My 4yo is a huge introvert and is wrecked after a 3 hr AM preschool. I am dreading K.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not clear - what time does he start preK?

Do you mean daycare (5x/week, 7-230pm) or a true traditional preK (MWF 9-12 + lunch bunch for 2 hrs, for example)?

It starts at 9, so his day is 9-2:30. It’s a traditional nursery school with 2s-4s, not daycare. The school mixed naptime during covid and never really brought it back. I actually think my son could really use some downtime to recharge. He goes to a super play based pre school, and even so, he’s still exhausted some days after school and having meltdowns when he gets home.

That’s not a really long day. My child’s preschool is 7 hours long. But they have a 1.5-2 hr nap time. Why would they not allow those kids to nap? I remember a preschool teacher telling me they are required by law to give at least 60 mins of “rest time” everyday to kids at that age. Is this preschool not following the law? I would absolutely reject a school if their schedule doesn’t work for my kids. The schedule is very important.

Did you know about them not giving naps? It would appeal to some parents whose kids don’t nap anymore. But if your kid still needs a nap, that is an easy dealbreaker.

It’s a lot at this age. What I have found helpful is having rest time or quiet time. We come home, eat a snack read a book and then watch one show. That 30 minutes of a show is enough brain rest for him. After that, we will play or walk or go the park. You can flame away for the show but it’s what works for us. It took a lot of shifting things around to figure out this is what works for our family. We were doing tv after dinner/before bed but it was causing issues. This mid day tv break is what works for us. It might be worth a try.

Remember, they are keeping it together at school all day. They will lose their bananas at home because it’s a safe place.

OP my son 4.5 goes 9-3 and he is a wreck when he doesn't nap too. It's actually very comforting to read this thread thank you! Some days he naps at school and that helps but we're having a hard time getting him enough sleep because on days he naps, he falls asleep later so his schedule is just wonky. I agree that without a nap he can easily be asleep at 6:45 but we're having trouble with very early (sometimes 5a) wakings no matter what time we do so yeah, he's a mess right now. I think the nap dropping is so hard on them, I've heard it from friends too. They still actually need it but often don't take it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not clear - what time does he start preK?

Do you mean daycare (5x/week, 7-230pm) or a true traditional preK (MWF 9-12 + lunch bunch for 2 hrs, for example)?

It starts at 9, so his day is 9-2:30. It’s a traditional nursery school with 2s-4s, not daycare. The school mixed naptime during covid and never really brought it back. I actually think my son could really use some downtime to recharge. He goes to a super play based pre school, and even so, he’s still exhausted some days after school and having meltdowns when he gets home.

What dies he do when he gets home? Can you give him some down time - a 30 min episode of screens, read some books, have a snack, etc?

Could be a growth spurt too.

Fwiw, preK is mentally and physically exhausting for them. Our preK is also play based and the teachers are constantly keeping things moving (writing, scissors, group games, music portion, playground time, etc)..

And yea, 9-230 is a long time to be "on"

Anonymous wrote:It's not clear - what time does he start preK?

Do you mean daycare (5x/week, 7-230pm) or a true traditional preK (MWF 9-12 + lunch bunch for 2 hrs, for example)?

It starts at 9, so his day is 9-2:30. It’s a traditional nursery school with 2s-4s, not daycare. The school mixed naptime during covid and never really brought it back. I actually think my son could really use some downtime to recharge. He goes to a super play based pre school, and even so, he’s still exhausted some days after school and having meltdowns when he gets home.

My DD4.5 goes to prek 8-2:30 plus aftercare til 4. She doesn't nap but is asleep by 6:45pm every single night.