What's your Kindergartener's schedule like?

[mchames]

After reading Minmate's thread about her frustrations with her DD's Kindergarten class, I was curious what everybody elses K class was like. My DD5's class is very structured and nothing like the class Minmate described. I was wondering if more K classes are academic or play based, so post a little bit about your child's day.

DD5 goes to an Atlanta public school (oh, the HORROR ) which is actually an excellent school and is facing overcrowding due to an ovewhelming number of parents choosing to send their children there instead of to one of the numerous but pricey private schools in the area, but I digress. She has homework M-TH as designated by APS policy.

This is her day:

7:50-8:00 Arrival

8:00-8:15 Attendance, lunch money, etc.

8:00-8:30 Students work independently in their Journals

8:30-9:05 Calendar, Weather Chart, "Good Morning" song, Number Line (counting by 1's, 2's, 5's, and 10's), Days of the Week (English/Spanish) and Behavior Chart

9:10-9:50 Group Instruction (except TH which is P.E.)

9:50-10:00 Bathroom Break

10:00-10:35 Language Arts, Reading, Writing, Workshops/Centers, Penmanship

10:40-11:10 Lunch

11:15-11:20 Bathroom Break

11:25-11:50 Math

11:55-12:20 Recess (except TH which is Group Instruction)

12:25-12:30 Bathroom Break

12:30-12:50 Social Studies, Health or Music (in class)

12:45-1:15 Spanish

1:20-1:35 Snack

1:35-2:15 Science or Art (except TH- Art w/art teacher & F-Music w/ music teacher)

2:15-2:25 Pack up and clean up

2:30-2:45 Parent Readers (VIP visitors)

2:45-3:00 Dismissal

Parents do not volunteer in the class on a regular basis except during daily reading time. We also have one Wednesday afternoon a month where parent volunteers come in to lead activity centers based on that month's core curriculum. These are the only two time other than parties that you will see parents in the classroom

So, what's your kindergartener's day like?

Mary

 

[JVL1018]

I have no idea-they don;t tell us their schedule. LOL
I know I drop her off at 12:28 and pick her up at 3:05.
She has one special a day(gym, music(twice a week), art or Show and Tell) for I think 25 minutes, she has snack somewhere in there. I know they are at their desks working on their handwriting for about 20 minutes.
The rest I have no idea, I meanI know what she does, but not everything and the specific time they do it-but I am happy with what she's learning and how much she enjoys school so I'm okay with it.

Oh ETA-we don't volunteer in class. There are 14 kids, one teacher and one aide, so I guess it's not needed, plus since they only go a half day I think that would eat up too much time.
I am the class Mom so I will be in the classroom to help with school parties, but that is all the volunteering I have been asked to do, other than go on field trips.

 

[cepmom]

JVL1018 ~
I'm so glad I'm not the only one that doesn't have a clue about the daily schedule!!! DD5 is in K and I have no idea what they do when and I was starting to feel like I needed to join the bad parents support group

DD gets droppped of at 12:40 and picked up at 3:15. The teacher did go over some of the things they do in class at open house, but did not give a specific schedule. They do not have specialists come in (gym, music, art etc) but I know the teacher does these things with the kids during class time.

 

[Disney_1derland]

Let me see if I can remember....
7:50-8:10-arrival to class
8:10-8:20 morning announcements/pledges
8:20-8:40 Character Education (they are a specialized school focusing on character Ed. this is either a video or story that comes over the video conference)
8:40-9:10 Daily review(sight words, calender, weather, proverb of the week, character ed review)
9:10-9:30 Story of the week
9:30-10:00 Activity based on story of the week
10:00 snack
10:20-11:00 Specials (PE, Music or Art, depending on the day)
11:00-12:30 Centers (instruction based in math or reading)
12:30-1:30 lunch and recess
1:30-2:00 quiet time
2:00-2:40 Centers (the opposite of the morning center, either math or reading)
2:45 dismissal

I guess it's pretty structured, though I've been in the classroom for volunteer hours and it doesn't seem TOO structured, I'm very happy with it. On Thursdays their schedule reverses and they do it backwards except the character Ed and announcements still happen first.

