Pros and Cons of Full Day Kindergarten please

[castleview]

I'm sure this has been talked about a thousand times over on the DIS, but my district is proposing full day kindergarten and I am looking for opinions and insights on this. Personally right now, I'm not for it. The only pro I see to it would be daycare reasons (and not everyone is looking for that.) I know kindergarten is far more academic than when I was a kid, but my kids' teachers still got it done in half a day. Anyone else's observations are welcome. I'll be going to the board of ed meeting this week where they will be discussing this.

 

[LisaNJ25]

With everything they seem to need to know by first grades these days it seems like they need all day Kindergarten.

My school district has had all day for atleast 10 years now and 3 of my 4 kids went full day. My youngest is just finishing this month. I couldnt imagine getting all the do these days into just a half day program.

 

[minniebride]

We offer half day preschool for typically developing students and full day preschool for students with autism.

Our kindergarten programs are full day for all students. Full day kindergarten was out in place around 10 years ago. We are an underperforming school district with many children on ed plans, many ESL students, and huge truency issues. The data over the past few years has shown significant increases in both student attendance and reading skills since the full day kindergartens were put into place. For us, full day kindergarten has been a positive thing for our students. & the students seem to adjust to it very well.

That's just the town I work in though and the demographic might be far different than yours. Still, I cannot see how full day kindergarten could have a negative impact on a child.

The kindergartens in the district where I work also seem to be teaching curricula that is much more intensive than my own kindergarten was in the early 80's. I also love that ours teaches a structured social skills curricula, in addition to the academics.

 

[woodkins]

It surprises me that there are schools that do not have full day K. We have had it for over 20 years. Most of the children here attend preschool starting at age 2, 3 at the latest. The majority attend 1/2 day preschool 5 days per week at age 4 and then enter K at age 5. The natural progression is for them to then bump up to full day K.

Many of the children entering K are emerging readers and I feel a full academic day enables the teacher to create reading groups so that each level of reader is challenged and brought up to speed. A full day enables them to work on thematic units, all curriculum areas and attend all of the specials (art, music, library, computer, physical education, health). Our students attend each special for an hour per session and phys ed is 2x per week. If K was a 1/2 day program they would spend 1/2 of their day in a special and would have little time for the academic areas.

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't see any Con to it---only Pros. Most kids (at least around here) all have gone to preschool which was half a day so they are more than ready for a full day of school when they hit kindergarten age. We have had full day kindergarten over 25 years now-I can't believe there are places that still have half day!

 

[brookmey]

DD went to full day kinder and she learned so much more than if she only went for a 1/2. Her teacher said that the current kinder curriculum is what used to be first grade years ago. I was apprehensive when I saw what they would be learning because it just seemed like a lot to expect from 5 year olds, but she reassured us that the kids will rise to the expectations without a problem. She said you'd be surprised at how much they would respond to what was being taught and she was right. I can't believe how much DD learned and retained. She was reading (with help) halfway through kinder! Plus, with a full day, DD got specials, like PE every other day and Music or Art on the days she didn't have PE and they had library day every week. Because of the full day, I also felt like there was nice balance between learning time and play time, which kinder students still need.

DD was really tired the first month of school. Exhausted is more like it! But we made sure she got to bed early (like 7 pm) and that she had naps on the weekends.

She just finished 1st grade and is reading at a 3rd grade level. I really believe that she wouldn't be that far ahead if she hadn't had all day kinder.

 

[Hillbeans]

Honestly, I think Full day Kindergarten is the way to go. By the time the kids are in 3rd grade and are administered assessment tests by the State, I think the scores would be higher and comprehension would be greater if there were Full Day programs in place at a younger age.

 

[The Pink Cupcake]

Con: 5 year old away from mother for 8 hours straight

Would NEVER do it. Loved half day for social reasons. They had a blast in kindergarten!!

I bought some workbooks (and the book "Addition the Fun Way") and used them to prepare my children academically. They were all able to read and do quick math the summer prior to 1st grade.

Held on to every precious minute with my children. So happy we don't have full day kindergarten.

 

[aprilgail2]

Con: 5 year old away from mother for 8 hours straight

.

Wow you have some long school days there! ours are only 6 hours! Used to drop my daughter off at 915 and pick her up at 320!

 

[low-key]

Pro- ya get the kid out of your hair for 8 hours

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I am not for it at all.

