K was half day, now full day, and I am worried

[Anonymous]

I was so excited when we moved into our neighborhood 2 years ago because our elementary school was still 1/2 day. I thought that would be perfect for my dd. She has been going to 1/2 day preschool for the last 3 years, but she gets tired. I am so nervous about her going to school from 9:15 am until 3:55 pm. That seems like a super long day to me. Just this last week, she had camp at her new elementary school, it was 9 am until 12 pm, M-F for one week. After that week, she asked if she could lay around on the weekend because she was so tired.

What I plan to do to help her transition is to not schedule any outside activities so that she just has school to go to. And I am going to push up her bedtime and make sure she gets plenty of rest. Any other suggestions? I don't think she has any type of medical issue. She has been thoroughly screened by the dr, and anyway, I think she is just one of those kids that would do better with half day K, but now Fairfax County is all full-day.

[Anonymous]

How much sleep does she get? A five-year old should get 12 hours.

[Anonymous]

Its a transition, but after a couple of months she'll get used to it. And they do have rest time so that helps. I think limiting extracurriculars is a good idea for the Fall. By January it will be easier and she might be up for more playdates and activities.

[Anonymous]

Lots of preschools have reasonably priced half day kindergarten programs. I thought my son would have a hard time transitioning to full day K, but he did fine. She may surprise you.

[Anonymous]

I wonder if we live in the same neighborhood? Our school just switched to full day also, and I'm bummed. Really wanted half day.

[Anonymous]

There are like 30+ schools in FCPS going full-day this year as the district finishes moving them all to full-day. I'm assuming this is where you are.

Your kid will be fine. My DC had a rest period for the first month of school for all the kids who couldn't handle it. They didn't really need it after that.

[Anonymous]

Not trying to be nasty, but are people just figuring this out a couple weeks before school starts? It was pretty big news this spring. We waited for this decision to be made before we could start our househunt. We're buying a house in a former half-day district - we move in the week before school. Obviously, I wanted full-day K, but I am just surprised people are so unaware. This has been many years in the making.

[Anonymous]

Nicely critical PP. Perhaps focussing on what the OP asked would help you stop focussing on yourself.

I don't read that OP was unaware, but that she is worried that her child isn't ready for full day, so she wishes that K were still half day. I don't see her asking how to get half day back, but how to prepare her child to make it thru full day.

[Anonymous]

maybe I WAS reading into it too much, but I have spoken to at least 2 people this summer who were completely unaware of this decision and have children entering K this year. One made a home purchase decision in June based on incorrect information. It just surprises me how little people pay attention to such things.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP, and I was very aware this was going on. I went to K orientation in April, and at that point, the principal said they were almost certain that the school was going full day. But I hope you aren't suggesting that we should have moved out of our neighborhood to a school district that has half day. We are very happy with our school district, our house, and our neighborhood, so I am just looking for ways to cope and make this transition as easy as possible for my dd. I am going to discuss the rest period with the nurse to make sure that is available. I really think that would help. And then lots of sleep, and no extra curricular activities. I am sure after we get through the first few months, she will get in the swing of things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the OP, and I was very aware this was going on. I went to K orientation in April, and at that point, the principal said they were almost certain that the school was going full day. But I hope you aren't suggesting that we should have moved out of our neighborhood to a school district that has half day. We are very happy with our school district, our house, and our neighborhood, so I am just looking for ways to cope and make this transition as easy as possible for my dd. I am going to discuss the rest period with the nurse to make sure that is available. I really think that would help. And then lots of sleep, and no extra curricular activities. I am sure after we get through the first few months, she will get in the swing of things.

You should discuss it with the teacher. There's no nurse in schools anymore, just "clinic aides". And I doubt they'll make any adjustment to their schedule for you. Either they have a rest break, or they don't. Those school schedules are tight.

Seriously, your kid will be fine. Maybe a bit cranky at first, but fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not trying to be nasty, but are people just figuring this out a couple weeks before school starts? It was pretty big news this spring. We waited for this decision to be made before we could start our househunt. We're buying a house in a former half-day district - we move in the week before school. Obviously, I wanted full-day K, but I am just surprised people are so unaware. This has been many years in the making.

Not trying to be nasty, but you based yoru decision on where to buy to buy a house on the length of the kindergarten program? That's pretty short-sighted, don't you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not trying to be nasty, but you based yoru decision on where to buy to buy a house on the length of the kindergarten program? That's pretty short-sighted, don't you think?

It wasn't our only factor, no. But since this decision was being made the year our child is entering K, I watched it very closely. It opened up more neighborhoods to consideration AND made it easier for us to decide to sell this year rather than next because the extra cost of the mortgage is about what we would have had to fork out for private K.

I was certainly NOT suggesting that people leave their current neighborhood just because they are unhappy with full-day vs. half-day. It just surprises me when I run across people who did NOT know this decision that affects their life was made.

[Anonymous]

I don't understand these people who think their 5-year-old can't handle 6-7 hours at school. Many kids are in daycare for 10-12 hours a day from the time they're 3 months old, and they handle it just fine. Kids adjust.

[Anonymous]

With 99 schools in FCPS that had full-day Kindy last year, your child will not be the first one that may be tired. There will be MANY adjustments for both the students and teachers - not just for the long day but for some it may be the first time they are away from mom, for others they may not understand the language being spoken at the school.

Kindergarten teachers are very sensitive to 5-year old's needs and the adjustment period that they will go through in the first few months.

My daughter was in full-day kindergarten at her school the first year it became full day. And it was new for the teachers, too. They were trying to figure out what worked and what didn't. They did rest time after lunch every day until Christmas. By the time my second child went to kindergarten a few years later, they must have figured out that children didn't need nap time for 4 months because they stopped after a month. Or perhaps, the teacher adjusted the schedule based on that particular classe's needs (it was the same teacher for both of my children.

Regardless, your child will not be alone in being tired, and the teachers are trained to be aware of that. She will do fine! And don't forget, it's only 4 days out of 7. Monday is a short day, and then there are the weekends to have a slower lifestyle.

Having said all that, my second daughter was like yours and still liked to nap. She did fine in school but napped when she got home still. We didn't enroll her in any activities except for Daisies which only met once per month. This year she is ready for soccer!

Good luck!