The Question:
Do kindergarten teachers, who teach full day, have a rest time?
If so, what does it look like?
The Answers:
Kristi
We did nap or “rest” time until mid October. It helped the students transition. The kiddos would bring in a towel or blanket, no mat, and have a rest time. They could lay on the carpet or sit with their heads down at their table. They didn’t have to sleep, just rest, and no talking or moving around.
Noelle
We have never done rest/nap or any of that. Our kids go home at 1:45 and they are fine.
Jessie
We have quiet time! The students had a hard time sleeping so we modified it.
Ginger
I think it would be great at least for half of the year, but our district does not allow it.
Cynthia
We do not have a rest time either. Not allowed.
Diahann
In my class, We would have “Rest & Relax” time after recess. This was just quiet time where the kids would/could sit or lay if they chose, reading a book. It helped them to re-center their energy for a productive afternoon. However, this would have not been acceptable county wise.
Judy
We have nap/rest time as an option until the end of November. How long it goes depends on the kids. This year most of my kids were not resting by the end of Sept., but a few were asking for a nap on into December.
Marybeth
We’re not allowed rest time either. And, quite honestly, there’s no time for it with everything that needs to be covered now. We just get priority for afternoon preps and specials, so the bulk of their academic time is in the morning. PE, Art, Music, and recess is in the afternoon, and during their afternoon snack time, lights are out and we play a few Tumblebooks on the Smartboard. That’s the closest thing to quiet time they get.
Laren
we have a short time through the month of September. no mats or towels, just cooling down after lunch and recess. we play music or let them look at a book.
Melea
We have a quiet time all year. Each child brings a beach towel that is taken home to be washed every 2 weeks. Our rest time lasts 20 min in the afternoon. Some years I have up to 8 students fall asleep on a daily basis. I play classic music, relaxing music or stories on CD.
Karin
Haven’t had rest time in 10 years. Really there is no time. We do have a short snack time where it’s quiet and it sort of centers them before we teach math. With Common Core they have way to much to learn to stop for naps. Reading level of instructional c or d by the end of the year. The first month some have trouble adjusting to this full schedule but now they are fine.
Nikki
For the first few months, we have DEAR time-Drop everything and rest. Heads down on the table. This is for about 20 or so minutes. After that, we have DEAR time, Drop everything and read. No talking, just reading. This is the time I do assessments.
Gini
We have a rest time! We are on our mats for 45 minutes each day. As the year progresses and the needs of the children change, we may shorten it or do away with it. This year, we are still napping. We usually have at least 15 of our 22 go to sleep…drool on the mat, thumb in the mouth, sound asleep. Research shows these little guys need that rest time to help their little brains process all they have learned!
Karen
We are not allowed to call it “rest” but can allow them to have a quiet time where they can take a break. We have to provide them with quiet academic activity though so those who don’t want a break can be kept “engaged” during this time.
Jennifer Thompson
Ashley
We rest for the month of September but we have an early K program so do not have any 4 year olds. I think if you start with 4 and 5 year olds you should rest until December.
Chantal
We begin at 8:05, recess for 15 min, lunch 45 min, and they go home at 1:50. We have never had rest time. I’m in NB, Canada. Our K students have to turn 5 by December 31 of the school year to start K. I find that this time of the year some of them are done, pooped out!!
Gail
We have a rest time! 45 minutes on mats. almost all go to sleep-many are up early in the morning to catch a bus. They need it.
Denise
We are full day and have no rest time and in our county-made schedule there is no time for rest time. I tell my parents in the beginning of the year there is no rest time and to get their kids to bed early at night.
Tina
No rest time for us. We have about 10 min. after recess with the lights off and the kids are at their tables. I read to them. They can rest their heads on the table if they’d like. At the beginning of the year, I have some that fall asleep in the car on the way home, but they get used to it. I try to keep reading, writing, math in the morning as much as possible. Our principal has been good about keeping Kdg. specials in the afternoon, because their minds are just too tired by then. Not that they don’t need their minds to perform in specials…..just that “specials” aren’t on the standardized tests.
