Full-Time Kindegarten: Love It? Hate It?

My son did half day preschool then full day kindergarten, so it was not to much on him. I think it would have been harder on him not doing the half day preschool and then going into full day kindergarten.

my daughter is in one of the only full tiem kindergartens in PA and it works great for us. I work so it would be daycare if not. I don't get how its not the norm. Most people need two sets of working parents or there are divorced parents like M.. I don't get how its only 1/2 day.
If I was rich and could be a SAHM i would have put her i half day not because she couldnt handle full day but because i'd love for her to get an extra year of being little and time with M.. She did learn tons in K this year

We did full day kindergarten. It wasn't a problem at all for her. There was one child who seemed to be challenged, however, I don't know what the problem was, other than maturity.

My daughter came out reading, writing numbers and letters, and writing stories with her own spelling, adding, and doing a little bit of geography. They also had PE, art, and music.

She would have missed so much in a half day.

Love it. My kids are used to being at daycare for 9h+ so they are used to the long hours. Here they just switched in 2006 to full day, my son's first year.

My brother and sister used to do half day. I think it was a waste. By the time kids get there get settled, you really only have time to learn 2 or 3 things and eat a snack before it was time to get back on the bus. My mom always had to wait around to run most errands or she wouldn't be back in time to meet the bus.

I imagine that it has also save the county lots of money not having to run the buses 2 additional times a day.

Full time kinder is all that is offered in our public schools.

The kids do great, it is the parents that freak out.

Never underestimate your child. They are a lot more prepared than you think.

I have thoughts! :)

In our school district, half-day kindergarten is what is offered. You can then pay tuition for full-day kindergarten. Since my daughter is bright (if I do say so myself ;) and if she was born 2 wks earlier she would be in 1st grade, we decided to put in full-day. It was about $250 a month and well worth the cost!

In the morning, they learned the core curriculum because they had to get all that in for those who chose the 1/2 day program. In the afternoons it was more enrichment programs - gym class, library, computer lab, music, outside play, lunch, free time, extra time with the teacher. My daughter is quite social so she really benefited from the extra time with her friends - much more than she would have at home with her brother.

I think it should be mandatory across the nation. One thing I didn't like is that all the lessons had to be taught in the morning so the 1/2 day kids didn't miss out on anything. If it was full-day for all then there would have been more time for lessons. But the full-day kids had extra time with the teacher if they were struggling, could get extra help.

About 75% of the class enrolled in the full-day program and since it was such a success and families were willing to pay, I'm sure the school district will never offer the full-day as standard.

In my opinion, full day kindergarten is much needed simply because educationally the United States is suffering as a awhole.

We need to get children back on the right track. We as a country look stupid to the rest of the world based on our students testing of Standards of Learning. Those same standards are being lowered everyday to cater to the students that have no guidance at home.

So since we as parents are failing so badly, longer school hours are needed. In my opinion, school would have to be year round for us to catch up to the rest of the world.

Loved it. And so did my daughter! They learn a lot but at a slower pace than the half dayers, and still have plenty of unstructured play time to balance it out, prepares them for full days in first grade!

my kids did full day kinder, after having done half day 2 x a week 3 yo preschool and then 3x a wek half day 4 yo preschool.

I was admant about the half day preschool. I really wanted my kids to come home and have lunch with me and to be able to nap in their own bed. and be rested and have the late afternoon to be with me ,either starting dinner or what ever. I don't feel that young kids do well being in a group, I think smaller one on one attention is and important balance. That said, At the time I was a SAHM. totally different ball game if you have to or chose to work.

And that is what drives the full day kindergarten, kids that have been in daycare since 6 mo yo are used to that, and it's much easier on parents to have their kid be at a FREE kindergarten all day, and then just pay for afterschool care if needed.

sounds like your cousin stays at home and doesn't feel the need for full day care.
To be honest, there is some educational activities taking place in the afternoon, but really not all that much, especially for the first 4 months of school. I know my kids had a nap time in kindg to laydown and rest, and there is extra recess. but it isn't like they are getting a huge jump on acedemics, alot of kinder is still learning the social rules of sitting for a story, or taking turns waiting in line for a drink at the water fountain etc.

I also feel there can be a big maturity gap between kids that turn 5 sept 1st and kids that were 5 back in january. Alot of schools are takign steps to deal with this, and moving back start dates. Ifyour cousin's child has a late birthday and they are very young she might want to hold them back.

thats my 2 cents lol

Here's my experience with kinder - both part-time and full-time. Part-time was the only one available where we lived with my older child. It worked fine for him - he was academically ready for kids, able to handle the workload and mature enough.