 

[cati]

Not sure of her complete schedule. We drop her off at 8:00 and pick her up at 3:00. They have an hour and half reading time where they break off into groups. My dd is in the advanced reading group because she can read 1st grade books. They have PE, math, writing in journals, music. They must be able to read on a first grade level before they are allowed to be promoted to 1st grade next year. They have to be able to count to 100, know 80 words by sight and spell them. It is very structured. They have started this just this year because the kids that are in 4th and 5th grade were not passing the writing test at the end of the year. So they have really tightened up on the classes. Which I think is great. I can take her to the park to "play". I want her to learn. She loves school.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I have an idea of the schedule, but not in nearly the detail of the OP. I just had my first volunteer day last week (they don't want volunteers until October) so I'm not too clear.

The kids lined up and came into the classroom, handing their folders to the teacher. The teacher looked in the folders right away to make sure there wasn't anything she needed to be aware of for the day. Then the kids put their lunches in a big container and their backpacks, etc in the coat area.

They have seatwork and seem to know the routine--they were working right away. They then went to the carpet and talked about the day of the week, what day came before, what day will be after, the weather, etc. One of the kids leads this, with the help of the teacher. They alternate between seat work and group time, which could be a story, song, etc. They have a morning center, which is decided by the teacher. It's an educational center, which is fun, but they are learning. I volunteered in the morning, but my son tells me that there is another center time in the afternoon, which the kids decide on (max of 4 kids per center). They have specials weekly--media center, gym, art, music, computers.

It seems very organized, with a nice mix of seat work and group time.

The teacher controlled the class nicely. It wasn't one of those "can hear a pin drop" kind of classrooms (which I don't like) , but it is also quiet enough for the kids to be able to concentrate.

 

[mchames]

I have an idea of the schedule, but not in nearly the detail of the OP.

I laughed at this. I'm one of the class parents and I have a copy of her schedule in my class folder which is sitting right next to my computer or I wouldn't have known it either.

Mary

 

[barkley]

my son is in a k-3 classroom (2 room schoolhouse, other room is 3-8). they have group activities in at the begining of the day (8 am) like circle, bible study-then they break into skill level based groups (if you are a k that can do 2nd grade level or a 3rd that needs 2nd reinforcement that drives the group you are in) to do reading, handwriting, spelling, math. the remainder of the day is spent on p.e., social studies, geography, science...

our kindergarteners day tech. ends at 12:30 but many parents (all this year i believe) opted for the full school day schedual (till 3 p.m.), some because it was easier to pick-up with older sibs and some because they did'nt think their child would get enuf "academics" in a half day session.

i think it is REALY hard for kindergarten teachers today both in the public and private schools. you get a real mix of kids, some who have been in preschool and pre-k classes and can sit still, focus, "get down to work"-you have others who do not have the physical stamina because this is the first time they have been in a structured setting. you have to try and meet everyone's needs (and alot of the times the parent's are the neediest ones!). i pulled my dd out of another private school because they were too driven by performance and testing, they did'nt care if the kids were developing a life long love of learning so long as they could get those high test scores to put on the promotional brochures. i think you have to look at your own child and decide what is important to you as a parent for them to experience educationaly. then check out what the curriculum is at the school they will be attending as well as what is important to the teacher/principal (i like to ask "what is your goal for my child to come away from x grade with"-if they start spouting stats on test results, reading levels, a math concept-it's not the school for me). use the information you get to decide if that is the best fit for your child-if not, most public school districts will allow transfers, there are private schools, homeschooling, charter schools (so many more options than when i taught).

my kids enjoy going to school, they excell in some subjects and stuggle in others-but it's not the huge struggle that i read so many parents agonizing over. btw-our current school does do standardized testing once per year because they want to guage how the kids are doing as compared to more fixed grade schools across the u.s.. the students continualy perform "above grade" on the subjects that are presented in group settings (3rd get same lecture that 8th gets, but the skill level drives how they will practicly apply the concept via reports, art projects, homework).

best wishes to all parents (and kids!) it's a dirty job but someone has to do it

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I laughed at this. I'm one of the class parents and I have a copy of her schedule in my class folder which is sitting right next to my computer or I wouldn't have known it either.

Mary

PHEW!!! I was getting worried. Jake is my 4th and last child and I was beginning to think that I wasn't paying enough attention and am slipping.

 

[sharonW]

Since this is a thread about kindergarten, just wondering how parents feel about children going all day to kindergarten. My kids are grown now but when they were in kindergarten it was half days. I feel half days are more then enough structure for 5 yr olds. They have many years for the whole day school thing. All day is just to much for little ones in my opinion. Their only young once! When my son was in first grade I recall his teacher telling me she didn't know how to answer the kids when they would ask if it was time to go home yet..they hadn't even had their lunch!!!

