After A Long Seven-Hour Day, Have You Ever Noticed A...

After a long seven-hour day, have you ever noticed a kindergartner who seems extremely exhausted? Their brains have been powered on all day and haven’t had the time to fully recharge. Are they sleep deprived, we wonder? Therefore, while researching many sources, a study was found which focused on four and five-year-old’s memory following a nap. According to Kurdziela, Duclosb, Spencer (2013), study results demonstrated that children had better memory recall following a nap than when they had been kept awake. Therefore, the study concluded that children functioned better when they received a nap during the day. Young children between the ages of five and six benefit emotionally, cognitively, socially, and physically after brief rest†¦show more content†¦Choice of Topic In 2012, my son attended Kindergarten; the school day started at 8:30 a.m. and school dismissed at 3:15 p.m. At pick up time, he displayed a tired look from his face and his body posture indicated that he was very tired. However, I understood why he was tired. He had attended school for seven hours and did not receive a nap or time to relax his brain. Although he did not receive a nap during the school day, he managed to get a nap before bedtime. Occasionally, the nap before bedtime caused other issues; he was not sleepy when it was time for bed. Therefore, on certain nights he did not receive more than 10 hours of sleep. The lack of sleep, my son suffered caused him to become moody throughout the day. Therefore, the mood swings lead to emotional and behavioral outbursts that lasted throughout the school day. However, I catered to his lack of sleep. At bedtime, he would say he was thirsty, so I would give him a glass of water. Five minutes later, he was back in the room with another excuse. Yet over the years, the excuse became more clever, but limitations had to be set. I searched many websites for answers on how to assist a Kindergartener who is transitioning from receiving a nap to receiving no nap at all. Research suggests I set an earlier bedtime, create a consistent wake up time and, if that did not work, my next step was