PreK in NYC has naptime, but not K. And in PreK only the morning and full-day classes - Dylan was in an afternoon class so no nap. (Which worked out fine since he gave up naps around age 2.)

Interestingly, K is also technically optional in NYC public schools. There was a proposal to make it mandatory a couple of years ago, but it failed on the basis that making K mandatory would mean giving schools enough money for all the extra classrooms and heaven forfend we should support universal early childhood education with slightly higher property taxes.

Huh. In SF they're pushing for universal pre-K.

We have "Universal Pre-K" in NYC too but it doesn't mean what it sounds like. It's a subsidy program for low-income families to send their kids to private preschools (or, more often, private daycares where part of the fee can be paid by a UPK subsidy). And those programs extend through age 6, so they're also a substitute for kindergarten if necessary.

I skipped kindergarten, but I'd already gone to full day nursery school at age 4 for the socialization and adapting to daily routines. Aside from the aforementioned hijinks-averting age diference, it also meant that I was in the same class as my best friend when I transferred schools (met him the first day of 2nd grade and we've been friends ever since) and I was able to meet my closest circle of HS friends when most of us took German together. Since I'm still good friends with them almost 30 years later, I'm pretty glad it happened that way even if I might have had a better chance at top honors in the class of 88.

When I went to pre-school it was a co-op overseen by the school district. To send your kids there, you had to volunteer to work in the classroom some number of hours. There was an actual teacher, to be sure, and when I was a substitute teacher and was assigned there she was STILL the teacher. She was pretty awesome. Mrs. Gonzales from Holland.

It was two year deal, or could be, I know I went for two years. Then half-day kindergarten. Then first grade that shared a room with a kindergarten class because the school was overcrowded or understaffed, I don't remember exactly, I was 6.

I grew up in the country, so it guess it would be different than a sub/urban setting.

And in New York, UPK is just three hours (or something -- it's like a half-day kindergarten time), so if you're sending your four-year-old to daycare all day, the UPK subsidy doesn't cover much.

Geez tommy. How awful for the people in the pool.

Wearing goggles is slightly uncomfortable when you got into a fight with a mop that morning. at least the makeup hides it.

My TiVo recording of last week's was precisely short--I got all the way up to "I..." in the final sentence revelation of...whatever. And then forgot about the tension. Sign of detachment from the narrative.

Re Royal Pains, ita !, do you want to know what Divya's revelation was? It will be the last time I can help you with that, because I am officially done with the show.