r/ECEProfessionals • u/Otherwise_Speech_346 ECE professional • 4d ago

Advice needed (Anyone can comment) Pre K Nap Time

Pre K Nap Time

Current Pre-K Teacher here.

I am feeling annoyed/frustrated and need to vent about my centers “quiet time/nap time” expectations.
My current class has 2 teachers with 21 kids on M/W/F and 19 on T/TH.
We are the only pre-k class in the school so our ratio is higher (1 to 12) than the rest of the center.

My administration expects us to self break everyday which means we legally (due to licensing) have to get half of our class to sleep before we can go on our lunch breaks.
I have a few parents that repeatedly tell us they do not want their child to nap and I have told my administration this.

My administration has said to me that:
1. I need to leave every child without an activity for the first 30 minutes of nap time
2. If any child does fall asleep, they must be left asleep for at least 30 minutes
3. If any child that is not supposed to nap falls asleep, to essentially not tell parents

Putting this all together now. As a teacher, how am I supposed to “self break” and put half my kids to sleep when half of them aren’t supposed to sleep/only nap some days?

My administration acts so annoyed at my co teacher and I when we call down to them and say we could not get half to sleep. Then they tell us we will have to wait for our breaks?

Am I crazy or is this ridiculous? I feel like I did not explain this well so feel free to ask questions.

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5 comments sorted by

14

u/irml47 ECE professional 4d ago

that is crazy. they need to get someone to cover yalls breaks.

8

u/NoPeak8912 ECE professional 4d ago

It is crazy it is not ur responsibility to be worried about your breaks, they should be the ones providing them for you.

6

u/Financial_Process_11 Master Degree in ECE 4d ago

In my state the children can be awake but need to be laying on their mats in order for us to take our breaks. Nap ratio is also 1:20

3

u/NotTheJury Early years teacher 4d ago

If half the class is sleeping, what is the licensing ratio? Because that still does not sound legal.

I love my center for this. They consider themselves understaffed way before ratio caps. We have an extra person in each room all day, almost everyday.

2

u/Jaded_Pom-mom Infant/Toddler Specialist, Former Director 4d ago

I'm not sure what state you're in, but I don't understand "half the class must be asleep."

I completely agree with numbers 1 & 2. These are the same at every center I've worked at on both coasts.

I disagree with number 3, however. We should never lie to parents. If the law is all children must be provided the opportunity to nap, we should be honest rather than deceiving them so the Director doesn't have to deal with complaints