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Schools and Education General Discussion
Full day Kindergarten, Good idea or not?
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Anonymous
| I'm wondering what most people's preference for Kindergarten is. My daughter is currently enrolled in 1/2 day Kindergarten and I'm very glad, although I know some other moms who are actually angry that our school does not offer full day Kindergarten. Curious to know what other moms think about this. Do you think the trend towards full day kindergarten is a good thing or should it remain part-time as it's traditionally been? |
Anonymous
| I think it would be hard to go back to half-day since most schools are full-day now. Parents get used to full-time (or nearly full-time) childcare and they would have a fit if you got rid of it. I toured a few Catholic schools w/ a half-day K program and they all said they have the same curriculum as the full-day but squished into 3 and a half hrs. So there is very little time left over for anything non-academic anyway. I think the key is to look for a full-day program with a good balance of teacher directed academic type activities and student directed play. Some schools still have this balance like my son's K program and some are all academic like the nearby K program. You'd have to take a tour and ask the right questions to figure out the difference. |
Anonymous
| We are in Fairfax County in one of the half-day programs and I'm happy about it. I figure that he has the rest of his life to go to school and work and I'm treasuring this last year with him in school only 3 hours/day. |
Anonymous
| I agree that once a school switches they can't go back, but should schools even switch to full-day in the first place? A full day of school is very tiring for five year olds. I just don't see the need for kids who are barely past toddlerhood to be in an all day school environment, and if the later part of the day is mainly self-directed play, what's the point at all? Why not just let them go home and play? |
Anonymous
| I was happy to have full day K. My oldest needed it by the time he was 5yo. I see a real value in the social skills education that K provides. And my kids were in FT daycare/preschool before K; still the elementary school environment is very different. I can't imagine what it would be like to go from 3 hrs per day K (glorified preschool) to the academic expectations of first grade. Now, maybe you don't like the pace and demands of first grade and higher, but unless you're going to radically change the elementary curriculum, full day K is a necessity. And yes, for those of us who work, it's a good thing from a childcare perspective. |
Anonymous
The reason is that parents would flip out if full-day K went back to half-day. They would have to pay for a half-day or daycare or a nanny/au pair. Public K is like free daycare to many people and if you take it away, they will give all kinds of reasons for why it needs to remain full-day. |
Anonymous
Obviously written by someone who has never been faced with the prospect of finding quality child care. I would MUCH rather have my child at school for a couple more hours than in most daycares. |
Anonymous
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Full day K has been really hard on my daughter. She went to preschool for 4 hours last year, and the switch to K for 6 hours has just taken a lot out of her. It would help if they took a rest, or did more playing, but even then, she'd be ready to come home early. Yesterday I sent her 2 hours late b/c of a dr's appointment in the a.m. When I picked her up after school, I asked her how school was and she said "great!!" That was the first time all year I've gotten such an enthusiastic response. It's not that she doesn't like school -- she does, and she always tells me fun stuff she did -- but she just feels it is a long day.
I sih it were just half day BUT I have the luxury of saying that because I don't work and could easily pick her up. If I worked, I'd just have to find a daycare program to send her too, and it'd be just as long a day. I imagine kids who have been in full time care since infancy probably don't have any problem at all adjusting to full-day K. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Of course you would. School is free. Daycare would cost you money. |
Anonymous
| Our DS was use to a full day of preschool/daycare so having a "full" day kindergarten wasn't much different. Of course it not really a full day so we had to fill in with before/after care. He is exhausted when he gets home but he loves school and I can't imagine him accomplishing what the school requires in less time. |
Anonymous
It's not about the money. It's about what they would be doing with their time and what kind of environment they would be in. |
Anonymous
| My daughter was in a 9-12 pre-K class that wore her out. So I was worried that a full day K would be too much. I was wrong. She isn't nearly as tired as she was last year in pre-K and is thriving in K. Obviously there is no right answer as all kids are different. So go with what you prefer. |
Anonymous
| To the OP: What bubble have you been living in? Most women with children are not SAHM's any more. "Go home and play"??? Yes, if one is living in a ideal fantasy world. |
Anonymous
| I know tons of SAHMs. More than FT working moms. |