Adjusting to full day kindergarten

[Caleb's Mom]

My son just started full day kindergarten on Monday. This morning I noticed he was quite quiet on the drive to school. I asked him what was up and he said, "Mom, why is school so very, very long? When do I get a day off?" They go 7:50 - 2:30 every day. As I dropped him off I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him but he would not look up and I noticed big tears about to spill over in his eyes onto his cheeks. He did not say a word at this point. My heart just about broke into pieces. He is a younger kindergartener. He will not turn six until just before the school year ends in spring. He's been thru the Pre-K 4 program but that was only 1/2 days, 3 days a week.
I need advice from the other parents out there, help, I don't know what to say or do.
Thanks everyone!

 

[Not so Dumbo]

awhhh.... I'm so sorry he's having a hard time. I think it'll just take time to get used to the new schedule. Maybe after a week of two he'll be doing better. That's a lot for a kidnergartener to be going everyday. Around here they go 3 days a week all day. It took awhile for my DSs to get used to school too. I would let his teacher know he's having a hard time adjusting. Maybe she'll be able to give him a little extra TLC.

 

[krismom]

Oh, how I know the look of those eyes swelling.... My daughter is going into 2nd grade this year and still complains that day is too long. In kindergarten, after 2 weeks of HELLISH crying, pleading and the school nurse dragging her off my leg I "weaned" her into the program by picking her up at 12:00 for a week, then 12:30 and so on. It took until almost November for her to be going full day. The teacher and Pricipal weren't too keen about the idea- but I was ready to pull her out and home school. She adjusted because she eventually felt like she was "missing out" on the fun stuff they were doing after I picked her up. We made a big deal out of her making it through the day when she finally did!
It also helped to show her a clock I made out of a paper plate that I divided into a 24 hour day- I showed her how long she was in school, how long she was in bed, and how long she had to play... she seemed to like having a concrete example of "time".
Good luck!

 

[amyup]

Wow that's a long day for a kindergartner. He will get used to it. My son is in first grade and this was his first year going all day 8-2:15. The first day or two he was great about it but then he started complaining about how long the day is. He's now been in school 5 weeks and is used to it. It just takes a while


Amy

 

[minkydog]

Awww, it is a long day. But don't worry, he'll adjust. They all do eventually. Stiff upper lip, mom. He'll get through this(and so will you )

 

[justkeepswimmin]

Aww...my heart goes out to you. I am sure that was hard. My dd had 1/2 day kindergarten and complained that she could not stay for lunch but now that she is in 1st grade and going all day she has been complaining to me that we never get to spend any time together and wants to know when the next day off is. She was NEVER like this in kindergarten and it is soo hard watching her excitement about school fade. She has been in school six weeks and she is better now but her love of school is definitely not what it used to be. Keep your spirits up as many of us have been through it and it will get better in a few weeks. I would mention it to the teacher if you notice his attitude persisting though as he/she might have some input about how he seems during school and can maybe suggest some ways to help you ease his transition.

 

[Annette_VA]

I'm fearing a similar problem next week.

DS starts K on Tuesday. We're the 1st bus stop, so the bus will pick him up at 7:25am & he'll be home at 2:45pm.

When we did his final parent/teacher conference in preschool, his teacher said her only concern w/ him & K was his stamina - being able to make it through the day. As it was, a day of preschool - (4 hours) wore him out.

I don't know how he's going to adjust to the long days of K

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I know, it's so sad, my dd didn't have all day Kindergarten but when she started first grade, she felt the same way, she was fine in a couple of weeks though

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Awwww, poor little punkin!

My DS did all-day kindergarten last year, but he'd come from a longer day at a Montessori school/daycare, so that part was easy. He did have a bit of adjustment leaving behind the teachers, parents and kids he literally grew up with from infancy, though.

I read up on all-day v. half-day kindergarten, and (at least at our school) the only difference was a bit more playtime, and some extra activities (like classroom visitors or fun presentations.) So I think once he gets used to it, you can point out that it allows him more playtime with his buddies, and more cool activities.

You might also discuss with the teacher, maybe they can point out some things to help DS. Good luck!

 

[Steve's Girl]

Our school district just went to all day kindergarten this year. So, my son who is in first grade and my daughter who is in K will both be going all day this year. I am not sure how I will handle both of them starting all day at the same time! I know my son will be fine, but I am concerned about my daughter. She went to preschool three half days last year so this will be a big adjustment for all of us! I will probably be the one with big tears every day

 

[reins317]

Hi.

My son had full day Kindergarten last year. He got on the bus at 8:30am and did not get off the bus until 4:00pm at the end of the day. Talk about a long day! For the first month he was exhausted and hungry as soon as I got him off the bus. His teacher read the first day "The Kissing Hand". It is a wonderful story about a mama racoon that kisses her son's hand every morning. She told him that when he felt alone and missed her, to put his hand against his cheek and he could feel her kiss. I went out and bought the book. Every morning I kissed my son's hand and he kissed mine. I also put a different sticker each day in his lunchbox and drew smiley faces and hearts on his napkin. He liked getting those surprises at lunch. I also had a picture of our family in one of those picture keychain holders and attached it to the zipper on his backpack. These all helped my son adjust.

I was lucky that my son got used to full day quickly. It was so hard for both of us at first, but my son learned so much that year!