Living in a different place with only full-time kinder available for my younger child, I learned the difference in the two. A full day of kinder takes time to teach the kids how to integrate into the school as a whole moreso than half-day kinder does. They had quiet time (where many kids actually slept, even if they didn't normally take naps at home anymore). They also had more time to soak in the learning aspect - THAT is where it mattered with my younger son. If he had had to go to half-day kinder, he would have struggled mightily. He needed to extra time.

I am lucky that my older child had part day, and that my younger child had full day.

Dawn

I love Full-Day kindergarten. When I was growing up it was half day from 8-11:15 and then 12-3:10. It barely seemed worth it for only 3 hours. I felt my daughter did much better in all day because she was constantly learning.

My daughter was in 4 yo preschool this past year, 4 mornings a week and then will be in full-day K in Sept. I think it will be great for her, because she gets so bored at home...even in preschool, she wanted to stay longer because she was having so much fun. It's not like our home is boring, I do try to come up with stuff she can do, but she's an only child and so much happier when she has other friends to play with and do activities. She still does better with a daily nap in the afternoon though, so I do wonder how she will adjust - I know they have a rest period in the afternoon so I will be curious to see how she does with that.

My SIL's son started kindergarten when he had only turned 5 a month before, but had never been in any kind of preschool or other setting away from Mom. She was a SAHM and just didn't see the point of enrolling him in anything. But he was also a very shy and clingy child and had a horrible time when he started kindergarten - it was just such a shock to him since his mom had done nothing to help prepare him for it. Where they were, K was 1/2 day with a full-day option, and he started out with just the 1/2 day. Then a few months into it, they recommended he go for a full day so he could hopefully "catch up" with the other kids who were doing just fine. They did sign him up for a full day, but then he ended up having to repeat K anyway, because there was no way he was ready for first grade. If they had at least done 1/2 day preschool when he was 4, then full-day K from the start, maybe things would have been different. He just finished 4th grade and still struggles.

The reality is that kindergarten now is not like kindergarten was when we were kids, and it's become the new 1st grade. If the longer day includes a rest period and then more time for other subjects (art, library time, Spanish, etc.) that they wouldn't get just going 1/2 day, then hopefully it will help put them further ahead and better prepare them for first grade.

Our Governor passed this and if schools don't comply they will lose half of their funding. Our Kindergarten teachers are actually excited about it, admitting it will be difficult for some students at first but they all said it gives them a chance to put the fun back in Kindergarten. There will be more time to do fun crafts, games, reading and be involved in the other school activities that they typically couldn't because of either time or that they weren't there. My daughters have gone to school full day since they were 5 because of the special education and inclusion program they are in so kids being in school full day is not that hard a thing for them to get used to at such a young age. I don't think we are taking the correct approach to the tightening of our education gap by increasing the school curriculum and leaving so many behind. They need to stop making so many cuts to funding and start to help support the schools that are struggling to maintain their numbers. Muskegon Heights and Detroit are prime examples of this, both poor areas, low attendance and cuts have forced many programs that help the kids get the help they so desperately need but what is the State and Federal solution to this cut them more! But as far as the full day Kindergarten in Michigan, the districts have no choice because no district can afford to lose anymore funding!!!

I did full-day kinder as a kid, and my DD just finished the same.

In my case, it seemed to be the opposite of some of the other responses I've seen. Half-day kinder was too expensive for the district. The district covered a large rural area, and there simply weren't enough busses and drivers for there to be a half-day kindergarten - the kindergartners rode the bus, morning and afternoon, on the same schedule as the other grades.

For my daughter, it's not bad, either. When you account for a half hour of recess, a half hour naptime (for the first semester - replaced with computer lab time after the holiday break), another hour for "specials," (gym every other day, with the off days alternating between PE, music, and theater arts), the work really wasn't too intensive at all. I did some classroom volunteer work, and all of the kids in DD's class seemed to be doing well, and not overworked.

I like it. I can't imagine stuffing all of that into a half day!

My oldest attended full time kindergarten. At the time it was the second year they changed it from half days. I didn't want her to grow up too fast and resent school. It turned out great though. She loved school and did very well. There is a LOT of concepts that these teachers need to introduce at earlier ages, and it's hard to fit into a few hours if it's half day.....The teacher should be able to read the children and know when they need some backing off and less structure....good luck with your decision.

i'm so glad my babies were in K before all-day kindergarten was mandated. half-days were just perfect for them.
we do need to tighten the education gap in a vast myriad of ways. making wiggly tinies sit still longer for more busy-work isn't the way.
khairete
S.