What does full day kindergarten mean - i.e. what are the hours?

[castlegazer]

I am trying to figure out what to do when my son enters Kindergarten, work/not work, and a lot of it revolves around the hours for kindergarten. Does anyone know what the typical hours for a full day session of kindergarten are?

 

[Meriweather]

Here they are the same as the rest of the elementary grades....9:00-3:30.....but they only go 2-3 days a week (alternating).

 

[coliebird]

The school my daughter will go to is 8:30 - 3:00, 5 days a week. I don't think there are any more 1/2 day kindergartens in our area.

 

[buzzlady]

In our school it is 8:40am - 2:50pm Mon - Fri. just like the rest of the school.

 

[castlegazer]

Thanks guys, I was having a hard time trying to find the hours of our elementary schools. I think its 8:30 - 3:00 though. Its going to be very hard to do my line of work even though he will be in "full day". What do you all do?

 

[Trish Bessette]

Our school its 7:45 - 2:30.

 

[CamColt]

Here in Woburn its the same as the rest of the school...8:25-2:40. DS's bus picks him up around 8:00, and drops him off around 2:45.

 

[oogieboogie]

Full day here means 8:20 - 2:30, Mon-Fri.

Here where my kid goes to school, the YMCA set up an after school program. For a fee, after school lets out, the kids that are in the program stay at school until the parents pick them up. (Kinda like a after school daycare) The kids get a snack and they play etc.

Check out if your school or YMCA has something like this.

 

[RitaZ.]

Here it's from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. M-F.

Your school district should have a web site with all the schools information, like hours and such.

 

[castlegazer]

Originally posted by CamColt
DS's bus picks him up around 8:00, and drops him off around
2:45.

Oh my God, that just brought tears to my eyes - thinking of sending him off on a bus to school.

I have a couple of years prior to this happening, but I kinda want to get my financial house in order if I need to stop working. And I need to start planning now if this what I want to do.

Thanks oogieboogie - I WILL look into it.

 

[CamColt]

LOL!
DS has just finished 1st grade, but it was nerve wracking sending him on the bus in the beginning. I of course drove him his first day of K, then the following day sent him on the bus. My neighbor has a DS the same age. Well, they got on the bus(with the other neighborhood kids), we looked at each other and said "Lets go!". We hopped in the car and followed the bus to school, ROFL! They did fine.

 

[browneyes]

Here, it's also the same as the rest of the elementary school grades 7:40-2:15. No nap, but they do have snack time.

 

[elemusing]

I teach in TN and my DS6 just finished KG. Their day is from 7:45- 2:30 and they get LOTS of "breaks" during the day. They have about 3.5 hours of actual "learning" time and then the rest of their day is spent in my class, music, or P.E. or library and then they have recess time, snack time, and even 30 minutes for nap time. I believe in full day KG. It gets them ready for the "real world" of the upper grades. (The 3.5 hours are broken up through the day - they aren't all at once.)

 

[mum4jenn]

Class time here is the same as the other grades:8:20-3:00. Full day kindergarten has been around since the mid 1980's. Our free Pre-K is also full day!

I am an assistant food service manager at one of the schools so my hours are almost what my dd's are. I have to be at work at 7am so she goes with me and I give her little "tasks" to do until time for the employee transfer bus to take her to her school. I get off from work at 2:30 and I used to pick her up when she got off from school at 3 but towards the end of the year I strted letting her ride the bus home. The bus gets here at 4 pm and that give me about an hour to get a start on dinner or run an errand before she gets home. It worked out pretty well so I might do that again this next school year.

She was selected for the gifted program so I think full day PreK and Kindergaten has worked out very well for her.

 

[aprilgail2]

930 until 4pm here....no nap but they get a short snack time in the morning and it is 5 days a week...has been that way for the past 20 years!

 

[PenskeSth1]

here they start at 8am and are let out at 2:30 (kindergarten) 1-5 are let out at 2:45. No naps 5 days a week

My DS 6 would of had to caught the bus at 6:50am. Needless to say I drive him to school. We leave the house at 7:30am

 

[momsully]

My son starts kindergarten this year and the hours are 8:15 - 3:15. The bus picks him up at 8:10 and returns him at 3:35. He will be going to an after school program at the school since I don't get home from work until 4:00.

 

[shortbun]

We also have full day K. It's 9 to 3:30 M-F just like every other
class. Does your child's school have latchkey/aftercare?

 

[Kteacher]

Our K runs from 8:40-3:05. There is an aftercare available at each elementary school in town that runs till 6:00. in my class the schedule for the day looks like this:

8:40-9:05 Free Writing and Drawing

9:05-9:25 Morning Meeting

9:25-9:35 Read Aloud

9:35-10:15 Specials ( rotates by week: Art , Music, P.E., and one session of computer lab per week)

10:15-10:35 Snack

10:35- 11:15 Math , Science, or Social Studies

11:15-11:45 Recess

11:45-12:25 Wash up, and Lunch

12:25-1:00 Rest Time

1:00-2:30 Language Arts and Choice Time-includes free choice time as well as small group instruction (penmanship, journal writing)

2:30-2:50 Closing Meeting

2:50-3:05 Get Ready for Home and Dismissal


We have a pretty full day!

 

[Snowysmom]

In my town, Kindergarten runs from 8:30 to 1:05. Grades 1-5 get out at 2:35. Basically they start at the same time as the other grades but get out an hour and a half earlier.