What do you think of full day kindergarten?

MommyToAshley wrote: This is a spin off Brias3's post about homework...

Just wondering what you think of full-day kindergarten. I personally don't care for it. I like the easy transition from:
half day preschool two days a week (age 3)
to half day preschool three days a week (age 4)
to half day kindergarten five days a week (age 5)
to full day 1st grade five days a week (age 6)

Seems like an easier transition on the children. I read Maestra's reasons for liking it as a teacher... she has more time to teach the kids the things they need to know for first grade. But, I think there is just too much pressure on kids to learn so early. What's the rush???? Kindergarten is when kids are supposed to find out that learning is fun.. not have all this pressure put on them to learn.

b&bsmom replied: I voted nuetral however, my dd is in full day and I love it. She loves it. I must say however she was 6 when she started k. If she had been 5 I wanted half days but she went from 2 day pre school to 3 day ( both half days) to 4 day half days for pre k and then 5 days whole days to k. She has a summer bday ( jun 24) our cut off for k is aug 15th she was on the shy side so we decided to hold her out and let her be the oldest instead of youngest. I am glad we did she is excelling in k and has come out of her shell. I love the full day because i have a friend in half day and she just feels that they are rushed and do not get as much as if it were full day. Also their kids don't like coming home for lunch they rather stay so they can eat there. I think it is great. As I said I would have been wanting half days for last year had she been 5 however after having to pick up my friends dd from half day k I would not want to have to go thru that everyday. they also miss alot of school because of half days. I think Brit has gotten much more out of full day because they do have more time they can play where as in half day they are trying to get too much done and don't really have as much free time. JMO

mom21kid2dogs replied: Since Olivia will be almost 6 by the time she goes to Kindergarten (full day 5 days a week, reading by Christmas, etc) I'll send her. If I had a child who was a young 5 I would homeschool Kindergarten if full day was my only option. 6 hour school days for 5 year olds is totally developmentally inaapropriate. I understand that school is no longer based on a child's best interest but a political agenda but that doesn't mean I need to conform to it either. I totally hate the fact that my therapist friends report seeing a dramatic increase in the number of 5, 6 & 7 years olds they now see for school related stress. I totally fear for my daughter next year, in all honesty!

gr33n3y3z replied: Rick,John and Erin went half days
Then when Katie started K that was the year the school decided to go full day
She did ok with it but many kids didnt fare well it took them 1/2 the school year to adjust.

kimberley replied: i voted full days. i find half days non-productive. by the time the kids get settled in, they spend an hour learning something, then snack and recess. then maybe 30min learning something if everyone behaves, then time to get ready for home. it makes no sense to me. i dont agree with putting tons of pressure on little ones to be Einstein in JK but i do want them to be prepared. James had a rude awakening going for SK to grade 1. the vast difference caused far more stress on a 6yo than he needed.

some schools here do the full day 3 times a week kindergarten. it is really not that big of a stretch.. especially for kids who were in preschool/daycare a full day previously.

and from a selfish mom point of view... half days were a huge PITA because you can't get anything done in that short time frame. drop them off and home by shortly after 9am, then back to pick them up for 11:30am EVERYDAY.

MyLuvBugs replied: I'm bummed that one of the options on your poll wasn't "It's a God Send and the best thing that ever happened to me." lol Just kidding!!

I think all day kindergarten is a great idea for kids that are ready for it, and for parents that work all day. It saves on child care expenses for the parents, and helps the child learn more in one day. If that makes any sense.

I myself was in an all day kindergarten, and I loved it.....but then again my mom was the 3rd & 4th grade teacher two doors down, and my dad was the Superintendant of the school, so I didn't have them far if I needed them.

maestra replied: I should also mention- we do a transition period of the first two weeks of school as half day to get kids used to the experience, and help their bodies adujst to being in school so long. Then after that, it usually takes one more week of adjustment and they are fine.



I totally agree with you! And if I had any choice in the matter......well, things would be much different. Write your congressmen, your house representitives, and even the pres. They are the ones who decide these things- not us. I think that it's incredibly ridiculous that elected officials get to decide what goes on in classrooms, not education experts. And who do the officials listen to- textbook companies that have millions of dollars and want more money, and companies who have billions of dollars that complain that our children don't know enough when they come out of school. It makes me sick. But I do what I do because I love children- so I try to make it as easy on them as I can. But with 22 in a classroom right now (The ideal k is between 14-16), that's hard.

MommyToAshley replied: It's really been interesting to read all of your posts. I think I feel so differently because Ashley will be so young when she starts Kinder. She just barely makes the cut-off, she will actually only be 4yrs old the first few days of Kinder. And, I think that will be a big adjustment for her. Plus, for selfish reasons, I am not ready for my baby to be gone all day. I know we still have time, we still have one more year of preschool before we have to think about Kindergarten. However, I do believe they plan to start the full-day Kinder next year. Maybe I will feel differently about it by then.


