Starting kindergarten

[Lizard Queen]

(So, it seems that I'm more nervous about this than my DS.  It's all day here in my state.) 


Anyone hear of a kindermat?  Did you get one?  Is there anything specific to look for in one?

[yogiii]

They take naps at kindergarten?

[Lizard Queen]

Well yeah, they have a rest period.  I actually remember this from my own kindergarten experience nearly 40 years ago, and it was only 1/2 day then.  (I remember because I did not take naps.  My oldest still does about 1/2 the time.

[busymom]

Depends on the school. Some have naps, & some don't. Wish I lived closer to you, Lizard Queen, because I've still got DD's mat.     DD's is made out of vinyl, & is at least an inch thick.  (It would beat trying to nap on a hard floor.)

[yogiii]

Oh ok.  Well it is 1/2 day for us but the other half of the day DS has kindergarten at daycare.  He takes the bus from daycare to public kindergarten and then back again to daycare.  He has been going for about a week now and he loves it. 

Seems about the same as pre-K to me.  Class is filled with a billion toys, they have recess (he's very excited about the basketball hoop), snack and he comes home with a project or two a day.  So far hand prints, coloring, stuff like that.

Which part are you worried about?

[Lizard Queen]

Thanks anyway, busymom.  I'm just wondering if I should go more fancy with an attached blanket, or just basic?  I could just send his sleeping bag instead, but I think that might be a pita for him to deal with everyday.  Maybe I'll just go to Walmart and see what is readily available first.  I'm sure they won't have all the fancy stuff from their website there.

[yogiii]

This one looks extra thick
www.amazon.com/Angeles-Rest-Germ-Free-Mat/dp/B00DUCS9RG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441290660&sr=8-3&keywords=kindermat+nap+mat

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 3, 2015 9:27:23 GMT -5 yogiii said:

Oh ok.  Well it is 1/2 day for us but the other half of the day DS has kindergarten at daycare.  He takes the bus from daycare to public kindergarten and then back again to daycare.  He has been going for about a week now and he loves it. 

Seems about the same as pre-K to me.  Class is filled with a billion toys, they have recess (he's very excited about the basketball hoop), snack and he comes home with a project or two a day.  So far hand prints, coloring, stuff like that.

Which part are you worried about?

That's great that he loves it!  I'm worried about his going all day, the lunch situation (is he going to like it? Will I have to pack something instead?  Damn nut allergies in class!), and the bus back to his daycare (which is on a 45 mph road).  (I have some anxiety due to unrelated things in my life, and it's spilling over a bit.)

[Wisconsin Beth]

My kids' school wants standard nap pads for the kids in K4 and K5.  A sleeping bag would be sent home.  They've got a specific space for the nap pads and if you go too far off of standard, you can create a storage hassle for both the teacher and your child. 

This is what 23 out of 24 kids have had, in my kids' school.  www.amazon.com/Kindermat-Basic-Red-Blue-19/dp/B00I17WS0E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441290836&sr=8-3&keywords=toddler+nap+mats+for+daycare 

[yogiii]

You may get some of that positive peer pressure going with lunch.  You know how kids will eat stuff at school with their friends but not necessarily at home. 

The on paper pep talk we were sent the week before school started was to make sure we had a positive attitude about it and to talk about it as an exciting new adventure.  Pretty obvious stuff I know, but easy to forget too sometimes.

[busymom]

The mat on Amazon looks similar to DD's, except the vinyl looks thinner, & DD's folded into 1/3's instead of 1/4's. I'm sure the Amazon one would be comfortable.

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 3, 2015 9:35:12 GMT -5 Wisconsin Beth said:

My kids' school wants standard nap pads for the kids in K4 and K5.  A sleeping bag would be sent home.  They've got a specific space for the nap pads and if you go too far off of standard, you can create a storage hassle for both the teacher and your child. 

