By Caroline Seabolt
For the past month, I have been
working with a kindergartener named Lynell who, at first, could not recognize his own
name. Lynell was incredibly sweet
but was distracted and behind from too many absences at school. He also does not sleep at
night. Constantly, the teachers in
the classroom tell Lynell to “wake up” and to go to bed at
a "good" hour. But honestly, how
much control does a kindergartener have over when they go to bed? The other day when I was having trouble
getting Lynell to focus, he responded that he was sleepy. I asked him what time he went
to bed and he muttered “one in the morning.” Unfortunately, I can’t tell whether Lynell is purposely not
going to bed or his mother is keeping him up, but either way it is affecting
his performance in school. I’ve
talked to some other tutors about this issue I’ve been having and they tell me that they encounter the same problem.
As DC Reads tutors, we educate parents on how to include literacy in
their children’s lives outside of the classroom. But what about getting enough sleep? Do parents know how much sleep their
child is supposed to be getting a night?
These types of facts are crucial to make sure children get the most out
of their classroom experience. I
would suggest at our next literacy event, we stress the importance of sleep to
parents so children, like Lynell, can finally come to school well rested and
ready to learn.