Celina
No rest time for us. Since they eat lunch at 10:45, we give them a snack while watching a 5 minute educational video at the VERY end of the day. They know if we don’t get work finished, we don’t get snack time.
Catherine
This is my first year teaching full day K after many years of half day. We have a “relaxation time” that lasts for 30 minutes. The children bring in beach towels and they lie down, lights off and classical music playing. They really need this brain break, especially at the beginning of the year. If we skip this time for any reason, they miss it!
Stacy
There is a lot of research on what the brain is doing while kids are resting or sleeping! I have rest time at the beginning of year, mats, towels, lights out and soft music. I pass out books once they are settled. Many sleep the first bit. We stop doing it once they show signs of not needing it!
Karen
No rest time for us. Our day is jam packed.
Melissa
We do a rest time with mats for about the first week. Most of our students do not sleep. After the first week or two we just don’t have enough time with everything we are expected to teach.
Julie
We had it taken away and boy…do these babies need it back! They get grumpy, tear up and sometimes fall asleep sitting up at circle. When I co-taught, the other teacher even had a baby who stuck her head and arms in a cubby (during pack up time) and went to sleep! Lol!
Sarah
At the beginning or the year we have quiet time. Depending on the group (if kids are really utilizing it or still falling asleep) that goes away anywhere from November-December. Then we do “Read To Self” (from Daily 5) in a chosen spot of the room – desk or floor – for the rest of the year. Lights are still off, quiet music still plays, but reading is the goal. A few will still rest, especially this time of year when they are up a little later and worn out from t-ball!
Kimberly
No time for rest in our day. Some days I wish there was!
Chaya Phillips
Gayla
I’m not a K teacher, I am a K mother. My son is in Gini Sellers’ (commented above) class. My son is almost 7 and he is one of her students that goes sound asleep at rest time. I appreciate that they still have rest time because I know how important rest is their bodies and brains. There are so many little ones that don’t get the proper sleep at home -for what ever reason (my son is not one of them he gets 10 hours every night). So to benefit the children, they need rest time.
Stacy
Keep your rest time! I know there is research out there that supports rest time as the brain is not idle during rest or even sleep. You know what is best for your kids!
Megan
We do not have any rest time. My students don’t actually seem to need it. When I taught in a title one school though I felt very strongly that that specific group of kids I had that year needed it.
Joan
We start out with rest time in the beginning of the year and by March it goes by the wayside. Some children actually fall asleep.
Sara
This is our 6th year of full day and we do not have any rest time in our schedule. Never have! I could use it!!
Denise
We have a 30 minute rest time every day all year. Even here in May some are still sleeping. If they do not wake up when the bell goes off, I let them sleep. I use this time to do some of my individual assessments that are required with the ones that are not sleeping. After January, on Fridays, they are allowed to quietly look at a book.
LaTanya Sothern
Jennifer
If children get enough sleep at night by kindergarten they should not need a nap. In my first school we did not have rest time. I would make my students put their head down at their seat while we did a bathroom break. The first part of the year I would have a handful that would fall asleep. As the year progressed less would. In my second school parents pitched such a fit for “naps” when we first went to full day that we had to have a half hour for rest. Most of the students didn’t need it so we would read books. I used this time to work one-on-one with students that needed help. As the years went on, we were able to do only 15 minutes at the beginning of the year. After Winter break, we no long do rest time.
Nancy
We have a short one after recess at their seats. I use it for time for them to get drinks and use the restroom. They do not like it, but they just need some time to adjust back from recess. I need that time too !!! . They do not sleep and they are tired especially at the beginning! Very tired!!! I put on quiet music and use class dojo points as an incentive to stay quiet.
Debbie
We haven’t had rest time in 10 years in my county. I wish for a little of it, because I think they need it for just a few minutes, especially at first. But, NOT in my county!!!
Susan
Full day, no rest time. No time for it with our curriculum!
Linda
No rest time in our full day program.