This is what 23 out of 24 kids have had, in my kids' school.  www.amazon.com/Kindermat-Basic-Red-Blue-19/dp/B00I17WS0E/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1441290836&sr=8-3&keywords=toddler+nap+mats+for+daycare 

Awesome! So I can go for something more basic.  When I searched Walmart.com, I got all kinds of different nap mats come up with attached sleeping bags and such.  Too many choices! 

(They were given several different options of what they could use--sleeping bags, blankets, kindermats, probably something else too.  The storage area is just big shelves above their coat hooks.)

[Wisconsin Beth]

Yeah, this is also what was used back in the 70s, when I was in Kindergarten.  But as busy said, it was a bit thicker and sturdier.  I think 4 of us used 2 of them, plus afterwards we used them for walls for forts and things. 

Keira's Amazon style one was toast after her 2nd year of use and I fully expect Cabe's to be toast too.  We've already duct taped it! 

[Wisconsin Beth]

Sept 3, 2015 9:14:53 GMT -5 yogiii said:

They take naps at kindergarten?

My kids were in full day kindergarten and I think the naps/quiet time are required by state law.  It's like 45 minutes after lunch or something along those lines.  For the 1st half or so of K4, the kids were supposed to lay quietly.  2nd half they could bring in a book to look at, quietly.  But I asked in Keira's K5 class and there were some kids still taking naps. 

[Lizard Queen]

I'm back from Walmart.  I never shop there, so after walking around half the store, I finally asked someone, who then had to ask someone else where they were.  (In the office section, BTW.). I ended up getting the 2" thick one, as the foam is too squishy for the thinner one to do much good.  (I didn't find any of the other options that I saw online.)  About $15 + tax, so not bad, I guess.  Got some tissues to donate to the class too.  The prices for everything else were worse than Meijer, so I'll look for a few more things to donate later.  Maybe I'll check out Target, too.  

Thanks for all your input!

[swamp]

I got 2 kindermats at a garage sale.

If I had to buy new, I'd get a yoga mat.

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 3, 2015 11:27:16 GMT -5 swamp said:

I got 2 kindermats at a garage sale.

If I had to buy new, I'd get a yoga mat.

Really?  My yoga mats are awfully thin.  I don't think they'd be very cushy at all.  Plus, it'd take up too much of the floor space and I could see my kid absolutely freaking out because he couldn't roll it up perfectly. (I have never been able to roll them up evenly myself.) It would be a PITA for the teacher every day.  Also not very cushy, but I have some of these that I thought might work in a pinch, using just a couple of the squares:



I briefly thought about getting one of those self-inflating camping mats, but again, putting it away would be a complete PITA.  Anyway, I think there's a level of comfort in conformity for kids/people in new situations.   "Hey, you got that thing?  Me too.  We have something in common!  "

[yogiii]

Well I'm excited to hear how it goes.  Does he start on Tuesday?

[Lizard Queen]

I'll let you know.  He was excited to see his classroom and meet his teacher last night.  

Yes, he starts on Tuesday.

[muttleynfelix]

What does the school say about it? We are required to send a towel for rest time, no blankets, pillows or mats. They say they are going to start the year with rest time and see how it goes, if it is still needed later on.

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 3, 2015 12:51:34 GMT -5 muttleynfelix said:

What does the school say about it? We are required to send a towel for rest time, no blankets, pillows or mats. They say they are going to start the year with rest time and see how it goes, if it is still needed later on.

The teacher brought up the kindermat. I had never actually heard of them before. Sounded like some kind of nap mat was preferred.  There was a similar mat in the exercise section.  Now I'm wondering if I should have gotten that one for the durability issue.

ETA:  they also said that they let the kids continue sleeping at the end of rest time if they're really out.  I guess the full day is kind of long for them. 

