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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In our Fairfax school, kindergarteners have nap time after lunch, on the hard floor full of germs from dirty shoes. Kids have recess in the afternoon. In the morning, they just have 30 min of PE. [b]So, yes, they have very little opportunities to release the energy. Too many rules to learn, too many kids to deal with, and sometimes there's a teacher with little experience and not much patience.[/b]I know there are schools, not FCPS, with half day kindergarten.[/quote]

OP here -- this is my biggest concern with FCPS.  We just moved here, but may have to consider moving somewhere smaller before my child starts elementary.[/quote]

Like where? Sounds like you want to go private.  [/quote]

FCPS parent here (kid is older now). OP, in most public kindergartens, not just FCPS, things simply are no longer like when you and I were kids. You mentioned in the original post how K now is more like first grade was in the past -- that's absolultey true, and that's just how it is. Teachers are expected by school systems (and by many parents) to do much more academic work with K students.

This means that K teachers have far, far less time to deal with teaching those basic "getting along" skills like how to work within the group, how to move from activity to activity without meltdowns or resistance, how to keep hands off other kids, how to react to other kids who don't do well in the group, etc.

Whether or not you stay in FCPS, I would strongly advise you to put your child in a good preschool for at least the year before K to  learn those skills so she can start K with some experience of the classroom setting and experience being around other kids in that setting. Preschool does not have to mean full-day, five days a week! Just consistent half-days is fine, but just get some exposure to listening to and obeying adults who are not relatives, and being around kids who are not necessarily friends or playmates. Note that I'm NOT saying to find a very "academic" preschool--avoid ones with worksheets and so-called preschool homework etc. But look for one that does teach children to move as a group.

OP, I do think that you're overthinking the whole "stay in FCPS or move" thing, especially if you'd actually move because of kindergarten. That's putting all the eggs in just the K basket, I think. The system is a good one overall (despite all the FCPS-trashing you'll see on DCUM). If you went to another public system in this region, you'd likely find the same situation in K -- more academics than parents expect, less nap time than is ideal, less recess than you'd like. There are lots of reasons for this, including, but not solely, pressure on teachers to produce students who test well, and pressure on schools to cram more instruction into each day. But just moving may not give you any different outcome-- unless you go private.

The best things you can do, in my book, are to find a good, fun, play-based but structured preschool, and to prepare to be very involved in volunteering at your child's elementary school. Being a volunteer (and there are a LOT more volunteer opportunities for parents whose kids are in the youngest grades!) will keep you plugged in to what the teachers are like, what they expect, what your child's day is really like, what the classmates are like, etc. Those things don't replace a nap or recess. But don't focus on naps or recess or full-day schedules to the point that one year of less-than-ideal K makes you move out of what could be a good school system overall.[/quote]

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