Full-day Kindergarten..let's hear it! (long post warning)

[KimRaye]

Is it really Full-Day Kindergarten?? Or, half-day Kindergarten and, half-day 'fun'/care-giver, with the 'full-day' title?

My dilemma: DD will be entering KDG in August (after 2 years of Pre-K at same school, currently she's going 5, 1/2 days). I thought she'd have no choice but to attend 5 full-days for KDG but, there is a 1/2 day program, in the mornings. She's ready for full-day, she needs something all day but, NOT child-care, I can do that.

This isn't a debate (among parents) about who needs full or half-day programs but, about the actual program, for the kids.

So, is it full-day KDG (which I doubt and, wouldn't expect) or, extended-care AFTER a 1/2 day KDG??

Teachers, your opinions would be helpful. ALL parents, your thoughts on this, too.

Thanks!

 

[Kteacher]

I work in a full day kindergarten program, and ours is definitely a full day! There is a "rest time" in the afternoon, but there is also, Library visits, Specials (Music, Art, P.E.) , Choice time, as well as other activities depending on the time of the year and what curriculum we are working on. That said, I have definitely seen kids who are not ready for a full day program-just too exhausting for them- come through my classroom. Usually by the half way point in the year they are ready to stay a full day. I do know that kindergarten programs do differ from state to state. Feel free to pm me if you have any questions

 

[momof2OH]

I agree with Kteacher but just not state to state. I think it really varies from school district to school district within a state. There seems to be a wide variety of differences with kindergarden classes. Just ask what the schedule is or will be at the full day kindergarden your thinking of choosing. That should be able to help you decide if it's really a full day "learning" kindergarden or 1/2 day "learning" and 1/2 day daycare/fun time.

Good Luck!

 

[KimRaye]

Thank you K, soo much!! I knew you'd reply!! I think my DD needs your kind of program/schedule! I KNOW she'll be fine and, is ready for full-day but, I'm not. I just want to feel she's getting EVERYTHING she can before I go back to work!

If staying at home another year and, doing park programs or something in the other 1/2 part of the day is BETTER, than I'll do that for her! But, I KNEW that a great K-teacher, like you, would ease my mind!

I DO have to talk again with her Pre-K teacher AND the KDG teacher, just to get a feel for what's gonna happen.

SO, in your honest opinion, as a KDG teacher, do these little kids NEED a Full-Day program? Do the schools just provide this full-day program as a service? (In my case, I pay tuition either way, Pre-K and, 1/2 or full-day KDG so, I'm looking for opinions and facts, either way! She's gonna stay at this school, either way!)

Thanks again, Kt!!

 

[KimRaye]

Originally posted by momof2OH
it really varies from school district to school district within a state.

Thanks momof2. I should also state that this is a private, local, Lutheran, tuition-paid school. I KNOW they still have to meet some state requirements and all but, they are religious-based, non-profit, also. Not sure how that makes a difference.

Soooo, if it's 1/2 KDG and 1/2 playtime/fun...Is it worth it for my child? REALLY, not a debate....I WANT opinions!!

 

[janette]

You might check with other parents and take a look at what they are working on in the K now. My oldest DD was always in all day pre-school, up until K they had nap time and she hated that.

The public school we would have gone to was only 1/2 day so she stayed at the pre-school and went to their all day program. At the end of they year they were reading, doing basic addition & substraction and were far ahead of their counterparts that only had a 1/2 day program. Here the 1/2 day really is less than 3 hours and they still have a recess & sometimes a rest period. That's fine for many kids but some are just ready for more. The cut-off here is Sep 1 and my DD has a Sep birthday so she was older than many of her classmates.

Everything I've read indicates that the kids even out after about 3rd grade regardless of how advanced they are early on. I think the biggest difference it made for my DD was in her confidence level. It really helped her to be ahead at the beginning of her school.

 

[JasonLyons]

your post wasnt to long, but it was still to long for me to read

 

[Mskanga]

My DD is in half day kindergarten ( it's the only option in our school district ) and 5 years ago when DD1 was going to start kindergarten , I honestly thought about going private because I thought she would not get the academic knowledge that I thought she should get. At that time private kindergarten was not an option here either unless you signed up in Catholic School and we weren't thrilled with that. I was VERY wrong to think she wouldn't learn, she's in 4th grade now and an A's student.
My younger though was another story, this time I did have the choice to place her into the newly open charter school for full day kindergarten and I chose not to for two reasons, I know academically the public school is great here and also because I had no references about the charter school, this is the first year it was open.
DD2 would probably have been ready for full day kindergarten but I'm glad she's only going half day, in a way because the weather around here in the winter is very cold and snowy and I don't have to take her out, however I will admit that next year I will be the first one to celebrate her going to school full day, YAY!!
To be honest with you , I noticed a big difference in DD from the beginning of Kindergarten to now, she has matured a lot more, she's a few months older and that makes a difference.
If you feel that your dd is ready for full day and you can afford it, by all means give it a try , if you find that it's too much you can always cut down and go to half day.