 

[Cindy B]

You have full days... I'm so jealous!

Locally, they are still half days!

I have substituted for kindergarten and it is roughly from 8:50-11:40.

Yes, thats right, not quite 3 hours.

Usually morning routine lasts quite a while. This entails calendar, days of the week, the counting of the day on the calendar, saying the number of the day (usually the amount of school days that have occurred or the calendar day on the calendar) in English and Spanish.

They also did snack counting, and graphing. Like who ordered chocolate milk, how many ordered it, it is less or more --that type of thing.

We also did some word sounds, word of the day, and some sight reading.

Then there is some seat work. I substituted on Columbus day so it was a Columbus day worksheet. We also read the "huge" book.

We talked about order and patterns as well.

Then it was snack time

Then another activity and dismissal.

There was no special that day, otherwise there would have been a special also that day.

We also do a tooth thing. Who has lost a tooth? If they do, we chart it.

 

[mchames]

I like having full-day K and with what they are expected to accomplish by the end of the year they could never do it in a half-day. Children who come from some of the private half-day K classes often wind up repeating K at our school because they are not ready for 1st grade, both socially and academically.

Both DD5 and DD7 (now 2nd grade) went to pre-school. They went to a pre-K for 4 hours a day 5 days a week to get them ready for the full day K. Their pre-K was very much what I remembered K to be. It was a socially based program where learning was done through play. They also learned to line-up, sit quietly at circle time, rotate centers, raise their hands, etc. all in preparation for a structured K class. Unlike other pre-k classes in the area, ours did not focus much on "academics" like handwriting and pre-reading skills. Most kids at our school have gone to some sort of pre-K program. GA even has a state-funded program which is available to all kids who make the year's cut-off date.

Mary

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Since this is a thread about kindergarten, just wondering how parents feel about children going all day to kindergarten.

My older 3 kids had 1/2 day K, which worked well for them. We had a Dec cutoff for K and my kids were all 4yo entering K. My sons turned 5 a month into K, but my DD didn't turn 5 until the end of Dec (she's now a 17yo college freshman). All day K would have been too much for them.

The age for K is moving back in MD. This year it's a 9/30 cut-off and next year the final move back of 9/1. Most of the schools in our area have gone to all day K, with the rest of them going soon.

In our case I'm glad it's all day since my son (Dec birthday, but now one of the oldest in his class) is ready for it. He likes to be at school all day even though he is tired when he gets home.

 

[paigevz]

Well, the kindergarteners are down the hall from my classroom, so I can tell you what I know:

I know they do journals first thing, and then circle time with calendar, counting, songs and so on.............I believe they then do sharing time and the stories the day is based on, introduce the letter and word of the day (they are trying to learn both their entire alphabet, and reading at the same time, as they are supposed to be reading by the end of this month, and some didn't know alphabet when they came in)

At 9, they have specials.............theater arts, music or PE.........our art program was cut, and computers was taken out of specials.

They are done there at 9:30. They do Lang. Arts. I know they choral read, then do some letter and word work at their tables.....I don't know their specifics. They also cycle through small group reading, and a computer program our district uses that is internet- and phonics- based.........their phonics skills are tracked on this program and they move ahead or review based on how they perform....I think they also use Leap Pads and some sort of television reinforcement (I see them in groups of threes if I happen down there at this time of day, and three are in front of a TV program with headphones on).

They start lunch at 10:45. They go out to recess immediately following lunch, and do take a half hour.

Math is after recess, so about 12:30. It lasts about an hour........some direct teaching, some individual work.

At 1:30, they do library, computer lab, art in some sort of order. Since they work it out and teach it themselves, I am not sure what order they use.

At 2:00, they do their centers. These are "play", but are set up by teacher to extend or reinforce what they are working on that week.

They go home at 2:25.

 

[Bayshore Bandit]

As a 4th grade teacher and a parent, when our district went to
all day-everyday kindergarten 5 years back, it was the BEST move
they ever made.

