Question
I'm in the process of planning out my son's Pre-K Fall schedule, and I'd love to hear any of your personal experiences, as I find myself always debating what is enough vs. too much in his schedule.
This year we have the option of extending his usual day by an hour, taking him from 1:30pm to 2:30pm, where instead of that hour continuing to serve as his quiet/decompressing time from school at home, it would be replaced with an active activity like gymnastics/sports/dance.
While I like the idea of him getting to do those fun activities at school as part of one big block of school (fewer transitions than us tacking those activities on in the late afternoons like we've done previously), I'm concerned that he will be too tired that last hour, leading to my greater concern of him having to possibly experience those dysregulated moments at school.
I find myself rationalizing that come Kindergarten the following year, his days will last this long anyway so this would be helping him build up his physical stamina and that instead of protecting him from having to experience possible dysregulated moments at school, allowing him to practice self regulation skills when he's tired and needing them the most.
But if I already know he's that kid working so hard to "keep it together" at school as it is (where thus far he's had little energy left to maintain that same level of self control at home), am I just setting him up to fail?
Should I give him another semester where we honor his usual "quiet time" block and try adding that extra hour next semester, giving him a little more time to navigate his energy levels?
Or just proceed with the extra hour of school, knowing that kids are adaptable and will eventually adjust? Thanks for any thoughts and feedback!
Answer
Hi!
With children like your boy it is important to keep in mind how many NEW things we are incorporating to their schedule. Anything that disrupts or places them into a new schedule or transition creates overstimulation. It doesn't matter whether it's good and fun or hard and sad.
BACK to school has multiple new things to adjust to, for example:
1. New Teacher
2. New Classmates
3. New Subjects
4. New Schedule
5. New clothes (actually this one you can keep the same, I recommend using his old stuff from last year at least for the first month of school)
6. New Rules and expectations
I could keep going...
SO my recommendation is to keep the old way of handling after school until the NEW transition back to school settles down (approx.. 45 days). Then and only then I recommend adding one activity at a time.
Long day in Kindergarten is different from school and activity this year. The kindergarten class is set up with routines and expectations so it will be smoother. It will just seem like school.
With class and then going to an activity his brain and body knows that something is ending and starting.