Kindergarten - half or full day?

Hey Laura-
I've been teaching pre-k and k for 18 years now so my ears perked up when I saw your post. Seems like you've actually got quite a nice choice either way because there is a "yay" in each scenario. Since academics doesn't seem like a factor (good job on the reading!) it's more the social benefits. Does your daughter enjoy playing with other kids and enjoy the school routines, etc.? What is she like during drop off and pick up? If she seems sad to be away from you, maybe she needs a little more time with you before she goes full time next year. Why does the half-time teacher have such a bad reputation? Is it her demeanor or her academic outcomes, or something else?
On the other hand, if your daughter is totally at ease in the classroom, trots off to school every day with a smile on her face and has lots to tell you at the end of the day then maybe full time is right for her. I've only taught full day (some kids are in our school for up to 10 hours!) and I can't imagine teaching half day because I can barely get in all the academics in my full day!
It's good that your daughter has already had positive school experiences so you don't have to worry so much about this being her introduction to school. I'd say you're going to make the right decision either way-- you seem like a positive person so you'll focus on the "yay" of whatever decision you end up making. Good luck!

 

When I was in kindergarten we moved and I went from going to a full day school to a half day school. Luckily I remember having really good teachers for both of them but I know that I preferred the half day (I was never a big fan of school though so it may just be me).

If the teacher really is horrible though I think I would opt for a better teacher and full day...but wow..$15 a day..that's a lot to consider as well. Will you get a chance to meet with the teachers before you decide? Maybe she's not as bad as rumored?

 

Mine all only went half day because it was all I could get. If full day had been an option, I'd have taken it, especially to get a better teacher.

 

We had a really bad experience with full day kindergarten last year. My daughter went into Kindergarten ahead of the other children. At the end of the year she was pretty much at the same point academically. There was no modification for her being ahead. So while all the other kids learned to count to 10 she could already count tot 100 and received no further instructions. Not only that but for an 90 min after lunch they had "rest time" which ranged from laying on the floor being told to not talk or watching Disney movie. They then went out to a 30 min. recess. After which it was time to come home. So the extra time after lunch was pure babysitting. It may be different in other areas, but my personal opinion of full day kindergarten is that it was totally unnecessary even if my daughter had not been ahead of her class. Oh and just so you know that I'm not a ranting mother, I was a teacher before becoming a mom. Even back then I never felt full day kindergarten was necessary.

 

I'm already debating this in my head, too, even though DD is 2 years away from K.

Around here, it is $1500 per school year for full day kindergarten, so if I'm still a SAHM at that point, full day will not be an option for the simple fact that I can't fathom paying that much extra for her to go to public school if she could be at home with me for free instead. On the other hand, if I'm working at that point, we may consider it if putting her in daycare would be more expensive than paying the $1500 for full day.

She's already academically advanced and will be attending two years of preschool before she reaches K, so I'm not concerned abt her missing out on anything academically, but mostly continuing to work on socialization (which she is behind on --- like her mama) and maintaining the knowledge she will already have at that point.

 

Just to clarify....it isn't state mandated, but they only have 1 half day option, and you have to pay if you decide to do a full day? that seems odd to me.

It isn't state mandated here either, but there aren't very many half day programs to choose from and I don't know of any afternoon classes. The boys go to a private school that has had a 1/2 day option for several years, but didn't have enough parents express interest in it this year, so they only have the full day classes.

Last year, they went to preschool 3 mornings a week and then jumped right in to a full day (8:30-3) this year. They haven't had any issues. They do have about a 30 min rest time, but there are lots of days that they don't even do that and just work right through (my boys don't sleep there anyway, so it doesn't really bother me).

Karah, I agree that it does seem like we are pushing our kids more and more at a younger age and sometimes, I find myself thinking 'why can't we just let them be kids?'

I know you will make the right decision for your family and little one, Laura. It is hard though and if you are like me, I completely talk all around the decision and agonize over it before I can actually make a decision.

 

haha me too!

Both of our girls went to school all day, every other day (we lived in the country and they were bused to school). I really liked the full day kindergarten. Ethan is our first one, that is going to kindergarten 1/2 days.

