Day care - moving rooms

[vmars]

So apparently DS is moving to a new room in January, but no one has discussed this with me. The only reason i know is because they announced it in the daycare newsletter. He is currently in the infants room, but per the newsletter they are getting 4 new kids so i guess 4 kids had to leave.

My friend's son was also moved to the room a month ago, but he is 5 months older than DS. She said she doesn't like the room as much and doesn't think the teachers are as good.

That aside, the kids need to all nap at the same time, be able to self feed and sleep on a mat on the floor. DS is just beginning to use a straw cup at home but at DC has only had bottles, still naps 2x a day and sleeps in a crib (he's an active sleeper so this mat thing could be a disaster). My friend's son was also spending some of his time in the other room before fully transitioning, to my knowledge this has not happened yet with DS.

I am annoyed no one has discussed this with me or even mentioned it. DH is picking up DS today, but he will ask. Has anyone else gone through anything similar? What does your dc do to prep kids for a new room? When did your kids move to the toddler room?

[Deleted]

That would bug me they haven't discussed it with you.  I would definitely want to learn more about the new room and give him some time to adjust.

B moved to Older Infants at 12 months and was there for six months.  It was connected to the Infant room but had the kids eat at tables together, nap at the same time and more advanced activities.  I think the guideline for moving into that room is 12 months old or walking.  He did great there, especially with napping.  His naps were very inconsistent in the younger room.

At 18 months he moved to the Toddler Room.  They drink out of regular cups and do tons of activities and have gym and music class.

With each transition he spent a week "visiting" the next room, spending more and more time there each day.

[ssmjlm]

They start with short visits, then move into being over there for snack, then eventually lunch and nap, then the whole day. It's usually a 1-2 week process depending on space and the kid.

They usually tell us a day or 2 beforehand, we have to sign a form.

TBH though, our infant room IMO did a great job of prepping us for the toddler room. They start getting the bottles in line with snack time, ask us to do cups with lunch, etc. The transition went well and actually made cutting bottles and daytime BFing cold turkey.

[oswin]

It would bother me to find out in the newsletter, but I think they probably wouldn't move him up if they weren't willing to deal with transitioning the things you mentioned. DD moved at the beginning of this month at 13 months to the Toddlers room (most kids move closer to 15 months) and has been completely fine. Her napping was irregular in the Later Infants room but she does one long nap now no problem. We had dropped bottles already, so that wasn't an issue, and I suspect it won't take long for your DS (we were successful at dropping bottles and formula cold turkey, going to straw cups with WCM the week she turned one). And although they say the Toddlers are supposed to feed themselves, DD still can't use a spoon (duh, she's 13.5 months) and doesn't starve - I assume the teacher(s) help out the younger ones when the meal is best eaten with a spoon. We've been advised to practice spoon feeding at home but that it's normal where she's at now.

[vmars]

Yeah this all sounds like a last minute decision - like they had an influx of kids sign up and now they have to move some of the younger kids over. It's fine, but I would have liked to have been told. The only way I know any details about the other room is because my friend's son is there already. Otherwise I would have been in the dark.

[mpc]

How old is your DS? It's possible he has been visiting the new class recently, or maybe he will between now and when he moves up officially. Moving from infant to toddler room is a big change, but from what I've seen the kids seem to handle it pretty well. My son wouldn't even self-feed in the infant room, and by his second day in the new class his teacher texted me a picture of him picking up his own food. Peer pressure works wonders.

[shellbear09]

We have infants until a year, then next room move is 18 months and so on every 6 months for a bit. When were you expecting to move? I knew the move at a year was coming and it was still hard to do. The second move came a month early and I freaked out a bit at first but it ended up being great.

I really would have been pissed about it being in the newsletter and not discussed with me. So yeah I would ask why you were not notified. I think that first move from infants is hard on parents or at least it was on me. My center also does a transition period of a couple weeks where they can come back to the old room throughout the day if necessary for naps or bottles etc.

Really you have all the power on when he moves if they are trying to do it earlier than expected. I was talking to one of dd's teachers the other day and she reminded me of this when I asked if she thought we would move early to the next room.

[olivesyou]

I'd be surprised and not very happy. We got a letter home about 1 month before the transition explaining how things are different and why they feel littleOlive is ready. It was the standard 1 nap a day, eating/feeding themselves table food, must be walking. They also gave us some guidelines like they kids are required to shoes in that room, they sleep on a cot (not a mat or crib), they will spend more time outside or in the gym, they sit for circle time, etc. Then for a few weeks he spent some time each day in the new room. They invited us to come hang out and meet the teachers in that room, which we took them up on. We spent about an hour with him in the new room, it was so cool to see him participate with the big kids and do circle time, sit at the big table etc. They had an official day we were to start dropping him off/picking him up in the new room, it was a very smooth transition and I felt I was very well informed.

[arch01]

Finding out in a newsletter really wouldn't bother me, but I knew from the beginning roughly when transitions were.

Our center does a 1 week transition period where they spend chunks of time in the new room, graduating to 1/2 and full days. This transition is taking longer (between Toddler IIs and Threes) because of ratios-they've been bumping him up to Threes when they are over ratio.

DS is also an active sleeper and went from a crib at DC to a cot just fine. We were also told no bottles in the Waddlers room, which I balked at, but peer pressure won in DS' case and he did just fine with a sippy cup.

[thebreakfastclub]

At my center, the common transition to the Toddler room is 12 months, assuming the child is off of bottles. DS began napping on a cot in the infant room at 10 months.

He was not drinking bottles at DC by 12 months, besides a morning one at home(and only to use up formula). He adapted to one nap right away and frankly, it was a huge improvement.

My DC preps for room transitions over several days. We got a transition letter to explain, the lead teacher reviewed it with us in advance, and we then met the new lead toddler teacher and checked out the room. Day 1 is spending a couple of hours in the new room, day 2 is more playing time + snack, day 3 is most of the day with nap, etc. The next week, DS started in his new room.

DS was tentative the first couple of days, and then he mixed right in. He could not walk until 14 months, but it didn't stop him.

[hocus2]

We get a note about moves a month or so before they happen. Many kids do better with the single nap because everyone is napping and the room is quiet. It is odd they didn't tell you but other than that I find nothing surprising about moving a child who is 1 into the 1-2 room. I am sure the staff is experienced at addressing the feeding and sleeping concerns you mention. My son sleeps on a coat at daycare and sleeps in a crib at home. It has never been an issue.

We only started daycare at 2 and so the transition from the 2 to 3's room wasn't so drastic. He did visits for a week or so to get to know the teachers. His transition was a bit rocky because there are more kids in the 3's room and he gets kind of worked up when everyone is there but I don't think waiting any longer would have helped. We'll transition to the final pre-k room over the summer. Typically about half the class moves up July as the oldest kids go to camp vs. staying one last summer. The rest of the kids move up in September when all the kindergarten bound kids have moved on. I'm not sure if we'll be in the July or September move up group. I'll probably find out in June.

[vmars]

DH just picked up DS and they said that they are going to start transitioning him in January. My friend just told me that there is no head teacher in the next room. They only have one assistant there until 12 and then a teenager who is still in high school and one other assistant there for the rest of the day. She said the morning teacher is good but she's not impressed with the other teachers.