[Lizard Queen]

Apparently, my son is a giant. Fortunately, he's okay with his feet hanging over the edge. Oh, and the 2" foam is pretty comfy. :-p

[muttleynfelix]

They are wiped out at the end of the day. Even my DS who spent the summer running around the neighborhood. But having to get up at a certain every morning and then walking to school and back is exhausting. We've moved up bedtime and he is just shot by bedtime most nights.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

No naps for Gwen in kindergarten.

She gets cranky/whiny sometimes at night since she was  taking regular naps at daycare but we've only been at this a week so hopefully she'll adjust.

At the same time it's kinda awesome b/c now she goes to be around 8:30-9:00 instead of being wide awake till we go to bed.  DH and I are finally able to have some alone time again.

[thyme4change]

Wow - naps in kindergarten still?  My kids both had all day kindergarten, and they were learning.  Both of them came out of kindergarten reading.  They did have activities and such, but it was absolutely not a glorified day care.  They did have multiple recesses per day - maybe 3?  Both of my kids would hated nap time.  My daughter would have been okay with it if they let her read.  

I am trying to recall - I know at one point "Has stopped napping" was a requirement, but that might have been Pre-K.

[raeoflyte]

Ds is in all day kindergarten.  They brought towels in for a rest period for the first 8 days, but now nap time is done.  He didn't nap anyway, but he is tired at the end of the day.  

[Lizard Queen]

Sept 4, 2015 16:02:23 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

No naps for Gwen in kindergarten.

She gets cranky/whiny sometimes at night since she was  taking regular naps at daycare but we've only been at this a week so hopefully she'll adjust.

At the same time it's kinda awesome b/c now she goes to be around 8:30-9:00 instead of being wide awake till we go to bed.  DH and I are finally able to have some alone time again.

I know what you mean. On the days DS skips his nap, he's whiney and irritable, but at least he falls asleep right away vs. 10 or so.

[muttleynfelix]

Sept 4, 2015 17:29:55 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Wow - naps in kindergarten still?  My kids both had all day kindergarten, and they were learning.  Both of them came out of kindergarten reading.  They did have activities and such, but it was absolutely not a glorified day care.  They did have multiple recesses per day - maybe 3?  Both of my kids would hated nap time.  My daughter would have been okay with it if they let her read.  

I am trying to recall - I know at one point "Has stopped napping" was a requirement, but that might have been Pre-K.

They asked if he took a nap, it was on the questionnaire. Interestingly they didn't do a prekindergarten assessment. Just let the parents assess. Now it may be because Iowa does free pre-k so they figure most kids already have a baseline. I don't know.

They have some pretty big goals for the kids in kindergarten, but they make learning fun and lots of play time too (which there should be). DS is already reading, so I think he's not going to have a problem meeting the goals. Other than not get sent to the principal's office for hitting people, we've already been there and done that.

For DS's school, You have to be a certified volunteer to be in the school for most things. In October, you can start coming and having lunch with your kid and also be a mystery reader, but any other time spent at the school during the school day has to be as a certified volunteer and that includes field trips (which Ben has one coming up next week). Field trips are all paid for by the PTO. I'm starting work late on Tuesday so I can go to volunteer orientation.

[Lizard Queen]

I don't remember any questions about naps, but they may have asked on an informal questionaire. That wouldn't cause my kid not to get in. Like i said, i remember rest time when i went to kindergarten 40 years ago. I also remember i thought it was weird because i didn't nap. I'd take a nice siesta these days, however!

My kid doesn't read yet, but I've heard that they are reading by the end of the year. It's kind of weird for me, since i always thought I'd teach my kids to read early. The way DS2 acts, i don't see him reading early either. Let's just say these kids don't act like the sweet, calm kids that DH and I were. ;-)

[Lizard Queen]

Okay, this is what no nap gets me--crying and carrying on because he moved his pillow and can't put it back.   I flop it back to where it was and he cries harder because "that's not how it was".  WTF?? This is a new one.  The other day, his chair at the table wasn't in the exact right spot.  He's perfectly fine with stuff like this normally.  A little tired, and he turns into a little monster.