Can my 3rd grader come after school?

I get many families that would prefer their younger child do IM after school.  I do not allow this for a couple of very important reasons. I am very cognizant of the hardship this makes on the teachers and family, but the children are the most important piece of this equation.


1.  My after school slots are reserved for teens/adults. That is the time teens need for training since missing a class regularly has more severe consequences at that age. Younger children or children in self contain contained classroom as some middle schools still have can miss and make it up more easily. 

2. Most importantly, the younger child is just too exhausted by the end of a full day to give IM the energy it needs to make the best gains. If you are going to spend your time and money on a program, you want it to work. After school does not work for younger children as they gain much less. The year I had a student come and sit curled up in a ball saying, "I don’t want to," just about every day, clenched it. Even if your child doesn't curl up, they would like to. :)   I work very hard to make IM fun, and many students LOVE it, but in reality - it's hard mental work.  I liken a session of IM to taking finals mentally. The brain can even feel 'squishy' after every session of IM. That kind of effort results in the best changes; you want that. Young children can't give that kind of effort after school.  I know scheduling is hard, but it's short term and worth it. 

So my schedules usually have the younger students before lunch, the 4th - 6/8^th  grade students from noon to three, and the middle/high school/adult after 3:00pm. Summers are the same for the most part – particularly because the teen crowd doesn’t wake up before noon.  :)  I hope that's helpful.