I have a son with a 7/30/2008 birthday and we have recently decided that we will most likely be sending him to Kindergarten in the fall. It was a very difficult decision and I'm worried about a few aspects. One big one is that he still naps. DH is a physician and is often not home from the hospital until 6 or later and leaves before the kids get up in the morning. Because he wouldn't see the kids if I didn't keep them up a little later, they take naps. DS does fine when he doesn't have a nap, but I was wondering how soon you other Moms transitioned to a more kindergarten-like routine before they started school. I should also add, he goes to preschool 5 mornings a week. Sorry this is so long and thanks in advance for your opinions and experiences.
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Re: Dropping the nap...
My son, who also has a late birthday, stopped napping when he was about 3 1/2.
I have a friend, though, whose son continued napping right up until the summer before kindergarten. She stopped naps when they were on vacation in early August and he went to school at the end of the month. She had only really kept him napping because: a) he still rolled with it and b) it was convenient for her to have a break in the afternoon. Was it hard on her son? Yes. Did he eventually adjust? Of course.
What if, for your 4 y/o, you had "quiet time" in the afternoon instead of an actual nap? At first, this quiet period could be in his room. As the other, presumably younger, children get used to the fact that their older brother is awake while they're napping, you can change to quiet time in the living room. He could color, do puzzles, watch a video, whatever mellow activity he can do by himself that would allow him to chill for a while before the busy evening time when Daddy comes home.
On another subject, as a mom of a son AND a daughter who have late birthdays close to the K cutoff, I have made this decision twice, and it is difficult. We decided that my DD would start school "on time" even though she was only 4, and has always been nearly the youngest in her classes. For DS, we decided it would be better if he waited a year. My kids are currently in 7th and 2nd grade, so I have some data about what this looks like down the road in later grades. One nice thing about waiting a year is that I can guarantee that there is really no drawback to it, unless there's some sort of social stigma to it within your community or family. The way I looked at it was this: If we wait a year, we'll never regret it. If he goes on time, we might regret it. With my daughter, I was really sure that she was ready, so it was less of a question.
Just food for thought as you work through the rest of the preschool year! FWIW, one of my son's best friends since K has a 7/16 birthday and is almost a year younger than my son. He's a mature, savvy kid and he's done fine even though he's always been one of the youngest in the class. So, even though there's a perception that boys are less mature and benefit more from waiting a year, that's not true for ALL 5 y/o boys!
my kids school did nap/rest time for the first 3/4 of kindergarten and their teacher told us they slept 90% of the time. We still did naps on weekends through December of their K year - they really needed them.
One of my kids could still use a nap (and often falls asleep in the car en route home from school which makes a painful transition to dinner/homework/bath) but the upside is that they are quickly asleep at 8pm!
My son will be five in about a week. Sometimes he's tired enough to take one and sometimes he's not. On the "not"days he does have quiet time in his room or the pre-kindergarten after school care program will have him lay quietly at nap time.
I say let him nap at home if he's tired and then let him adjust to the no naps in K this August.
Also, my friend's son has an August birthday and she did not make him wait a year and he's doing great.
I just visited DS' future kindergarten and they nap for 30 min, which I am glad for because as of now, DS really still needs it.
Maybe you should Try to cut his nap down in the couple of weeks before school starts in the fall?