Lynn
We have full-day kindergarten, and do not have any rest time. When we used to do rest time, it always felt like punishment. Perhaps one child fell asleep, and I spent the entire time saying, “Shhh”. As a parent, when one of my children napped in school, it took forever to get her to go to bed at night. I’m not a fan of napping in kindergarten!
Lisa
Our district did away with nap time 8 years ago. Our day is so packed, I couldn’t IMAGINE trying to fit it in there. There is no snack, either.
Kelly
Full day- we haven’t had rest time in at least 10 years.
Lori
Full day…no rest time….no time with our schedule and curriculum
Bethany
We have rest, write, watch or read for 30 minutes. I put a Tumblebook on the smart board, some kids play iPads. Differentiate your rest time for what each kid needs.
Clair
I’ve been teaching 5k in my district for 10 years…We’ve never had rest time.
Edie
At the beginning of the year we have “Rest and Read” for about 20 minutes (sometimes longer) after lunch. That lasts until about December, then the kids have much more stamina to get through the day. We often do a quiet reading/writing time right after lunch, with the lights down and soft music playing.. mostly so the teacher can get some rest!!
Christina
We use to. Too much to teach now. It sucks. They still need it.
Jackie
No rest time even though they really need it that first month.
Angela
We have full day with a 20-30 min rest/quiet time. over 1/2 of my class falls asleep. If we skip a day they fall asleep on the bus.
Robyn
We have rest time. We begin at 7:50 and end at 3:15. We will finish on the 28th of May. I have sleepers everyday. We have 50 kindergarten students in our building, and with a 30 minute rest period, we still have the highest test scores in the district. Fortunately, our administration understands that we know what children need at this age.
Erin
We have about 20 minutes of “quiet time” with rest mats for at least the first half of the year. I have phased it out by now. They need it early on!
Heather
I cannot believe people have time for 45 min naps/rest! We go full day 8:20-2:30 with no nap & we still have a hard time fitting everything in. I’d love to see a schedule & the curriculum for the counties having 45 min naps!
Tina
Full day and no nap or rest time.
Stephanie
Full day 7:45-2:15 with fifteen min of rest on mats after lunch then 15 min quiet reading on maps, if they choose. Many just want to rest. A few still fall asleep every day. They always complain about getting hurt at lunch (you know, minor scrapes and bumps), and I tell them that rest time is the best time for healing those things. I think I may call it something cute next year to make it more appealing to a five year old.
Lisa
I’ve been teaching full day K for 11 years. Our school district supports the developmentally appropriateness of rest time. They even purchase mats for us every year. Each teacher is given the discretion to choose how long and what happens during that time. My rest time is 20 minutes. We dim the lights, play quiet music from different cultures around the world, and the kids can choose to read, color, write, or rest. Some days that is when we watch a movie that aligns with the curriculum.
Denise
We don’t have a specific rest time. But when the afternoon gets crazy, cause they’re all so tired. I have them put their heads down for a little bit. Some fall asleep. But our schedule is so packed, we don’t have time for a regular nap time.
Rhonda
It makes me sad to see teachers say they don’t have time but the children need rest.
Rhonda
You don’t snooze, you lose. And nowhere in the world do young students sleep less…
Deb
Full day with no rest time!
Jen
We watch pbskids.com for 20 minutes after lunch everyday. The kids need the break and so do I! They bring something soft to relax with and can sit at tables in our reading corner, in my rocking chair, but most lay on the carpet. Nobody has ever slept but they are revived after.
Dale
No rest time but when they come in from recess I do play 2 IZ songs to calm them down. I still have kids that come back and ask me to play the music so they can relax to it.
Suzi
Full day and no rest time. Too much to do!
Paula
I am a firm believer in down time for this age group. The demands placed on them these days can be very taxing for many of them. Quiet time, rest time, peaceful time (whatever it is called) can give them a chance to recharge and be more prepared for the afternoon. I, personally, appreciate that your principal sees the need for it. Many businesses now have “relaxation rooms” for their employees. The research shows that they are more productive after 15-20 minutes of down time in the day! My students laid on rugs and then we do a couple of stretches as we get up.
