Nap Time Alternatives Taking the Nightmare Out of Nap Time 5 Proven Quiet Activities for Nap Time

Not every child will nap on schedule. Some days they’ll happily lie down and go straight to sleep. Other days they are restless and wide awake. Some children just don’t nap. Effective child care providers plan for individual differences in sleep This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA and relaxation times. Partnership and Family Involvement

• It is essential to work in partnership with parents to get input about what happens for their children at home and to share your routines for nap/quiet times. • Family involvement enhances wellbeing and reduces anxiety for children around sleeping in a different environment. Talk about preschool nap time and quiet time with children then stick to your routine so they know what to expect. Older children can discuss why they need to sleep to be healthy and how resting gives them energy. Pre-nap Time Activities

• Slow down the activities before nap time. Transition to sleep time in a familiar way – dim the lights, diffuse some lavender oil, arrange the sleep environment – mats/cushions/blankets. There is however, no way to force a child to sleep. • Educators were asked to share their best quiet time activities for children who think they don’t want to sleep. • Here are their top 5. Read With Your Eyes/Let Your Ears Listen

Encourage children to “rest their eyes” and provide a range of rest time reading books for them to read lying down. Tell a story in a slow, calm way or play an audio story Some children (over 12 months) may have a favorite toy or blanket that they bring from home, that they might cuddle while you read with them. Music to Fall Asleep To Music relaxes • From traditional lullabies to nature sounds or even, for younger children, the white noise of a vacuum cleaner. It might be trial and error to find the right one that works, but played quietly on a loop music calms children and busy educators! • TIP: Search “relaxation music for children” on a free online music streaming platform like Spotify for a range of playlists – from Music Therapist to Mozart Relaxation and Mindfulness • Using a guided meditation or breathing exercises like bunny, snake, elevator calms active children. Try this Daniel Goleman breathing buddies exercise using a soft toy. Our educator’s tell us that trying to stay awake yourself might be the challenge! Resting Areas

• Have designated quiet areas where children know they can go to rest at any time, not just a designated preschool nap time, can be a great way to help busy children unwind. Make them cozy spaces with cushions, a rug, bean bags, soft toys and books. • For younger children, who are not so interested in books, have some sensory bottles – just make sure the lids are super tight or glued on! Quiet Time Boxes

• Boxes with a range of independent activities can be used in quiet areas (or outside if there is a shaded outdoor area). These are great opportunities for observations too – selected activities let children demonstrate a range of problem solving, sorting and classifying or fine motor skills. • Small white boards or laminated sheets (mazes, shapes, dot to dot, I spy game) and whiteboard markers. • Playing with cotton balls – Teaching Mama • Ribbons for Ribbon Play – Hands on as we grow) Quiet Time Boxes continued… • Puzzles – jigsaw puzzles/tangrams, or these great handmade puzzles from laughing kids learn (make them earlier) • Books – ALWAYS books! • Magnets and magnet board • Threading activities • You could also have a designated outside quiet time box with paint brushes (to use with water), chalk for drawing and some small toys for imaginative play • TIP: Label the boxes with the days of the week – so activities are rotated Planning for Individual Differences Planning for Individual Differences

• Just as we plan for individual differences in other areas of the curriculum, we need to take advantage of what we know about individual children as we plan for nap time. Some children prefer one sensory modality over the. • Therefore, the thoughtful teacher will plan for ways to take advantage of the visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile, and olfactory preferences of children during napping time Olfactory Child and Tactile Child

• The teacher could add fragrance to the napping area by putting out a basket of potpourri, setting a solid air freshener where children can smell but not reach it, or using one of the many plug-in scented air fresheners. If the air is dry, try adding a drop of cinnamon or lemon oil to the cool mist humidifier. Invite children to sleep in the good smells and tell you after nap time what they thought they were smelling. • The tactile child may find it helpful to sleep cuddled up with a favorite stuffed animal. It may also be soothing to rub his hands over various textures in a small feel book as he settles down to rest Auditory Child and Visual Child • Children with auditory preferences may find it quieting to listen to soft music or tapes of lullabies. They may also enjoy repeating favorite rest time rhymes and fingerplays as routines before nodding off. After hearing Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon, Kevin put himself to sleep saying good night to his own room full of playthings • The visual child might prefer settling herself with a tiny book tucked under her pillow. And both visual and auditory preferences are addressed if the teacher uses a guided imagery strategy Auditory Child and Visual Child continued… • In guided imagery, the teacher invites children to close their eyes and imagine themselves in various scenarios as she guides them through the image in a soothing, hushed voice. Ideas for guiding imagery are unlimited, but for starters you might try images of lying on the beach: Imagine that you are at the beach. You have been playing in the water and your arms are tired. Your legs are tired. You lie down on the warm, soft sand. A breeze blows over you. It feels so good. You close your eyes and listen to the waves softly washing up on the shore Kinesthetic Child • The kinesthetic child will also enjoy the visual imagery if he is permitted to sway and rock with his mental pictures. Children who need to feel their bodies move may comfort themselves with their own rhythmic body movements. You might even offer a hammock or glider as an alternative napping spot for those children with kinesthetic preferences. • Try pretending to be various animals snuggling down to rest. Pigs wiggle into the mud. Turtles glide into their shells. Ducks hide their heads under soft wings. Rabbits snuggle into downy nests. Butterflies land on a bush and close their wings. Bees cuddle into their hives. Deer lie down in soft, tall grass. Kinesthetic Child continued.. • Most children will enjoy repeating special sleeping verses you find or create together. For example, during a group meeting start the children out with the following verse and invite them to add to the pattern. Repeat the newly revised version at nap time. • Another suggested activity involves creating short relaxation exercises children can do as they lie down on their cots. Start with something like this: Stretch your arms; now stretch your legs; yawn; put your chin on your chest; close your eyes and take a deep, deep breath. Conclusion Try including a lesson plan for resting in your daily schedule. Thinking about nap time as curriculum and planning carefully for individual differences can help take the nightmare out of nap time and make it an enjoyable time of the day for both teachers and young children. Executive Director Alisia Apple Three pictures with caption Caption Five pictures