 

[paigevz]

Since this is a thread about kindergarten, just wondering how parents feel about children going all day to kindergarten. My kids are grown now but when they were in kindergarten it was half days. I feel half days are more then enough structure for 5 yr olds. They have many years for the whole day school thing. All day is just to much for little ones in my opinion. Their only young once! When my son was in first grade I recall his teacher telling me she didn't know how to answer the kids when they would ask if it was time to go home yet..they hadn't even had their lunch!!!

I taught half-day Pre-K..............my curriculum was what I remembered doing in K as a child.

The K kids are doing what I remember doing in 1st grade. They really can not learn all they are required to learn in half days here. Most kids who transfer from half day districts do have trouble in 1st grade, but most do pass. Some of those end up being retained by us in 2nd if they can't catch up...........I must say the majority do catch up by then, so I think the real danger in moving from a district which has 1/2 day K to one that has full day, is the child feeling as if they do not know as much/do as well. If the child stays in the half day district, then really, I think by 3rd, they are on the same level more or less as those in the full day. They all take the same state tests starting in 3rd, and there doesn't seem to be a correlation between half-day K/full-day K and better or worse on the tests. There does seem to be a correlation between half-day K/full-day K and K/1st grade reading level, usually evening out in 2nd.

I like full day K for my own kids, as they are with me all day (down the hall from my room), I don't pay childcare, and they have time for extras (more music, story, art, and so on).

I think some kids do better with half, and some with full. If I had a kid in a half day district, I wouldn't want to move to a full day district for a few years past K.

 

[Gillian]

My son has full day kindergarten, from 9 to 3:30. It's very structured. It's a very long day for him. He's clearly learning a lot (new words, handwriting) but I wish it was just a little shorter day.

 

[Wishing on a star]

I like an all day Kindergarten!

As long as it is handled well for the children... We have all day Kindergarten, but it is not like they are being 'schooled' all day. The whole end of the day is basicly recess, snack, nap/rest time (which is mandated), then end of the day get ready to go routine (short story or whatever. not heavy desk-work)

The kids do get used to being in school all day. The parents get a good break. Especially with parents who have a kid in K, and other kids in older grades. Two separate schedules seems like it must be demanding.

Also, Kindergarteners are required to learn more now than they were several years ago. It seems like this would alleviate the problem of trying to push and cram so much into 2.5 - 3 hours!!!

Heck, MANY young kids are in day-care for long 9 hour days or more!!!!

Compared to that, a full day of Kindergarten, if handled well, should be Okay for most 5-6 year olds.

PS: I am aware that there are a few exceptions. And, if I am correct, in most states, Kindergarten is not mandatory and forced on children who are just turning 5.

I would never recommend starting any young child in school until they are ready. Too many parents are biting at the bit to get their 4 year olds enrolled. I know many parents who have purposefully decided to wait to start their children, and they are usually head and shoulders above most of their classmates.

 

[aprilgail2]

Since this is a thread about kindergarten, just wondering how parents feel about children going all day to kindergarten. My kids are grown now but when they were in kindergarten it was half days. I feel half days are more then enough structure for 5 yr olds. They have many years for the whole day school thing. All day is just to much for little ones in my opinion. Their only young once! When my son was in first grade I recall his teacher telling me she didn't know how to answer the kids when they would ask if it was time to go home yet..they hadn't even had their lunch!!!

We have had full day kindergarten here for 20 years....I personally think half day is a total waste, by the time they get settled in, have snack, go to the bathroom its time to come home! My daughter did 3 years of preschool prior to goign to kindergarten, the last thing she needed was another half day of school. They have them at least knowing the sight words in preschool, the kids in preschool are usually more than ready to go to a full day of kindergarten.

 

[disykat]

1/2 day here - it's only about 2 1/2 hours! I sub often for K and it is my favorite grade to teach. I'll give an example of a pretty tight, end of the year schedule - after the kids know the routine.

sign in, get set worksheet
9:10 circle time - calendar, counting activities, etc.
9:30 whole group literacy activity
10:00 learning centers - math, literacy, science, writing, art, snack, creative play,etc. - the teacher uses this time to monitor and meet with individuals and small groups. This is the part that takes the longest time to get running smoothly at the beginning of the year and the time when volunteers come in handy!
10:40 math
10:55 recess
11:10 workshop - science, social studies, art, library time, etc.
11:30 story, clean up, etc.
11:47 dismissal

The schedule is quite fluid - depending on how long whole group activities will take. At the beginning of the year the lesson times are shorter and the transition times take longer.