discovering.  Good preschools will recognize that and allow him to develop rather than try to force him to sit down and do worksheets.

Hope that helps!

Answer 24

mimmy, he sounds pretty smart and doesn't really need to to more than that as it would be boring and a waste of time.  the playing he does definitely cultivates his creativity and expends energy for your 3 yr old... very, very important and it seems those instructors have tunnel vision... all kids learn and achieve things at a different rate...