 

[piratesmate]

Programs vary from district to district & day care to day care around here. SIL is about an hour away & they have full day on a rotating schedule (2 days one week & then 3 days the next). Lots of homework, but from what I can see, they do less academic stuff than here. Here we have half day for public school.

We sent DD to a day care center for Kindergarten. The state required them to have full day, even though in PA Kdg is not required. (Every center we checked with told us the same thing.) I was working full time (no choice) so we wanted needed full care, but our local elem didn't have transportation to any day care. (none within their boundaries)

DD's class had 2 groups - those who were there all day & those who came at lunch time after AM Kdg at the public school. The program was set up so that there was little or no overlap for the PM kids. They did more science, SS (communities, heritage, etc), music, art, ...... It's hard to classify much of what they did, except maybe as life experience.

DD's class did not take naps with the rest of the center, but they did lie down with a book - no talking. (Some slept, some didn't - either way was okay.)

We found that of the kids who attended the day care center, many were ahead of those attending 1/2 day public school & those in the full day at the center were WAY ahead in terms of reading & math. Of course, in the AM there were only 10 children in the class. In the afternoon there were 18.

d

 

[believe]

My niece is in full-day kindergarten and it truly is full day. DD begins kindergarten next school year, but we don't have this option

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Last year our school district was looking into doing full day kindergarten. It is soooo variable. I was able to hear what different programs have in our areas. Some are full day full speed ahead kindergartens, others are the same info just spread throughout a longer period of time. I agree that you need to talk to the school and the teacher to see what it is they offer. Not only does it vary from state to state and district to district, but even within our school our 2 main teachers are VERY DIFFERENT!!!!!!!!! One teacher is full of academic learning and incorporates arts and stuff. She always reads to the kids during snack time and has a lot of variety. The other teacher is from the old school and doesn't really do alot of academics and does more learning through play. She doesn't even read to the kids on a regular basis. My friend has 2 boys, one boy had one teacher, and the other boy the other teacher. My friend was astounded by the differences in teaching and expectations from the kids. Definetely the one teacher was lacking in academics.

If you feel your dd is ready for full day kindergarten, and the program is what you want, then that might be what works for your family. Check into the option that if it is too much for her, can she switch to 1/2 day. One school district near us does allow that, in case it is too much for the kids. that I thought was very considerate of the kids needs,

I hope and pray that our kindergarten remains 1/2 day for us. I do alot of stuff at home with my kids and I would miss that, and I know dd has fun with that as well.

No matter what you decide know that you are making the right decision for your family and don't let anyone flame you for it!!! this is a very hot emotional topic for many.

Good luck.

 

[aprincessmom]

do these little kids NEED a Full-Day program

My DD went to a private full day kindergarten as that was my only full day option. In my town the public school offers only 1/2 day -- which is really 2.5 hours. She had 2 teachers for 11 children vs. the 1 for 23 in the public school. It makes a huge difference!

DD really needed a full day...she was ready for it and eager. She'd been in day care and could handle a full day. And boy did she get it. They had to provide a mandatory 1 hour rest period (required by state law) where they could nap or read quietly but otherwise they had a full day...science, reading, language, social studies, geography, math. She got it all. They had homework 3 times a week (took 10 minutes or less to complete), kept writing journals, had field trips, did science experiments...it was a terrific program.

The only down side is that DD is still way ahead of her 1st grade classmates even at the half year point. They are only just getting to some of the stuff she did in geography and math and she's light years ahead of them in spelling and reading. She has totally different class and homework because she'd already covered most of the year's curriculum last year and tested out of the 1st and 2nd grade spelling word lists.

The upside is she has a teacher this year who didn't look on it as a bad thing and has been having "fun" (according to her) working with DD to keep her engaged and active. She said she enjoys the challenge and welcomes the help as she uses DD as a resource for the other children while she takes one-on-one time with children who are having a harder time mastering certain skills.

The other upside is that, because she had a solid academic base, DD has been able to concentrate more on adjusting to her surroundings -- taking the bus for the first time, being in a classroom with only 1 teacher and 22 children (a first for her), meeting new friends, being in a new building, eating in a cafeteria with about 400 other children, etc. It's a big change socially from her past school and day care experience so it's been nice for her to have the breathing room to adjust and adapt without having to worry about academics too.

Good luck!

 

[tiggerlover]

Hi Kim!

When DS started kindergarten 1/2 day vs. full day varied from school to school. The school he was to attend had 1 full day class (you got in by lottery) and 6 half-day classes. My DS was lucky enough to get chosen for full day. I say lucky because we were lucky, only 18 were chosen, and the teacher had been teaching for almost 30 years and she was simply wonderful. I don't feel like 1/2 the day was wasted on play time, there were so many things to learn and do and so many opportunities that the 1/2 day kindergarteners were not fortunate to have. His teacher even said to us that it is hard to teach a half day kindergarten class because you have so much work that you are required to teach in such a short period of time, she was a big advocate for full-day.

