Weaning a five year old

And no, I'm not talking about the boob. I'm talking about the bed. My five year old has this really bad habit of needing a ton of sleep. Apparently, she's an apparition, belonging in the same category with the famed Lochness monster, Big Foot, or Chupacabra. It has actually become quite embarrassing to explain to friends and acquaintances that yes, my five and a half year old daughter is still taking naps. Gloriously long naps, in fact. And given where we are in the school year, the inevitable question has been bouncing around in my brain for a few weeks. How is she going to make it next year when she has to be at school during naptime? I have visions of her, with her eyes all glazed over trying to keep up with her friends in first grade. To set my mind at ease that my plan of getting her off the naps over the summer was a good one, I spoke to her teacher. I asked her if I should start weaning her from her naps now. She promptly broke my heart and informed me that summer doesn't count. Which totally makes sense because you're so far out of a routine during the summers. And that yes, I should start now. A couple days a week. Quiet time but NO sleeping. *sigh* This is one of those situations as a parent where the statement "It'll be harder on me than it is on you", just might ring true.

So, today was day one. I didn't tell her about the plan until after Bennett had gone down for his nap. We did her AR quiz on the computer and then I broke the news to her that she was not going to be napping. I told her that she could stay on the computer and work on the Starfall website, she could read books, or play with her Leapster, but that there were two rules. She had to be quiet and there could be absolutely no sleeping. She agreed and was excited to be unleashed on the Starfall website.

She ended up spending about an hour on the website and just as I was worried that she might actually have fallen asleep at the computer, she comes out and informs me that "if it gets really quiet up there, it might be because she fell asleep". I'll admit it, I began to panic a little. I reinforced the fact that she was not supposed to be sleeping and asked her if she wanted to do some quiet coloring. She said she wanted to finish up on Starfall and then come down and color. Just as I was ready to go get cold water to throw on her, she came downstairs and asked to color. I decided it was time to bring out the big guns, so I asked her if she wanted some snack and set her up in the playroom table with coloring supplies, goldfish and a big glass of APPLE JUICE. If you knew me, you would know that I can count on one hand all the times I've provided my own child with apple juice with no special reason. I was obviously desperate.

Luckily, this was about the time that Bennett woke up, so he managed to pester her into a state of full consciousness until it was time for her to go to ballet. Of course, as soon as she got to ballet, she announced that she DID NOT HAVE A NAP TODAY, which in turn got me the usual head turns and surprised looks from the parents and instructors alike. What can I say? Some people's kids have an uncanny knack for numbers or remembering things from when they were in the womb. Mine needs a lot of sleep. Don't hate me.