Afternoon Preschool for Heavy Napper?

I did not raise twins. But, for your own sake you do need some free time. Twins are hard even if they have no developmental complications. Put them in the same school so you can get a break.
My tired three year old would have napped every afternoon until she was six. But the school that was available and helped her the most it turned out with her speech development was the local non special one as she learned from the other children. She was tired when she came home but we learned how to cope with late afternoon snacks and an earlier bedtime.

I still don't quite understand. Is there a rush on this earth that they have to be in school this second? Is there a time limit that you need to make a decision? If you can do something that will help your life to become easier, then do that. You have seen how your child is with naps between noon and one at home. It is not necessarily that way at school. On the other hand if you need both children in at the same time besides the IEP which you are clear about (for example if you work and need another bus, etc.) then you just stand firm and tell them what you want.Sometimes someone moves or backs out Or wait it out awhile, or find another completely different situation. You are the only one living your life and they are your children. You call the shots. Did they threaten that they will never do an IEP if you don't do what THEY want? It seems to me that you want the one twin to have a nap so he will function decently. And that requires a morning preschool. The twin with the delays sounds more flexible. Are these your only children? Can you live like other people with lots of children and have one in the morning and one in the afternoon? Again, this is your life, you call the shots and you will make a perfect decision. I know it. Good luck!

Wow, that is complicated. I actually taught an afternoon preschool and there were always kids who i felt needed the nap more than what they got out of my class, just because they were so sleepy. I can't shed any light on your problem though, could they do ok separated? It sounds like a big pain for you to have two separate places to be, is there a waiting list for AM if you start them both in pm??

They'll adjust. Getting them up a little earlier in the morning, a short nap before they hop on the short bus and when they come home a short nap. You'll be surprised how their energy levels will improve with shorter naps in the am and then when they get home before dinner. I found that it wasn't my kids who needed the nap as much as the adult needed the break from the tiny tornadoes of unlimited energy whirling around the house.
The teachers at these pre-schools are adept at recognizing exhaustion and quiet time does happen to give them a chance to re-charge their batteries.
Try putting them down earlier in the morning, around 10:30-11 for about an hour, get them up for lunch.... wash their faces, pack their backpacks and on the bus they'll go. Then when they come home, have them tell you all about their day at school, quiet time/nap while you're fixing dinner or if they're not tired... play time and after dinner, quiet time to tell Dad all about their day and what they learned in school.
Congrats! on the pre-school placement.

If it's only two days a week, I would go for it. Most kids give up their naps around 3 anyway, whether they need them or not. My first gave up his nap just weeks before my twin boys were born and he was only 2.5! He's still cranky at 3.5 and looks like he needs a nap most days, but I stopped trying a loooong time ago. Even in quiet time he won't nap, so no biggie we just deal with it. I think the crankiness may be an age thing, too. I'm hearing from friends of mine that 3.5 is a whole lot worse than 2.5 for tantrums, mood bursts, etc. It's certainly true for us! Anyway, maybe you could put the cranky one down earlier on nights after preschool?

I don't know what to tell you, but let us know if you come up with a brilliant solution. I have been considering going back to work in the fall, but am befuddled at how my child (26 months) will be able to handle full day child care when the naps are generally between an hour and a half and two hours, and he currently takes three hour naps and really, really needs them. I've started to hear lots of stories about friends kids who go to daycare full-time, fall asleep in the car on the way home and need to go to bed by 7ish. Sucks to think of getting to spend absolutely no time with him all week long. Sorry I'm no help. Hope you come up with a great plan!

I wouldn't mess with the nap, you'll probably mess up night time sleeping and get into an unending cycle of tired and crabby - not fun! Keep your "typical" child in the community school and put your IEP son in dev. preschool. They will both have a chance to stretch their "social muscles," learning to navigate friends and teachers without their twin to lean on, and they'll probably be thrilled to see each other and play nicely in the afternoons! Ask the dev. preschool to keep you updated on if a slot for a peer model opens up in the morning and you can chose then to move your son into school with his brother or not. I'm sure the world of twin parenting is difficult to navigate, with all kinds of extra stresses and decisions, but it sounds like you're doing just fine! Just do what is best for each individual son, but try not to make your life so crazy that you can't function as their mommy - good luck!