My son has always performed above age level and this is something he was definitely ready for. He was so excited and learned so many things, it was wonderful to see. Half way through the school year we moved to Italy and luckily enough this was a full-day kindergarten program too. I think schools as a whole are expecting much more from students than when we went to school and I think if a child is ready for it, and it is available, that full day kindergarten is the way to go.

Just my two cents.

 

[jfulcer]

Brittany had full day K4 and has full day K5 this year also. They do most of their 'school work' in the morning, have lunch and a short 'rest' time, then have some other activities afterwards.

They have it structured so that more 'fun' activities happen in the afternoon such as going to the library, story time song time, etc. I think they could 'miss' the last half of school and not be missing much. There were some parents in Brittany's K4 class that came and picked up their kids at lunch time. Some were just not ready for the whole day program and some just weren't willing to give their kids up for the whole day.

I think maybe Kim is already starting to miss being with DD during the day?

 

[disney funseeker]

Where we live, there is junior and senior kindergarten. School starts at age 4.

My dd started her 1st year of school this year going full days, every other day... 2 full days one week, 3 full days the next week. At first I thought it was a bit much because she still napped in the afternoons and I thought she would be exhausted by the end of the day. I grew up going to kindergarten every day for 1/2 day but that is not an option in the area we live. Well, she was very tired initally but got used to the routine.

Now, I'm happy with full day kindergarten because she knows how to print the entire alphabet, uses phonics to figure out what letter a word starts with, has library days, gym days, computer time, etc.... She gets playtime too but in the last few months has learned so much and this is in the public school system.

 

[December99]

Kim - because we are a private, tuition based school also, I do know for a fact they HAVE to follow all state guidelines. So hopefully that will help you some. We have a full day KD program also and they get a bit of a rest period (I think it's like 1/2 hour) and then it's back to it for studies, etc.

Could you possibly go and spend a day in the program you are considering putting Kelly in? Maybe go in the morning for a bit, then go back in the afternoon for a bit - then you can see what they really do and that, in my opinion, would make my decision much easier. I know what you mean, especially with tuition based schools - do you really want to be paying that much money for "partial" daycare?????

I'd go check it out for a day. They can't deny you the option of doing that.

 

[WilmaBud]

I'm sorry, but I have to be the voice of dissent here. I'm a teacher and a mom, and I can say with conviction that no 5 year old NEEDS a full day of school. And play is NOT a "waste" of time for 5 and 6 year olds. They do most of their learning through play at that age.

As for some children being "so far ahead" of the others at the start of 1st grade - that means nothing. It all evens out according to individual skills and ability levels in short time.

My daughter is in a half day public Kindergarten in our district. She turned 6 on Sept. 25, so she's older than most of the kids. It's no big deal. She's bright, socially adept, and happy as can be. She's also absorbing knowledge like a sponge.

It's ridiculous to give homework in Kindergarten and to push advanced reading and math. Children learn to read when they are ready, whether that's at 4, 5, 6 or 7 years of age. The only thing pushing children at a young age will do is burn them out.

If you think you have something to offer your daughter for half a day, then I say send her to half-day Kindergarten, and keep her with you half the day. Youth is fleeting, and you should take every opportunity to spend time with her that you can. Now, if you work full-time, then I would send her to a full-day Kindergarten.

 

[mhopset]

Seth goes to kindergarten full days from 9:30-4pm five days a week.

I have to say, he is learning so much. His teacher is a little flakey, but the kids just love her to death.

Seth is learning quit a bit. They have reading groups, a spelling test every week (words like: "me", "we", "to", "like", "and") and when I read to him I ask him to show me the words he knows.

I am really impressed with what he is learning and comprehending.

 

[damo]

I tend to agree with Wilmabud. If you can stay home with her and do things with her then that, to me, is best. Who can better nurture and teach your young child than you. A half day of social interaction with peers is plenty. She will learn to read and write and add and subtract much quicker with one on one attention. You can focus on what your child likes and do those things, where at school she would have to be compromised. There will be plenty of years of compromising. Keep her close and cherish that time for one more year.

 

[s&k'smom]

Well I'm coming from a different angle. My DS has some special needs and desperately needed a full day program. He finally got it at 4 and his day was from 8:45 to 1pm. Now around here that is considered full day. Luckily he had a home based program as well and his dad works nights so he was home. He is now in a full day K and it's 8:15 to 2:15pm. IMHO it really depends on your child and yourself. Now my DD on the other hand will do a part time preschool and full time school by 1st grade or if she wins the lottery in K (they only have a few slots). And a lot of that is because she is the youngest kid in the neighborhood and has no one to play with. There are literally no little ones around because they are either in school or daycare. Our street is so quiet even after school ends because they have extended day after the typical school hours that you have to pay for. Boy we could keep this thread going forever.