Jessica
Yes we do!!!!!!! After lunch, just 30 minutes. Many still fall asleep. They do so much better in the afternoon with just a little break. Every time I’ve tried to take it away over the years they fall apart & we get even less done!
Mary
Full day our rest time is quiet time on carpet . . . . Starting with 20 minutes of books I have a small room and getting to lay down and rest was a challenge this way we are altogether . . . .
Carolynne
We use D.E.A.R. time on towels to allow the children to relax and read!
Tonya
No rest for Pre-k or K in our district.
Jodi
We did not in the last county I taught but we do here. At the beginning of year, kids lay on towels. Now they quietly draw, write, or read.
Sylvia
Naptime was taken away from us after the first 9 weeks this year, but we can still have 15 min. of “down time” quiet reading or resting heads on the table, etc.
Jaydee
We still have rest time. It is important for the students and the teachers. My principal firmly believes in rest time. Most of the schools in the district have taken this time away to include more instructional time. We will continue to have rest time at my school!
Diane
We have rest time in K. About 25% of my kids still fall asleep. I’ve cut it back from 30 to 20 minutes this time of year. It is definitely good for the kids to have down time at this age.
Darla
Towels or mats, books, soft music; low lights at first, then lights out, books down, lying down for twenty minutes. After that, the few that aren’t sleeping may get up and do something quiet at the tables. Everyone up shortly after that. They are recharged!
Miss Night’s Marbles
For those saying you don’t have time – is that your admin/district’s decision, or your own? Rested children can learn MORE, and the 20-30 minutes of quiet time is more than repaid by having kids who are relaxed, refreshed, and more able to self-regulate and focus. Having to prod along tired kiddos, or deal with frequent emotional meltdowns (both of which occur from over-stimulation and lack of rest) will steal WAY MORE than 20-30 minutes out of your day. A full-day school experience is exhausting for their little brains and bodies, even if, developmentally, they would no longer need naps in another setting. I’m at a private school with an enriched curriculum, and our kids rest (laying quietly with pillows and soft music) from 20-30 minutes every day. They need it, and know they need it, and they complain if we have to miss it for a special event. It’s not about NAPPING, per se. It’s about relaxing the brains and bodies that work and play so hard all day.
Sue
We start the year with a 15-20 minute rest & relax time. We do beach towels instead of mats. Each class phases out rest time when we feel it is appropriate for our class, but by Thanksgiving at the latest.
Sara
Full day. No rest.
Alyssa
I kept the rest time until around Winter Break and after January it became story time on the rug with a chapter book for 10 minutes. Then went back into academics. It is enough time to calm them down from lunch and get them focused to learn.
Karen Full day, when they come in after lunch, we have a short rest time. As they are resting, I call for them to get drinks and use the restroom. It also is a great time to get some work individually with students.
Gloria
I teach Transitional K and we have a 20 min resting period after lunch. My question: When they fall asleep should I wake them up?
Sarah
Although children may need naps, we don’t have any rest time. We notice there’s a high incidence of 1pm meltdowns, lots of crying, for the first few months of school. We changed our schedule so that we don’t have recess at the end of the day because there were just too many kids crying! They are tired!!! We have music, yoga, or let the children play with math manipulatives at the end of the day.
Janet
We have 10 – 15 minutes of mat time with books. Just a quiet time. The mats help them spread out in the room and have their own space.
Kirsten
Quiet music, lights off, personal towels (vs mats) and book box time which includes their 5 choice books and writing journals if they have something to finish or write. This is after recess and allows for bathroom and water breaks.
Pamela
We do not have rest time. Have not for years. We barely get everything in as it is. Rest time sounds like a good thing.
Miss Night’s Marbles
Just thinking – those of you not allowed to have rest time – could you sneak it in as “silent reading” or “quiet journal” time?
