In thinking a 2 hour rest time for 5 year olds at pre k is ridiculous?!

[mrsclausisdrunk]

Ds goes to a very small, rural pre-K. In the same building there is a daycare (so 6 months to 2.5 years then when they're 2.5 they move up in to the pre k.)

Ds was 5 in November so going to school in September.

They currently have an hour's rest time which isn't optional. He has to sit in a darkened room, quietly reading a book.

Those are the rules, that's fine. He quite often comes home before this as he's not so keen on having to keep quiet in the near dark for an hour.

But now they've sent an update saying due to low enrolment the classes will be mixed and there will now be a two hour rest period from 12.30-2.30.

Aibu I'm thinking this is fucking ridiculous for the two 5 year olds in the class?!

I understand there needs to be more give and take in a tiny school/facility but this seems to be heavily prioritising the younger needs of the older. And it's hardly setting them up ready for school.

We're not in the UK but school pretty much follow the same timelines and none of my friends here in other pre k even have a forced rest time.

YANBU, that’s crazy. Can you move him or are you too rural?

If you were in the UK your son would have started school already so it is a different timeline..

This can be very normal depending on where you are. In parts of Europe kids are often not even taught until they reach 7, so pre-k is all about building play and social skills.

Yes it’s unreasonable,What does he does in that time? Developmentally a five year old will really struggle to just keep quite for two hours !!

I think pre k here is the same as reception/nursery in the UK so same time line.

There no bloody way he'll sit in a darkened room and read alone for two bloody hours!!

@Cherries101

I totally get that but that isn't the protocol here. They do tend to postpone the English and Maths aspect until they hit school at 5 but a two hour rest time is not something I've heard of.

@Schuyler no choice to move him. There is no other school within an hour and a half.

That’s crazy. My ds who is in his first year of school was just telling us about how in their last year at nursery they’d eat lunch while the younger kids napped and they had to be quiet eating which seems fair enough. It’d be the perfect time for the two older children to get some more focussed attention and do some craft or art work.

That’s crazy. At my sons nursery the room is mixed age 18 months to 4 years - those that want to nap can do so 12-2 and those that don’t nap play outdoors or do messy play on the other side of the room. He stopped napping at 2.5 years but never struggled to sleep previously due to the other non napping kids. Can they play outdoors?

At that age the rest should be according with individual need. One of mine would have slept through most of those 2hr rests at that age, one would have been tearing the room down within a few minutes, and the others would have been somewhere in between. No SN, just individual needs.

I'm in my 50s, and I remember the whole Reception class having afternoon nap at school at that age. In the UK. But it was definitely for less than 1 hour.

I (and everyone else) had a day nap around that time until I was 8 (having started reception at 6.5), it was actually a part of school / government rules in my country of origin, and there was a special sleep room fitted for that. This is of course not to say that everyone slept peacefully, it was a kind of a badge of honour to sneak out to the classroom without the matron noticing. I don't think it will do him any harm, just shift the evening bedtime until later.

How are they supposed to read in a darkened room? Surely that strains their eyes?

I have family in the US and their children also have a compulsory two hour rest period in nursery aged 4. I think it’s madness!

@silvercuckoo trouble is he won't sleep.

He'll sit and read for an hour at a stretch but after that he refuses.

We'll just have to look in to sending him for mornings only if they won't budge on it. Which will suck for both preparing him for school and for me working!

My son stopped having a nap sooner than other kids, so he spent “nap time” reading, doing soft puzzles or anything which makes minimal noise.

Could that work - if they put him near a window where it’s bright? Two hours’ nap for a 5yo is way too much.

@PissPotPourri that's another worry of mine. God I'll be glad when he's out of this school and at the big school!

It was me that was posting about them going out for impromptu outings with 5 kids to one member of staff on a main road with no pavement.

Land of the fucking free indeed.

And don't even get me started on the not cutting the bloody grapes for snack time!

@QwertyLou he was so upset about the hours reading thing he didn't go for a while.

They wouldn't budge on it then, hopefully I'll have better luck now!

Neither of my kids would have rested or napped for two hours at that age, or any age. Even as babies their maximum nap was 1 hour.

Sounds like very very lazy staff who can't be bothered to differentiate between the varied needs of individual kids in their care. If their numbers are down maybe they are employing less staff, but ratios of kids to adults should remain constant (I would question this) so one member of staff could run an activity for the kids who dont need to nap.

I think they see it as staff downtime.

Oops cross posted. Hopefully if enrolments are down they’ll be keen to accommodate your (very reasonable) request. Do the parents of the other 5yo feel the same?

I had to work with them to find a solution for my son - left to their own devices, he would have been sleeping for 2 hours with everyone else.. and then wide awake at night until 10.30pm!

My dd was not napping at that age. She was barely 4 when she started school and dropped naps completely more than a year before. It sounds like a ridiculous system. The school need to accommodate your ds and the older children instead of imposing a system, which caters for the adults.

Ds hasn't bloody napped for about 2 years now!

f you were in the UK your son would have started school already so it is a different timeline.

For UK here read "E&W"

That does seem over the top OP, surly they should be providing different activities for the older DC while the younger ones sleep. Are the reducing staff?

One staff member should be either taking the older DC out or doing activities with them but i'm guessing that would leave them short on their ratios, maybe they just want you to take him out of nursery altogether?

He'll sit and read for an hour at a stretch but after that he refuses.
I am actually in awe of a 5 year old who can read for an hour. Here, same age, but 10 min is max I can imagine if the stars are correctly aligned.
I will probably get flamed but I don't think that (controlled) boredom is bad at that age as such. The current mindset seems to be that the children always have to be gainfully engaged in a structured activity. In my opinion, periods of being bored are essential for the child to discover his / her own interests and strengths from the "introspective" point of view. But then I am no Montessori, of course

Would the nursery be open for you to provide a selection of quiet activities for him to choose during this time without a guidance from the adult. Like play-doh, Lego, drawing, books, maybe a tablet with a couple of educational apps uploaded? I'd be also concerned that the provision is more geared towards younger kids due to this age structure, not only regarding nap times, but learning and development in general- do you think they are okay on that front?

Could you chat to the other parents and suggest to the school that this is not going to be workable with the children and you are all looking to remove your kids…. ? Maybe a career op for some parents to open their own sensible school.