Preschool issues

On Tuesday when I picked up KK from preschool one of her teachers mentioned that they felt like she needed a nap and that I should change her to the napping schedule. I told the teacher that she hasn't taken naps at home in well over 9 months. The teacher said they she cuddled a lot with them and seemed very tired. So I left it at that.


I decided to call the preschool director this morning to discuss their concerns over whether or not she should nap. Here is how our conversation went (the condensed version):


Me: I was just calling to talk to you about whether or not KK would be on your napping schedule. When I picked her up from school one of your teachers told me that they felt she should be a napper.


Director: Wow, I am surprised that one of my staff members would make a judgement call like that after one day. She should take two weeks to get to know the children and then after that make suggestions accordingly. I am sorry if she made you feel like you didn't know what was best for your child. I will talk to all of my staff and make sure that they know the first two weeks are a trial time to observe the children and let them adjust to the environment. In the beginning they may just be overloaded and their needs could change.


Me: I am sure that KK is more active at preschool than at home but I am sure she was just cuddling up to the teachers because she is a very affectionate child. I wouldn't be surprised though if she was tired today as we woke her up an hour earlier than normal so Daddy could bring her into preschool. If you end up feeling she needs naps on the days Daddy brings her in I can definitely support that.


Director: Let's just see how she does today and go from there.


I hung up from our conversation feeling like she totally supported me.


Here is what happened when I arrived to pick her up at 3:00.


Director: We tried to keep KK from taking a nap but she just couldn't handle it. When it was time to go outside she was playing with the farm animals and didn't want to stop and go outside. She started crying. We took her outside and cuddled her and she fell asleep at 2:30. This isn't going to work for us. She needs to be a napper.


Me: I can understand her needing a nap on Thursdays when Daddy brings her but on the days that I bring her I don't think she will want or need one.


Director: We need to be consistent. It will confuse her if she is napping one day and not the next.


Me: I can understand that. How about on the days that I bring her you wake her up after an hour?


Director: Absolutely not, she needs the full two hours. We won't wake her up.


Me: That is going to cause her to be until 10 or 11 at night. That will be really hard for our routine and schedule.


Director: I don't think so, I think she needs the full two hours. She is on the go here and tires herself out.


That is the shortened version of our conversation. She was not going to budge. Our child will need to be a napper and they will not wake her early. I guess I just better hope that on the days I bring her it takes her a long time to fall asleep and when nap time is over the other kids may end up waking her up with their noise. I am going to use next week as a trial period for our family and if she is up till 10 or 11 I am going to talk to the director again. If we don't come to some kind of compromise we may be looking somewhere else.


I suppose what bothers me the most about the whole situation is that she was so supportive in the morning and really wanted a two week trial period. She stressed that they were there to support the families, not the other way around, and that they wanted to do what the families needed because that is their job. Then she totally changes her tune by the time I come to pick up my child! What is up with that???


So now that my daughter is going to be a napper she needed a blanket. Here is the blanket I made her:






KK's favorite animal is an elephant. I already had this fabric in my sewing drawer. I let her pick out the bottom flannel fabric and she picked out moons and stars. I think it turned out cute and it only took 15 minutes to make. I hope this will help her feel more comfortable with napping at preschool.