AAHH--Schoolagers And Naptime

[BusyBee]

The don't nap, obviously. But they don't know how to truly be quiet either. I am so tired of using my "mean voice" all of the time. What do you do with your SA at naptime. I have 2-3 depending on the day. Worse with the third one here.

Is it September yet?

We do: 1/2 hour quiet alone, 1/2 hour cartoon, 1/2 hour quiet play, 1/2 hour workbook type stuff

I think I am just going to have to keep them sequestered to their own spot in the room (large) for all but cartoon...

[gkids09]

I have had the same problem...mostly today than any other, but I also have 2-3 depending on the day. They drive me crazy being so LOUD.

The 2 I have today, I let stay in their "school kid room" and play this morning so they wouldn't bother the little ones and the little ones wouldn't bother them. About 10-15 mins before lunch they were being SO wild (running, jumping in the air and landing to roll across the room, etc), I made them sit in one spot and not speak until lunch was ready. Harsh, maybe, but they were good til nap!

Naptime comes...they play their nintendo ds or read books. TV will make the little ones go NUTS wanting to see what they're watching. Usually, they're okay, but today was ridiculous. I ended up getting two extra mats, putting them down, and making the kids lay down. They were waking up the little ones, and I was sick of telling them to be quiet. Only thing I can figure out to make them shhhhh during naptime is to make them lay down too!! :confused:

[wdmmom]

I had the same issue with 2 of them last year. It was always: "When are the other kids going to get up?" "When are you going to wake up my sister?" "Can we go outside yet?" "Is it snack time?" "Can I play the Wii?"

When school resumed, I changed my policies to NO MORE SCHOOL AGERS. I need my afternoon break and my sanity!

[Blackcat31]

When I had them their only two options were rest time OR outside until everyone was up. They almost always chose to play outside. If they came in and out more than once they had to rest. Being outside without the littles allowed them the chance to play without the littler ones under foot and to participate in some games that they normally couldn't play when everyone was outside.

[Cat Herder]

I cheated a bit and let them use the WII, the computer (club penguin, time4learning, club Disney, etc) and their own Gameboys during quiet time on days I was not feeling particularly inspired.

I also paid kids for chores (we once sold all of our hand built and painted birdhouses for a good profit at the local fair), had DH take them to the local pool, gave them multiplication graphs to study then paid for reciting multiplication tables ($5 for 2's, 4's, 6's, etc..(0's and 1's don't count ), same with helping verbs, reading lists and vocabulary words ...stuff like that.

They then got to spend their money at the dollar store, arcade, skating rink etc. when we went.. It was a blast.

Hey, money is what motivates me and their parents at work, too right?? ::::

[Meeko]

No nap...no staying at day care.

My 10, 11 and 12 year old's all nap. In fact they are the hardest to wake up!

[BusyBee]

No nap...no staying at day care.

My 10, 11 and 12 year old's all nap. In fact they are the hardest to wake up!

If I had known before I started doing daycare I totally would have had this policy in place!

I only really have to make it through this summer (with my sanity intact, please LOL) because I plan on quiting at the end of the next school year. If I knew I were going to continue this long term I would definitely change my policy to no SA. I love these kids--one of them is my own--but naptime is supposed to be my one sanity break a day and I don't get it with them here.

[littlemissmuffet]

I do not take school agers...
and this is why. School agers can and will nap, but parents usually don't like it and fight me on it, while the children rarely do, and will indeed actually have a nap and still maintain a fantastic sleep schedule at home. But, it's the parents.
No nap, no daycare! So no school agers.

[littlemissmuffet]

I do not take school agers...
and this is why. School agers can and will nap, but parents usually don't like it and fight me on it, while the children rarely do, and will indeed actually have a nap and still maintain a fantastic sleep schedule at home. But, it's the parents.
No nap, no daycare! So no school agers.

Oh yes, and if anyone wonders.... "what about the parents who are okay with the naps?" In my experience, being okay is very short-lived. They start complaining that Johnny and Sally are going to bed later and waking up ealier... and insist it is because of the naps at my house, and insist the naps stop. Of course, never taking into account that the days are longer (sun up earlier and goes down later) during the summer and this impacts our circadian rhythms... nope, it's always daycare's fault ::

[youretooloud]

Oy.. that's so frustrating. Is there a room they can go in and play board games? Or Uno?

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-S.../dp/B00005BWCU This game kept my grade schoolers busy for three straight summers.

[BusyBee]

Oy.. that's so frustrating. Is there a room they can go in and play board games? Or Uno?

http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-S.../dp/B00005BWCU This game kept my grade schoolers busy for three straight summers.

There is plenty of room, but no matter what they are doing the get way too loud! I feel bad in way because I know it is boring, but I still need their cooperation.

[BusyBee]

I should pull out the UNO and see how they do. Fun game

[youretooloud]

I just looked at the price of that game! Holy CR**. I paid $4.00 at target. Amazon is crazy.

[Preschool/daycare teacher]

I thought this summer was going to be awful with 4-5 school agers during nap time, but actually they are doing really well with it. We decided (after help from this forum) to have them all lay down and completely quiet until the younger ones go to sleep. No books, nothing. Usually 2-3 of them fall asleep before the younger ones. Then, once the younger ones are all asleep (or at least the ones who will fall asleep), the school agers are allowed to play their DS on mute (this is the ONLY time during the day they're allowed to play them). So they have the option of a DS (if they brought one), or a "quiet time box", which is little shoe boxes with fun pads, crayons, silly putty, dry erase board with markers, lacing cards (appropriate for this age group), puzzles (that only the school agers are allowed to use) etc. These items can only be played with during nap time, and each box have different items in them and are switched around each day (so every day of the week they get a different box). That way they don't get too bored with them. Plus every so often we change out the items or add a new item or something. The only problem we have with them now are just that they keep getting up every few minutes wanting to ask a question, or going to the bathroom, asking when everyone will be getting up, etc. But they're getting better about not doing that and they are very quiet, and have never had one of them wake up another child (and all of the cots are in the same room, school agers and younger). We told them in the very beginning what the rules were and if they weren't quiet they would HAVE to go to sleep like the younger ones. It's good to have as a consequence during the day too, when their attitudes start getting really bad, "oh, I see you need some extra sleep. If you can't change your attitude, I'll let you take a nap today." It works really well
Hope some of these ideas will work for you.
By the way our school agers are all 6-8 yrs, so we got off lucky. Anyone older would not get along well here. They would be bored out of their mind, and when they're bored we all know what happens... And nap time would have been a night mare!!!! What are the ages of your schoolagers?

[WImom]

I have nap bins for all my non nappers and the only schoolagers I have are my own but I have age appropriate ones for them too. The only way any of my kids (DC and my own) get any TV time at the end is if they are quiet for nap.

So far the bins seem to be working. I can see how it could be much harder when they aren't your own so you can't send them off to a different part of the house.

I also do a sticker chart for all my nappers. It seems to work on getting them to settle down and go to sleep.