Questions of Kindergarten: Full Day versus Half Day
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A post from LifeasMOM Contributor, JessieLeigh
About this time of year, notices start going home to the parents of 4 1/2 to 5 year olds; it’s time to start registering for kindergarten.
In my town this year, it’s a very hot topic. At story hour, birthday parties, and outside the pre-K classroom, mommies can be heard debating. Why? Odds are good that next year’s kindergarteners will be going full-day rather than half-day.
I’ve heard many arguments. There are lots of proponents for both sides. I’ve given it a lot of thought and I’ve decided I’m truly okay either way.
Here are some reasons to embrace your town’s kindergarten program, however they may do things:
Half-Day
Your child won’t be as overwhelmed and exhausted in the beginning. The majority of children entering kindergarten aren’t used to going to school every day of the week, much less all day. Some have never had any preschool experience outside the home. A half-day program may be an easier adjustment.
At least one of your child’s bus trips will be with other small children. It can be less intimidating to send your child off with a couple dozen five year olds than a bus full of “big kids.”
You won’t have to pack lunches or rely on what the school’s serving up. It can be easier to just feed your child at home and know exactly what he or she is eating.
You can still fit in some “daytime” outside activities, like story hour or tumbling class, etc.
If you’re a stay at home parent, you get more time with your child. I confess this is the biggest reason a part of me hopes our program remains half-day. I selfishly don’t want to let her go yet. The fact that I have another child who will be transitioning into full-day as he heads off to first grade doesn’t help matters…
Full Day
Your child will be on the same or similar schedule to any older children you may have. This can simplify bus rides or drop offs considerably.
You won’t need to arrange as much childcare if you work outside the home. Should this be the sole reason a town moves toward full-day programming? In my opinion, no. Still, it can’t be ignored that it is a real perk for many families.
You will have more “one on one”, “one on two”, etc. time with younger siblings. Later born children sometimes miss out on some of that!
Your child will be well adjusted to attending school full time before heading off to first grade. That transition has to happen at some point; your child will just do it a year sooner.
Your child will have more time to play with peers and socialize. This is the number one reason I can get behind full-day kindergarten. The expectations in public kindergarten have changed drastically since the days you and I attended. There are significant academic goals for our children. Added to that, you have teachers who are trying to get a whole group of young children (some of whom have had no group learning experience yet) into a routine. There is bound to be lost time. Sadly, free-play time is often what suffers. Having a full-day program offers more flexibility and opportunities for the children to play and socialize… two of the most important ways they learn at this age.
It remains to be seen whether my daughter will be going full day or half day next year. I am truly at peace either way.
How about where you live?
How does your town (or your home) do kindergarten?
— JessieLeigh is the mother of a former 24-week micropreemie and two full-term blessings as well. She is a determined advocate for the tiniest of babies, including the unborn, and a firm believer in faith and miracles. She shares about raising such a precious, tiny baby over at Parenting the Tiniest of Miracles.
@Elizabeth, That makes me so sad, Elizabeth, because I do believe kindergarteners should be having joyful days! I would not be very pleased if they lengthened the day solely to cram in more academics. I truly believe “play” is still a fundamental part of learning at this age.
I love our town’s full-day kindergarten. The time allows for a great mix of academics and socialization. My son has reading and math plus center time. He also has lunch (30 min), recess (30 min), phys ed and music every day.
Our local schools switched to full day Kindergarten a few years ago but in the state of Missouri children are not required to attend school until the age of 7 so Kindergarten is optional (most people probably do not know this). We homeschool, but I have several friends who have either skipped Kindergarten or picked-up their child at noon. Because of Missouri law there is nothing the school can do about this. Check your state law about mandatory school age, you may have more options than you realize.
@Amy-Cutting Coupons in KC, Interesting info to consider… thanks for sharing!
@JessieLeigh, You would be surprised at how many states don’t require school attendance until 7, here is a link to a list. http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/50/51/5051.htm
Also, having just finished “Better Late than Early” by Raymond Moore, I am on the late bandwagon. It is a older book, but has some great thoughts on why school would be better started later for “most” children. I echo the thoughts by another commenter about the quality of the time they spend outside of school. The home environment does make a difference in whether school would be better started early or late.
@jessica, Thanks for sharing that link- I love learning new things! Perhaps I was so unaware of the different age guidelines because I live in one of the few 5-18 states. 🙂
@Amy-Cutting Coupons in KC, thanks for pointing that out. It wasn’t until I started researching homeschooling that I learned about this kind of stuff. It’s amazing what we just assume is “the law” when it’s not.
@Amy-cutting coupons in kc, my son starts kindergarten this fall and we’re only full day kindergarten as well. In Our state it’s Also not mandatory and you don’t have to start until 7. I’m considering homeschooling. Thanks for info. I’m going to check if I can just pick up early.
i have 2 daughters, now 14 and 18. the oldest had a half-day of K and the 2nd had a full-day (her class was the first to have that). the biggest difference i saw in the two was the level of reading my youngest was doing when she finished K. huge difference.
My son is in a full day of kindergarten this year and it is just to long. They are not giving them more time for fun, they are packing in more learning. A 30 minute lunch and a 30 minute recess. No rest time, they are packing so much into his schedule that he hates going to school, and if you don’t like kindergarten what grade will you like? He gets on the bus at 8:30 am and off at 4:00 pm. I feel like they are pushing so hard they are burning the kids out. And if there was more play time I could see the sense of full day, but on this schedule I feel it is doing more harm then good.
I think what is missing from the 1/2 day -full day Kindergarten debate throughout the country, is the question – what is developmentally appropriate for the children? Most research on pre-k and K was done on inner city, low income children who were not exposed to many educational opportunities in the home (this is of course not true of all households in the dem ographic). These children benefited greatly from pre-school and Kindergarten. There is very little research for other demographics.
I think that the education system is trying to correct its poor statistics by starting kids earlier – pushing them. Full time Kindergarten began as an answer to working parents and to try to improve schools ratings – not to benefit the kindergartners themselves.
I wish that every district would offer the “pay for full day” option and the 2nd half of the day would be devoted to large muscle movement and creative play.
I will tell you that ALL the Kdg teachers I know say full-day is NOT a good idea at all…..they’ve all said they “lose” the children after lunch because they’re so exhausted, and don’t get much of anything worthwhile done—and they see that all year, not jsut at the beginning.
If the educators involved in full-day don’t think it’s worthwhile, then why is anyone continuing to justify it? Oh, yes—free childcare for the masses!
That’s just wrong.
One township near us did something worthwhile: Families who wanted to do so could see if their children could “test out” of a full day. Our friend’s child did, so is home by 11!
@Mrs. R., I am in complete agreement that “free childcare” should not be the reason for moving to full day kindergarten. I DO find it truly fascinating how different the reactions of the educators seem to be from town to town or state to state… sounds like very mixed reviews out there!
My daughter’s school starts the year with a half-day kindergarten, then in January switches to full-day. By that time, most kids are ready to do the longer day and it helps them make the transition. I think it’s the best of both worlds!
Where I live kindergarten becomes full time this coming fall. The largest reason sited is the lack of quality daycare. It has been pushed forward too quickly and has caused some pretty large issues concerning space in the schools for these little guys, the cost of extra teachers, etc, etc.. While I think that kids are pretty good at adjusting to whatever situation I have an issue with the fact that I don’t have a choice. Kids seem to be so rushed these days. An alternative I really like was 2 full days plus one half day.
Our school does half-day, or parents can choose full day and pay for it.