This just makes me sick to my stomach.

MommyToAshley replied:
That's good to hear. I wonder if they do the same in our school district.

You sound like such a caring and involved teacher.... want to move to Ohio? I know a little girl that would love to be in your class!

MomToJade&Jordan replied: I agree with you Dee Dee. Probably because Jade turns 5 right before the cutoff. We haven't started preschool with her yet, but will this coming year when she turns 4. I like the easy transition too, but who knows she might really like the full day kindergarten.

Kaitlin'smom replied: I like the idea. Kait is in pre-school 5 half days a week right now and LOVES every minute of it. She probaly would have loved full days but I did not want that much for her yet. She wont start K till she is 5 1/2 because of her birthday so I think by then she will have attended pre-school full time. So it would only make sence for her to go full time and not step back to part time.

MyLuvBugs replied: I'm just going to throw this out there, and you can disagree or cut it apart if you want....But instead of complaining constantly about how our kids aren't "ready" for school and the stresses that come with it, shouldn't we as parents be preparing them for school and all the activities that go along with it so that they will not get so stressed and upset about going? Just a thought.

MommyToAshley replied:
I understand what you are saying, and I think the amount of time a parent spends with their child on these things varies from family to family.

I do believe Ashley is ready academically for Kinder right now. She knows all the basics... her letters, shapes, numbers, colors. She can count to 100. She's starting to do addition and subtraction. She can do complex patterns... (figure out what comes next in the pattern). She knows the letter sounds, she is starting to read by sounding out words. She can spell and write a lot of simple words... her first and last name, mom, mommy, dad, daddy, cat, dog, stop, go, etc. She knows the Pledge of Allegiance she can almost tie her shoe, etc. etc. etc. So, I have worked with her... but, I let her lead the way. If she was interested in learning it, then we worked on it through fun games and reading. I never forced it on her.

However, from a social and maturity standpoint, I don't think she is ready for a full day of school. She does a lot of activities with other kids and attends preschool. So, not sure what else I can do to help prepare her socially except to let her mature and get older.

She also still gets tired mid-afternoon. Sometimes she takes a nap and sometimes she doesn't, but I can't see her getting a lot out of the second half of the day when she's ready to wind down.

I just don't see the rush to force them to grow up so quickly. Why not let them be a kid ... they won't ever be able to get these years back.

jcc64 replied: Wow, I guess I'm a little shocked by the amount of parents here who are opposed to full day K. I'm really unaware of the political/historical origins of full day K- I only know that as a working parent, I am eternally grateful for it. If I had to guess, I'd say that the increase of moms working outside the home, in conjunction with the need for our education system to keep pace globally is how it probably got started. I actually sought and received a variance for my oldest to attend the 1st full day K in our area 9 yrs ago, and I think it was a godsend all around. He was academically ready, but needed ALOT of practice socially, being a very shy little boy at that time. It was a year of tremendous growth for him, and I never felt that any pressure was being exerted on him. The academic demands were very reasonable and age appropriate. There were some kids (like Ashley) who came in way ahead of the curve, and there were some kids who couldn't draw a straight line. But the real work of kindergarten is learning how to function and cooperate within a group- how to get your needs met when you are not the only child asking for something, how to share and take turns and make friends and get along with all different types of kids, not just those who are hand picked by mom and dad. I think the schools did a great job acknowledging and adjusting to the wide arc of abilities and temperments, and I never witnessed any signs of stress. My 2 boys seemed very happy and up to the task of a full 6 hrs at school, and I am certain Corey will be the same. I am aware that not everyone is ready, and there are safety nets in place for those children, as well as the option to pull them out and wait another year. But I do think it should be available for those that are. The availability of high quality, affordable daycare for most working families is sorely lacking, and I think we as a society benefit when the needs of all of our children are adequately being met. Full day K is a step in that direction, imo.

b&bsmom replied: I understand how you might feel that way about full days. I am like you Brit was ready education wise however socially we were not sure. That is why we held her out and kept her in the wonderful preschool program at the Y which is a class for kids who miss the cutoff or are not quite ready for k. She loved it and was reading by the end. She got homework and it was just like k. I had worked with her since she was little, ( I watch children during the day and am a former daycare teacher so we would do our own little preschool at home) This year she is doing so well and will not hear of missing anytime from school. I had to pick her up early one day for a dentist appt. and she was very upset about having to leave. It all depends on the child and as I said earlier friends that have their dd in a half day program say their dd wish they had full day. She loves school and I am very glad we held her out. She has more confidence in herself and her first year of school was a wonderful experience so we are off to the right start. Again this is jmo.

blue72 replied: The schools in my area have had all day Kindergarten for as long as I can remember. I'm grateful for it. It is easier for working parents.

jacobsmama replied:
I don't have any children in school but my brother is only 11 and my Stepmom thought it was best thing for him instead of being 1/2 day and then rushing to pick him up and drop him off again with sitter. So IDK.