Tina
I completely agree that children need down time. After recess in my classroom, children find a comfortable spot on the carpet and listen to a read aloud. Many of the students lay down and close their eyes and just listen to the story. I have parents sign up and read to the students and somedays I read. It has been a great way for parents to be involved.
Melinda Bachman
I have TK and we have daily rest time. Some days at the tables before our computer or library time and the other days a little longer with stretching out. I play quiet music and they also have bathroom, water breaks. A few sleep and I let them sleep, while the others continue on a project they choose or look at books in a quiet environment.
Suzanne
Personally I think rest time is terribly important. We had to give up nap time quite a few years ago because, they told us, there wasn’t time for it anymore. But we saw great disadvantages to not having it because so many of our children physically and mentally needed that time to sleep or simply flat-out rest their bodies. 15 minutes of heads down on the table mostly leads, I believe, to sore necks and backs and grumpy kids.
Shanna
I had a Read, Write, or Rest time. I had some that would sleep and needed it. Others wrote in journals or read. It worked like a charm. I pulled individual students at this time for assessments.
Cindy
Our Ks don’t have a rest time. I have mine rest their heads for 5 min. after lunch and 5 min. after recess. Any more than that and some fall asleep and are hard to wake up.
Amy
We have rest time in my class. So many of my kids don’t go to bed til 10 or later and boy can you tell!!
Denise
I have been teaching them to lay on their backs, hands on their bellies, and just do some deep breathing for about ten minutes. I provide the script for “breathe in, breathe out”, speaking to them in a soft voice. It models composure, and valuing the body’s need for rest mid-day. It feels a lot like a yoga studio for about ten minutes. My rationale is that sometimes they will need the skill to self-soothe, or get ready to go to bed, and they will own the skill if we practice it daily in kindergarten. So, ten minutes of a darkened room, a prescribed pose, and a soft teacher voice orchestrating the breathing. They often look forward to it after a noisy and frenetic lunch room experience.
Anne Aycock Pulley
I have full day, 1/2 TK and 1/2 kindergarten. Every day we lay down after lunch recess for about 10 min. I feel they need the time to calm down and relax after all the hard play outside (and my 2 TK boys who have a 45 min. bus ride in the morning really need it!
Teresa
I have been teaching full day kinder for 5 years with a short 15 minute rest time after lunch recess but kids are at tables with heads down. We play quiet music and sometimes kids fall asleep at their tables and I let them. I keep the curriculum light right after lunch.
Kasey
I believe in the importance of rest time, plus we are an early start school- kids arrive at 7:25. But this year there was nothing I could do to get a few of them to be quiet or calm during this time. It became too much of a management issue and I had to stop. Any suggestions for those kids who just can’t handle it (although need it).
Tona
Not anymore, but I do some reading with the lights out.
Randy
Admin..says no rest ..
Margaret
I have rest time all year…the second part of the year it’s reading book time and /or rest time journals.
We have a long day also. Start at 7:50 and go until 3:15.
Kelly We used to have a 20 minute rest time and I would read a chapter book to the kids but we don’t have time any more
Barbara Draeger
I teach full day and we have a 20 minute “quiet time”. The kinders can take their book boxes to their cots and I play quiet music to relax by. I like to do some of my evaluations then. I agree, some of my kinders are very tired and just need a mental break. They are pushed so hard.
Pamela
I think a rest time is still a good idea. We push kids too hard for too long. Give them a moment to chill. At a table isn’t the same.
Melissa
Full day and we have no rest time. We are required to spend a certain amount of time on reading, basically all morning, then lunch, an hour of math, and then with what is left we have to get in science, recess, and snack. And our kids have a 40 minute special class in the afternoon (gym, library, music, or art).
Pamela
To have accreditation, you have to have 20 minutes rest time.
Monica
We do not have rest. I use to start off with rest and change it to silent reading time after Christmas.
Karla
We rest for first 1/2 of year. Its longer to start with, 25-30 min and goes down to 20 or so. We start to get rid of it around January, but it depends on the kids and how well they do without it. If I still have sleepers, I keep it longer. If no sleepers it goes away sooner.