I am also working in a kindergarten classroom that is part of a pilot project, 1 of 4 schools doing everyday, all day kindergarten. Wow! I've seen so much progress in our students, especially EAL students this year! I wish that Ethan could have gone full days, he would have really benefited from the full day program.

I think there are positives and negatives for all kindergarten programs. Some kids aren't ready yet, so 1/2 days might be a better choice over full days. Some are really ready for the full day, whether it be every other day or everyday.

I do have to say though, that I really adore the kindergarten age. They are so fun and so eager to learn!!

 

I'm kind of a hippie in my thoughts about Kindy We homeschool because I think that kids are being pushed too quickly academically... I'm having a blast homeschooling and watching my child learn is seriously amazing...

That being said, I would find out what a day looks like for each scenario and go from there... I think full time mixes a lot of play time in with academics verses a half day of all acedemics and I think a lot of kids handle "chunking" of academics better than straight academics for a few hours

 

We did not have the choice but Kenzie went full day and loved it! She was ahead on phonics and skills when she started too but really soaked up knowledge in their learning centers and really enjoyed it. Plus I think first grade is a harder adaption for a lot of kids and this got them ready for that.

Edited to say. It is hard to tell about the teachers too. Both teachers that Kenzie was warned about being hard teachers or mean teachers have been her 2 favorite teachers so far. So we worried for nothing. If this teacher is really strict or mean to the point that it would make her not like school at this critical age then I would seriously think about the full day.

 

Ezra goes all day. I was soooooooooo worried about him. Mostly cause he still likes to nap on occassion and I mean..he's 5 which is itty bitty IMO and I was worried about how worn out he would get and maybe a little fussy..etc. He's doing awesome though. They have down time in the afternoon, though he was quite disappointed when his teacher told him he couldn't sleep. He is sooo happy to see me when I pick him up and I LOVE that! He is learning soooo much though and I love that for him. He has a good time and his teacher is really good with him and coddles him a bit when he needs it. I love knowing he's with someone who will be a bit maternal towards him when he needs it! And even though he didn't go to preschool at all and was home with me constantly from that point on he did great! You know how worried about the boys I was!! and really it has worked out great for him/us!

 

my little one is in half day and I am not looking forward to grade 1 when she will be gone all day.

 

Here in the school district where I am, kindergarten has always been regular school day. They also have the preK which is the very same hours as the kindergarten. Mine both did very well in full day for different reasons. My son needed the socialization more than anything and they also provided speech therapy there at school for him all through elementary school as well.

But listen to your gut... you know your child better than anyone to know what is best for them. WE are our childrens advocates! Don't be afraid to speak up!!

 

Good advice here. I would say you should definitely find out more about the "bad" teacher. We've got a kindergarten teacher here who was rumored to be not so great, but I've got several friends who have kids in her class this year and they've ended up really liking her... so who knows where that reputation came from? Definitely make sure you know the teachers as well as you can to make an informed decision.

 

Both my boys have done full day kindergarten. We go to private school and they actually have the option of doing full day or half in the same class. The kids that do half day, just go home at 11:00 and the others stay until 3:10. My hubby and I both work full time, so for us the desicion was easy. It was either they sit at daycare, or they stay at school. They loved it. My youngest is in full day right now and we just found out a week ago that he's behind most of his classmates. He's starting to read okay, but he still can't tell you the name of the letter. He knows the sounds, but not the letter. So weird! Sigh. I'm actually working on a LO about it right now. So I guess that even with full day it can be different from kid to kid, because my oldest son excelled in full day.

I think that no matter what you decide you can make the best of the situation, so don't stress yourself too much about it. Just listen to your mom instincts!

 

That is a tough one Laura. My kiddo goes to half day kindergarten and I love having the extra time with him. I think if you want the extra time with your little one, I'd put her in half day. She has plenty of full day years ahead of her. And I agree with the others when it comes to the teachers. In my personal experience, I find that there have been so many factors in a teacher's performance and it can really vary depending on the kids in the class or what they are going through personally at the time, etc. You really never know what you are going to get.

 

i love having my little ones home with me, so i really enjoyed half day kindergarten. . .. that said, if your teacher selections are so much better with your full day option, that makes your decision so tough! i hope you can figure it all out~

 

around here it's all day. my kids love school so i have no complaints about it. that being said, they both will occasionally nap on sat or sun afternoon just from being tired from the all week.