up too early .....about to start school and still needs a nap!!

[noonar]

dd 1 is about to start school in september. she goes to bed at 7.00-7.30, and needs 12 hrs sleep. the trouble is, her 2 yr old sister wakes her up a 6- 6.30 and she is then exhausted by early afternoon. as a result she often has a good 45 min nap in the car to catch up on sleep. i'm desperate to sort this out before she starts in reception, as i don't know how she'll cope. any ideas/ experiences with tired school starters?

ps the girls have seperate rooms, but my youngest is impossible to keep quiet when she wakes.

could she have a nap when she gets home from school?
what about soundproofing the room in some way?
what about a system for keeping her sister quiet e.g. a bunny clock and a reward system to keep her quiet until you can get her downstairs?

Put her to bed at 6.30.

thanks to both of you. both suggestions are good...but my 2 year old is a bit young- only just 2, to reason with regard to the clock idea. i also can't imagine that my 4 yr old would be happy to go to bed before her sis! but, if dd2 goes to bed at 6.30 too, she'd be up at 5.30 for sure! to make things worse, dd 1 insists on having her bedroom door wide open as she's anxious with it shut. so any noise disturbs her straight awy. i've tried creeping up to her room at 5.30 to close it, but she usually hears me.

hadnt thought about an after school nap. thanks.

my ds2 had a nap right up to school age. when he started school he was exhausted when he got home and was in bed at 6pm!
i had to explain to the teacher that he was too tired for the reading books etc some of the time.
he gradually improved as his routine changed.
now, at 7 he is in bed at 7-7:30pm and gets up at 7am.

i hink you will just have to put your oldest to bed first even though she won't like it. maybe just make some excuse and say dd2 will be up in a minute and she'll probably fall asleep waiting.

thanks, cheery, if she's that tired, hopefully she'll either agree to go to bed earlier than her sis OR be in a deeper sleep at 6am so disturb less easily.

i think you're right, she probably would fall asleep if she's that tired. i have to say, though, it's going to be a bit of a shock to the system going to school. we've been able to have very toddler-ish routines up till now and suddenly it's going to be a full on timetable every day. how will we all cope?!