Kindergarden in My Zone Is Half Day Only 2Hrs 10Mins, Pre School Was Longer

Well we also have half a day kindergarten and we really enjoyed it. This was the last opportunity to spend so much time with my middle son. He wil be soon starting first grade and I am so grateful we had so many special one on one days together last year.
I guess your other child will attend nursery school? My younger child was attendng morning nursery school. Occasionally I would keep her in a longer day and my kindergarten son and I would go on a bike ride or do something special.
Here is the name of a great book to help your child start reading. Oops . Its already packed for vacation. Email me if your interested in the name. It worked great for us.

I would do full Kindergarden. I wish I would of. Yes they start to learn how to read in K. They learn the basics of reading. Have you checked out La Petite Academy for full day K. I will be sending my son there this year. He has been going there for years and has learned alot. The teachers are great and have been there for a long time. They are at 1551 W Warm Springs in Henderson. Phone # is ###-###-####

My son was alittle over 5 when he started k too. He was the youngest in his class. The first K school he went to was full days and he loved it and was starting to learn very well. Then I had to move to another town, he was only in the first school a few months.
The school he changed to only did monday 9-3 tues 9-11 wed off thurs 9-11 and fridays off. Let me tell you it was a very hard school year for him. He is a smart boy but had way to much time off to learn enought to go on to 1st grade and he is staying back. this year I got him into full day classes so he can be fully focused on learning and plus he will be as old as the rest of the class. I think the age differents was a harder part for him too. Every child learns differently and it may work out. But I do think full days help. Good Luck with your son. I hope all goes well for him in K. Keep us updated

Woah, I would totally wait another year to put him in. My son's birthday is also Sept 1st, but our cut off is August 31st. Grr. So, I hemmed and hawed and decided to wait one more year and start him as a 6 year old. Since he was a bit older we did put him in for a whole day as opposed to the 1/2 day and he did great. I would say that in my son's class at least 1/2 of them were 6 when they started kindergarten.
Yes, they teach reading in kindergarten, my son didn't know how to when he started school and could do basic reading at the end of the year. He is now 8 and starting second grade and I think the decision to wait was the best one I made!
Think about this....when he gets to be about 13 he will be starting school with boys that are 15!! It's not just now that you need to think about, but later. I would rather have my kid be the older one...experiencing the "cool" things about growing up first as opposed to last. And there is a HUGE difference in maturity when a boy is 13 and 15...just something to think about.

Pre School is like a day care so yes it would be longer because it fits the parents Work day. kinda like a babysitter! Kindergarden is different then pre school and as someone that was a Kindergarden Teachers Aide I can tell you that it is hard for a 5 year old to sit for 2 hours let alone a 6 hour reg school day. that is just too much for them. Parents that want there kids in a Full Day Kindergarden just want it for the "free childcare" They do learn a lot in 2 hours. Yes they do start learning to read in Kindergarden. The Difference in Pre school is that they have more play time and Possiable nap time" and kindergarden is more learning. they have homework everynight just like other grades. My son will be going into Kindergarden next year he turns 5 in January, Luckly the school that he will be going to does not have All day kindergarden cause if it did, I would be finding him a school that does not have all day kindergarden. 6 hours is way to long of a day for them. Think about it.
Hope this has helped a bit. Have a nice day.

wow I wish we had a half day K in our area. You know " learning" in K only takes 2 hours(I talked to many teachers) . We decided to homeschool this year since we do not see the reason for our 5 year old be inschool for 7 hours/day and only learn for 2.

I don't think 2 1/2 hours is enough for a Kindergarten class. I would look elsewhere. I do think kids should be 5 and turn 6 in Kindergarten, that way they are 17 and turn 18 in their senior year of high school. But with a September birthday it would depend on the child. I think full day is right and would think about a transfer or private Kindergarten. Most Private schools offer a choice.

They have class for a bit in the morning, have playtime, then eat lunch, have recess, have rest time, then more class time and then more recess. I think is is scheduled out nicely and works well.

I'm a Kindergarten teacher who will be teaching full day this year (previously I have taught 1/2 day classes). Full -day is much nicer. The students are not rushed to learn. It is true that your child should be reading when he leaves Kindergarten (if developmentally ready). Please email me privately. We have 1/ 2 day Kindergarten plus full-day at our school. I'd be glad to discuss your concerns over the phone or in-person.

I think the half-day every day is actually the best way. They are in the routine of going to school every day. They are not overtaxed physically. The teacher can repeat the same info in short bursts each day so this helps it to sink in. It is a lot easier for them to get the hang of "yesterday, today and tomorrow" because the teacher can remind them that "yesterday we had gym, today we have music, tomorrow we will go to the school library", whereas, if the kids weren't there yesterday, the teacher has no way to refer to what they did or didn't do....

I can't say whether they teach reading in K or not, that would be a question for your school district. You can always expand on what he gets in school.

My oldest did the half-day every day and it worked out very well. My youngest's schedule (different district) was: "Monday afternoon, Wednesday all day, Friday all day". Sometimes on Tues, and Thurs. he would sleep in a couple extra hours because he was so tired from the day before.

I would count your blessings!

K. Z.

I would try to get him into full-day. I think it's good for them on so many levels. They learn a LOT in kindergarten about education and social. But I'd say around here they spend at least two hours a day working on social play, etc. So if he is on in school for two hours, how much time will be spent learining? It takes time for little ones to get in and get settled, and time to pack up and go. Good luck.