“Remedies” for Spring Fever

If your child's personality seems to change at this time of year, try not to worry. In spring, a child’s fancy turns to pushing limits and boundaries. The same process that incites spring flowers into what Rilke called “blooming most recklessly” propels children’s instincts for expansion. In the past, people called these surges of energy “spring fever.” Wasn’t it nice when there was a  positive name for it?

At school, when teachers remark “My class was wild today!” it’s a sure sign that the surging spring energy has been hard to contain. Increased physical activity outdoors is an also an age-old remedy for spring fever. Children also need encouragement to run, to climb, and to gambol like newborn lambs and to wear themselves out. How wonderful that we have them working in our school gardens.

Every year, spring in preschool means that a few children will start talking about marrying each other and giggle. Inevitably, a little boy will urinate behind a tree. A whole class will start pushing the boundaries and it can seem like they’ve forgotten about the rules. After reminding themselves that this is only a “seasonal disorder,” teachers have to summon their creativity to provide new projects and challenges to channel the forces of growth exploding within their students.

You may find yourself noticing the budding of new behaviors at home. Sometimes we can take advantage of these times by offering children more responsibility and assign them more challenging roles. Enlist their help with spring cleaning.

Springtime is also a period when we can reflect on limits and engage our children in creating new guidelines that correspond with their spurts of new awareness and growth. Again, because of the time change, children need more sleep than we think.

You too can relish in the energy of spring. Mark Twain once wrote about the condition. “It’s spring fever . . . and when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what you want, but it fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so.” Remember the wonder of spring times you experienced as a child and renew yourself as the world around you is made new.

Dispelling Some Sleep Myths

Our recent time change provides a good reason to think about sleep and some of the lore surrounding nocturnal happenings. We all know that lack of sleep affects our mood, our concentration, and our ability to react with equanimity to difficult happenings in our day.

Research shows that short sleep duration in children not only impacts their behavior and ability to learn, but also their brain development. Surprisingly, the age group at most risk for a less-than-ideal amount of sleep is children six to 12 years old, when the recommendation is for nine to 12 hours. (Read the American Academy of Pediatrics’ sleep recommendations.)

The advent of more light in the evening gives us an opportunity to think collectively about children’s sleep and recognize when we can make changes to make sure they get the restoration they need.

Myth 1: When it gets dark later, children should change bedtimes. The experts say “No!” Children should keep the same nighttime and nap routines, though initially it may take them a little longer to fall asleep.

Myth 2: Children who are tired act sleepy. Have you ever felt "wired’ when you didn’t get enough sleep? Children are often more active when they haven’t slept enough, though they are less capable of paying attention. Night routines don’t have to involve less light, but they should include much less stimulation and lots of soothing togetherness.

Myth 3: Sleeping with parents makes children less independent. This is definitely a cultural myth. In China, where mothers commonly sleep with their babies, sudden unexpected infant death syndrome is virtually unknown. There are crucial safety rules for sleeping with babies, but fostering independence isn’t the issue. (See AAP’s guidelines for safe sleep in infants.)

Myth 4: Older children are too old for naps. In many countries, adults and older children take naps every day. When your child is tired, suggest a nap, or take a siesta as a family.

Myth 5: There are no long-term effects of getting by on less sleep. Children who get less sleep than they need are more prone to childhood obesity. Adults who routinely get less sleep may be cutting years off their life span.

Of course, everyone’s sleep needs are individual, but it’s important to track sleep and its effects on our bodies at every age. Children will push us to stay up later, especially when stimulated by TV or other electronic devices.

You can become a good role model for taking care of sleep needs by being diligent about getting enough rest and commenting how good you feel when you are fully restored.

How Do You Get Rid of4,000+ Uninvited Guests?

Last Tuesday a swarm of 4,000–5,000 bees descended on the climbing structure behind Room 4 in their search for a new home. While swarming bees don’t usually stay in one place for long, we didn’t want to wait for them to decide it was time to move on.

The first thing we did was whisk preschoolers in Rooms 3–5 into their classrooms and close the yard. Then we called Mike Stephanos. Mike is a beekeeper who lives in the neighborhood and is the father of one of our graduates.

Mike arrived the next morning. Using two bee brushes, he gently swept the critters into a cardboard “nuc” box, working with his bare hands and wearing only a beekeeper’s veil for protection. As he did, he explained what he was doing to a group of elementary students observing from the Tier 2 walkway above. Preschoolers watched in fascination from their classrooms.

The key to moving a swarm, Mike explained, is finding the queen, because where she goes, her swarm follows. He located the queen quickly and put her in a clear plastic “cage,” which he placed in the nuc box. Bees that had fallen onto the ground when Mike was sweeping them off the climbing structure would fly into the box to be with their queen.

Mike came back that night to remove the box, knowing bees don’t like to fly in the dark. He took the swarm home and moved it into an “observation hive” with a clear side so they can be seen. (You may have seen one like it at Lindsay Wildlife Experience. Mike helped make it for them.) He has 10 other hives.

Bee colonies seek out new homes when they outgrow their current ones or their health or safety is compromised.

Mike will be back on campus soon to show us the observation hive and tell us more about bees. “Bees are fun and very, very kind,” he told the students. “If you leave them alone and don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.”

Watch Mike remove the swarm in this video.