I would be glad to answer any of your other questions or help in any way that I can.

Christal

 

[Kanga1]

Wow I'm shocked at the lenth of days too...because they're so SHORT! We've had all day K for 5 days/week since the late 70's. My DD just started this past Monday too. Yes, she is tired at the end of the day. Her day runs from 8:00-3:30. That's actual school time, not bus time. Our 4 year-old preschoolers go that length of time too...4 days/week.

I'm a teacher and our students (all of them) HAVE to get in a certain amount of instructional minutes per day...180 days/year. They have a 90-min. block of uninterrupted reading with no snack time, no rest time,and a 30-min. lunch. Do your states not mandate such strict rules?

Give your child time. He'll adjust...probably in the next couple of weeks as his body gets used to the routines and the time.

 

[maxtomsmom]

Wow I'm shocked at the lenth of days too...because they're so SHORT! We've had all day K for 5 days/week since the late 70's. My DD just started this past Monday too. Yes, she is tired at the end of the day. Her day runs from 8:00-3:30. That's actual school time, not bus time. Our 4 year-old preschoolers go that length of time too...4 days/week.

I'm a teacher and our students (all of them) HAVE to get in a certain amount of instructional minutes per day...180 days/year. They have a 90-min. block of uninterrupted reading with no snack time, no rest time,and a 30-min. lunch. Do your states not mandate such strict rules?

Give your child time. He'll adjust...probably in the next couple of weeks as his body gets used to the routines and the time.

New York is strict in the upper grades. Some districts have half day and some go full day. My son starts K next Thurs. and it is a long day for him as well. He will be taking the bus which picks him up at 8:23 and drops him off at 3:45. I wish they started with 1/2 days and build upon that. I think full day is perfectly fine and children need to get so much academic time now, but they forget that these little ones need to adjust. Thankfully, his teacher understands this and for the first month they have mostly center and free play time in the afternoon. This allows her to assess each student and then decreases the free time as the month goes by.

Good Luck to all the parents with kids starting Kindergarten. I think it's tough to be a kid these days.

 

[CEDmom]

Hang in there he'll adjust before you know it. I am surprised at how early your school starts. Schools here don't start until around 9am and go to about 3:30. Maybe your DS needs more sleep at adjust for the longer school day. You may want to adjust his bedtime for a while until he adjusts to a longer day.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Hope it gets better. This is why I am against full day kindergarten and am praying they do not adapt it here in Vegas (you have a choice here between full and half day still). I just think we thrust so much upon our kids nowadays, let's not give them a year to adjust to school life, let's just throw them in full blast. I feel sorry for the kids nowadays.

DD had a wonderful Kindergarten experience and I fully believe it was because she was able to test the waters and not get burnt out by full day. I am sorry you are in this situation, I do hope it gets better for you both.


Andrea

 

[lovesmurfs]

Mine are older, but, boy, do I remember the days that they just seem to lose courage. It breaks your heart. He'll adjust -- just give it some time.

Just make sure you're getting him to bed early enough. I found a direct correlation with their willingness to go to school with their amount of sleep the night before.

 

[Sleeping~Beauty]

Our town just voted down a full day kindergarten. It's too long for little ones. I'm relieved we have the half day. Most children here do a gradual progression of preschool/prek, kindergarten, then full day in first grade.

 

[PaulaSue]

That is a big change for him but he will be fine in a few days.

Does he still take naps? Does his school have rest time at school like ours? I know when my kids go back that my K'er will be sleeping during rest time most of the year. She still needs her beauty rest.

I really love the full day program that our school district does here. I am excited that I will be able to go in this year and help with Kid Writing which full days does 2 time a day compared to 1 time for half day.

The few students here that go half day (they have to ask for 1/2) don't get a lot of the fun stuff/extras that full day does.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Does he still take naps? Does his school have rest time at school like ours? I know when my kids go back that my K'er will be sleeping during rest time most of the year. She still needs her beauty rest.

The few students here that go half day (they have to ask for 1/2) don't get a lot of the fun stuff/extras that full day does.

Our full day here doesn't get naps so it's a long day for 5 year olds. Also our half day did the same activities and field trips as the full day, so it's a shame your's doesn't get to.

I have to say, when we would have a program or musical or graduation, all classes came in the morning even though we did PM kindy. When it was over, if your parents were there and you were a half day student, you got to leave straight from there with your parents. I always felt heartbroken as the full day kids would watch them longingly, you know they wanted to leave to but couldn't. It was kinda sad, some of them even cried wondering why they didn't get to go home too!

Andrea

 

[talie95]

I'm sorry your little one is having a hard time My dd just started K as well but we only have 1/2 days. She goes in the afternoon from 11:45-3:05. I like the way our district does it (K is half day, 1-2 grade go from 8:15 to 2:15, and then 3-6 grade goes 8:15 to 3:05 so it's a nice gradual process)
If we had full day I probably wouldn't have put her in until next year b/c she is a young kindergartner(she's still 4 and doesn't turn 5 until dec. 1st - our cutoff is dec.2nd) Luckily she loves it but it was still a bit of an adjustment since her preschool was only 2 days a week for 3 hrs. Just hang in there and I'm sure that it won't take long for him to adjust especially once he starts making more friends to play with. Good luck, and I feel for you!!