5littleladies replied: I think it's too much for a child that young, but I've probably said enough in the past on subjects like this so I'll leave it at that. My girls usually have their work done before noon anyways, so whole days have never been an issue for us.

Brias3 replied: I agree with you, Dee Dee. I think the half day option is such a nice transition. Boy, am I glad we were able to enroll Aliyah for the half day version this year, as she already attended in Europe. At our school, word is that they are not offering the half day choice anymore due to lack of interest. I guess I'll have to get used to the idea for when Mason enters in a couple of years but I don't like it one bit. Granted I know she will have to adjust to the full day next year but Ryan did fine with it and I never noticed a difference. I can't imagine him having been "better" prepared by a full day in kindergarten. Right now, being in school from 8:00-11:40 each day is perfect for her. When she comes home, she IS tired half the time and needs a calming afternoon. I can't imagine if she were to be in school until 2:40 still.

Interesting topic though. I was meaning to post something similar as a friend and I were discussing this last week (her daughter will be entering next year with the full-day being the only choice at our school).

coasterqueen replied: Kylie will go full days to Kinder and I'm for it. She won't start til she's 6 anyways. BUT I've talked w/many parents in our school district that says the kids who go 1/2 day lose out. They lose out on doing all the art work because that's done in the afternoon. Our school you have a choice of either full or 1/2 day. For Kylie I don't see full day kinder being any different than what she's doing now except a tad bit more structure. She has preschool taught to her by our athome sitter and she has lessons throughout the day along with non-structured activities, but she's away all day there.

MyLuvBugs replied:
Actually, socially and maturity is what I was talking about helping our kids prepare that way. Now adays (at least most any school I've ever come in contact with) you have to pass certain standards to even be allowed into Kindergarten. So, most kids can do numbers, alphabet, colors, etc already.....However, with my last post I ment why don't we as parents prepare our kids socially for the experience of kindergarten....By giving a child responsibilities like chores that will help them mature, and allowing a child to socialize in public with other children of varying ages will help them to socialize. I'm by no means saying "force" your child to grow up, but instead "teach" the child these things. KWIM?

Also, my kindergarten always had nap time in the afternoon, and so did my Dh's Kindergarten. So, I wouldn't worry too much about naps. All kids will adjust to a new schedule. I do suggest that when you go in for the standards test (we call it Kindergarten round-up), that you ask the teacher/school about all this stuff and what the day will be like for your child. Then maybe you can spend the summer or a few weeks before school starts getting her onto a routine that is more like the all-day school. Make sense?

I know you don't want to rush your child, I don't want to rush mine either.....but we can't hinder them for experiences and learning new things either. But we can help them to learn, cope, and enjoy their new experiences.

maestra replied:
You might want to check in your area, because since kinder is the first federally funded program for everyone (head start is income or disability based), we have to accept anyone who qualifies by age. So with that, I have kids who don't know the difference between letters and numbers and don't even draw the circle with legs and arms for people, and I also have kids come in counting to 30, know the whole alphabet, and can draw the most detailed picutres.

And thank you M2A- but some weird part of me actually likes AZ

asweetnectarwomb replied: Hm...up til now I prefer a half day one for Hannah later when she reaches the age to go to kindergarten. Maybe because am a working-from-home mom.

Actually, now, I've been searching for information on homeschooling.

cheers,

luvbug00 replied: Mya goes all day 8-3 and it's WONDERFUL!!!!! they lean more and have more time with peers and it gives me lots of time to work and run errends and when i get her all my time can then go to her!! yipeee!!! love it, love it!!

BAC'sMom replied: I love it and so does DD!

lisar replied: Well here in Florida we already have that program in place. Kindergarteners already go a full day. So I am used to it. I dont think it is a bad idea.

Jamison'smama replied: Our kindergarten is going to a strange school system---you either go Mon, Thurs every other Wednesday, or Tues, Friday every other Wednesday all day. They are changing from every day/half days to this all day system--it will save them 60,000 per year on busing.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
ITA with this. Five or even six years old is still really young, and making them sit in school all day long just makes no sense to me. I think half days are more than enough. It's little things like this that make me very glad we're planning on homeschooling our kids - I won't have to mold to the system when I don't agree with it.

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I am not opposed to it, because I could see how beneficial it would be for parents who work. I don't know how one would work and find the time to pickup a child mid-day, find p/t daycare, etc. But since I don't plan to go back to work come kindergarten time, I have the opportunity to pick my kids up and bring them home. So I suppose given MY situation, I would choose halfday over full day only because a whole day does seem way too long on the kids IMO. And I do believe that too much stimulation, pressure and homework can actually cause some kids to start to resent school as they get older.