3.15.2004
Time May Be Up for Naps in Pre-K Class
By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 15, 2004; Page A01
After lunch and snacks, alphabet and story times, the lights go off. Sixteen tiny bodies sprawl on a sea of red foam mats, the sounds of classical piano coaxing them to sleep.
And there they stay, tucked under Spider-Man and Powerpuff Girls blankets, until teacher Chantay Wynn switches on the lights 45 minutes later. "Come on, get up," Wynn chides 4-year-old Steven Dieu, lifting him from his mat. "Open your eyes."
It's a daily ritual for the pre-kindergarten students at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington, as it is at countless schools across the country. But in the increasingly urgent world of public education, is it a luxury that 4-year-olds no longer can afford?
...
"They can't be babied," she said. "These are young minds. We have to take advantage of this early stage when they grasp everything."
By Nancy Trejos
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 15, 2004; Page A01
After lunch and snacks, alphabet and story times, the lights go off. Sixteen tiny bodies sprawl on a sea of red foam mats, the sounds of classical piano coaxing them to sleep.
And there they stay, tucked under Spider-Man and Powerpuff Girls blankets, until teacher Chantay Wynn switches on the lights 45 minutes later. "Come on, get up," Wynn chides 4-year-old Steven Dieu, lifting him from his mat. "Open your eyes."
It's a daily ritual for the pre-kindergarten students at Hoffman-Boston Elementary School in Arlington, as it is at countless schools across the country. But in the increasingly urgent world of public education, is it a luxury that 4-year-olds no longer can afford?
...
"They can't be babied," she said. "These are young minds. We have to take advantage of this early stage when they grasp everything."