Heather
No rest time here. Our morning starts with reading/writing from 9:00-10:45, then recess and lunch until 11:45, more reading, an hour of math, 45 minutes of specials (art, music, etc.), then reading intervention time. they’re lucky if they even get 20 minutes of free play time before they go home at 3:00.
Susan
Lynn
NO. and we should. We also don’t have snack time either. And that’s a crime.
Julie
We rest 20-25 minutes daily – a bath towel instead of a mat. It used to be a requirement here, but that may have changed long ago. I think they need it.
Michelle
I think every grade should rest on mats every day – mostly for the teachers.
Dana
Our K4 does 45 min in the beginning of the year and moves to 1/2 hour on mats with books by the end. K5 is similar, but depends on the teacher. This quiet time is also used for individual or small group work time. We never had aides before this year, so this was a good work time for those who don’t fall asleep. And we still have sleepers
Amy
I call my 30 min quiet time after recess “Read, Write, Rest”: students lay on their own beach towel and can choose from the following quiet activities: resting, reading, coloring, drawing, writing on dry erase boards or magna doodles. During this time I play peaceful music. I have had a few students fall asleep. I think this rest time is a crucial part of the day. These kiddos are only 5 (or 6)!
Karen
Oh yes they do!!! As a mommy and a teacher! They do need that rest time! Some kids don’t although they still need time to calm down!! My oldest is in third grade and still rests after school! Some kids need it!
Leischen
No rest time… Not allowed, we are required to have a day filled with rigor.
Charisse
We do not have rest time.
Kelli
I’ve been teaching for 16 years in full day K…never had a rest time. But I have always built in some kind of down time for 15 min or so. Quiet book time, quick snack time, there are great on-line books, put on a story on our Promethean Board, yoga video, etc.
Elaine
I have a 30 minute rest time. The kids have to sit or lie on their blankets but they can look at books, draw or play with one toy.
Kathrene
Children need to lie down and close their eyes and rest. Many get over stimulated. Also naps have been proven to have health benefits for adults so of course children need to rest.
Dylana
I have a rest time at the beginning of the year and I wean them off of it after a few weeks. Kindergartners are expected to read, write, add and subtract by the end of the year. What we used to do in first grade is now kinder, who has time to take a nap?
Sheryl
I have been in Kindergarten for 20 years…20 years of wonderful nap time! All learning is in the morning…extended recess…themes for 1/2 hour and then 2:00-2:45 on mats with their blankies and a favorite stuffed animal. I pick a secret silent person…whom I watch…if they lay still (I don’t force them to sleep) they can choose (list gets added to as the year progresses) 1. wake up early 2. movie day 3. look at books 4. play on computer with headphones 5. candy box pick 6. play on mat 7. change nap spots 8. new fav be the teacher and write wigglers name on the board…they are much stricter than I am…I can REALLY get work done then!!! p.s. if they do not lay still…I put their popsicle stick back in the cup…I do not tell the class who it was.
Marilyn
We have rest time at the end of the day. A great way to allow them time to calm down. Many still go to sleep!
Julie
My old school we did but the school i am at now absolutely not! It’s not academic, so it won’t fly!
Miss Bindergarten's Classroom 
My kids have 5 full days of Kindergarten from 8:00 until 3:15. We never stop and they do great! The amount of learning is amazing. But I think they crash and burn when they get home!
Thanks for your thoughts, Patti!
Rest time for my full day k’ers is a nice, quiet, peaceful down time… a time to daydream, process, cool down. Yes, I do have wigglers. I tell them to “curl up” like a puppy… to let their muscles and brain relax… calm and settle… If I am quiet and calm, so are they. In full day K, there is SO much UP time! Having “too much to do” simply means rest time is even more needed!! I do have kids come over to me for quiet reading… one, two, or a few. We whisper. When it’s time to get up, we transition with opening the shades, but no lights on… kind of yoga-esque…. then we have a story. WE CREATE THE WORLD WE WANT…. my classroom is my “Little World” so I am careful with it.