I was wondering if anyone else had second thoughts about putting their 4 yr old into afternoon preschool and what did you do? My son will turn 4 over the summer and his current school only offers an afternoon (4 days/wk) class or a morning (5 days/wk). I really think 3 or 4 days of school for a 4 yr old is more than enough but I'm not sure he'll be able to tolerate 4 afternoons of school since he is still pretty tired in the afternoon. He recently gave up his afternoon nap almost completely.
However, I'm hesitant to change schools where he does not know anyone and there may already be cliques formed. He will have a new teacher next year either way.
Has anyone else had issues with their child being too tired and not doing well after going to an afternoon preschool (especially those with late birthdays)? Thank you.
My situation is similar. my 3yo son started afternoon pre k in august 2008. From 12:45 to 3:15 m-f my son goes to school.I'm so lucky he took to it with no problems. He stopped taking naps at 2 1/2 so naps were not a problem.Since our kids are so close in age, if you need to vent email me.
S.
All 4 of my boys have gone to afternoon preschool. They all gave up their naps before they were 3, so the nap wasn't an issue. They also went to afternoon kindergarten. Both were 1-3:30. My 4 year old goes T-F afternoons to school and is in the 4 year old program.
Yes, sometimes they were tired after school, but I never planned anything pressing for that time of day. My youngest gets home and has a snack and plays with his brothers. In a rare moment, he might doze on the couch for an hour or so.
I like afternoon preschool and kindergarten. There are so many things to do in the morning like story hour at the library and with an afternoon program you can still do that.
You just need to weight the needs of your child. My 4 year old son attends preschool 5 mornings a week and then come homes and naps after having lunch. Kids learn better in the morning and still in kindergarten often need a p.m. quiet time. As for changing schools and cliques, my son also started preschool where about 80% of the kids knew eachother before the start of the year (my son knew no one) and he has a ton of friends and is always invited to b-day partys. Cliques don't ususally form in preschool, part of the teachers job is to help all kids socialize together. At 4 they are learning to make friends not make cliques. I teach k-2nd grade and don't even recommend p.m kindergarten.
K.
I agree. Our first went to morning preschool, the second to afternoon. Each were 4x/week. And I much preferred the afternoon! He still napped, but he just moved his nap until after school and would doze for an hour or so. We loved having the mornings to laze about and play together!
Have you noticed cliques at this age elsewhere? My kids had new children in their classes every year, as well as new teachers, and they just made new friends with whomever they met. They "kept" their friends from previous years and might see them outside of school, but kids at this age are great at making new friends where ever they go! So, if you do decide to switch, just let the teachers know your concerns and they can make sure he is introduced to each child and finds some little buddies right away.
Good luck!