My older two kids had half day K but when my youngest was 5 they switched to full day. My older two had a much, MUCH easier transition than my youngest. It took MONTHS for him to get used to the all day routine. Even then, it wasn't easy and he didn't like it. He would come home tired, stressed, and for the first time in his life, he was irritable. On weekends he was his old self but come Monday morning he was a ball of stress again. He had the exact same teacher as the older two did (who was born to be a K teacher, she's fantastic!) but unlike the older two he just wasn't crazy about Kindergarten.

He did go to preschool 2 half days a week at age 3 then 3 daysa t age 4, so a half day kindergarten would have been much easier on him. Then full day 1st grade. That's how it was for my older two. I never had a problem with either of them.

I think full day is great for some kids but some, like mine, are simply not ready for such a long day. There is not a one size fits all answer for this age. I wish they'd offer it as a option, not a requirement. When my older two went it was optional (obviously, I opted out) and there was no difference between them and their peers when they all joined 1st grade together. They are now both in middle school and you'd never know which kids were full day Kindergarteners and which went half day.

They are little for such a short time and have years and years of full day school ahead of them. Why rush into it? From personal experience, I see zero benefit.

 

[The Pink Cupcake]

Wow you have some long school days there! ours are only 6 hours! Used to drop my daughter off at 915 and pick her up at 320!

Bus pick up at 8am and drop off at 3:40 here

I still wouldn't want to be away from my 5 year old for 6 hours, but almost 8 hours would never have happened for our family.

 

[aprilgail2]

Con: 5 year old away from mother for 8 hours straight

.

Also not every kindergarten kid is 5 years old- for the first 3 months of kindergarten some of the kids (including mine) were 4 years old.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

I am a remedial reading teacher and before we had full day kindergarten, I spent a lot of time working with students in first grade who were not achieving on grade level. Full day kindergarten has a huge impact on student's reading abilities. Below is a link from our local paper on the students who attended full day kindergarten and the impact it had on students by third grade.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11110/1140681-100.stm

However, you as a parent must be comfortable with your decision. If you are not, your child will know and will not enjoy school to the degree they should. Good luck with your decision.

 

[Family Fun Mom]

Con: 5 year old away from mother for 8 hours straight

Would NEVER do it. Loved half day for social reasons. They had a blast in kindergarten!!

I bought some workbooks (and the book "Addition the Fun Way") and used them to prepare my children academically. They were all able to read and do quick math the summer prior to 1st grade.

Held on to every precious minute with my children. So happy we don't have full day kindergarten.

Thank you! I was afraid I'd be the only one to feel this way.

 

[The Pink Cupcake]

Thank you! I was afraid I'd be the only one to feel this way.

BTW: My oldest is currently attending University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry

Half day kindergarten did fine by us

 

[Erin1700]

Thank you! I was afraid I'd be the only one to feel this way.

Nope, I feel the same way. Half day works best for my kids.

 

[golfgal]

Our kids' school switched to full day kindergarten as an option the year before our twins went to kindergarten and to only all day the year our kids started Kindergarten. I was not all that happy about the switch but after just a few days it was awesome. The kids LOVED being in school all day, none of the kids had a hard transition past the first couple days. They got to do so many more fun things in kindergarten then they did with just the half day program. The first grade teachers were the ones that REALLY saw the benefit. It wasn't so much that academically the kids were a lot further along, although in reading they were, it was that they were just used to being in school all day so things were so much easier for them in FIRST grade. I am a HUGE supporter of all day kindergarten now--save the 1/2 days for the high school seniors.

 

[allison443]

Con: 5 year old away from mother for 8 hours straight

Would NEVER do it. Loved half day for social reasons. They had a blast in kindergarten!!

I bought some workbooks (and the book "Addition the Fun Way") and used them to prepare my children academically. They were all able to read and do quick math the summer prior to 1st grade.

Held on to every precious minute with my children. So happy we don't have full day kindergarten.

I totally understand your reasoning...however, I can also understand how some parents might prefer full day. For example, if both parents work and the child is away from them for eight hours straight anyway....

Ideally there would be a choice of full or half day, but unfortunately I can't imagine that would be feasible/possible in too many places.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

save the 1/2 days for the high school seniors.

I totally agree! Wouldn't this make life a lot easier!