Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Is full day more for working parents? I have no idea what to do. Do we pay for private Montessori? Just put her in 1/2 day K? Our school district is very good. But then our 2nd child will enter a 3's program in the Fall. I don't want to drive to 2 different schools for PreK and K...
Full day K is for parents who think there children thrive on the extra socialization. Note that nowadays half-day K tends to emphasize academics rather than play and the afternoons give the kids a chance to play or to do art or music which they no longer seem to get in the morning. It does depend on your district though. Can you observe each class and see what they do?
Is there a K option at the same school the PreK is at? That might work for you at least for this year.
In my district we have full day prek, the children in this program really excelled
I worked for a full-day pre-k. We did a 2+ hour nap. Kindergartens generally don't, and there are definitely kindergarteners that have a difficult time making it through a full-day program without a nap.
I'd pick half day. Your child will gain as much (or more) from being with you in the afternoon as she loses from not being in school.
The two private schools I worked for had full-day K, but the "academic" stuff was in the morning. Much of the afternoon was spent napping and playing. (Important stuff, but it can be done at home.)
Public schools are emphasizing formal academics in kindergarten more than they used to, but the Catholic school might not. They might be napping in the afternoon.
The average kindergartener's preference is to watch Frozen all day and eat Go-gurt and Goldfish crackers..
That is totally untrue. Five year olds are curious about the world. They ask all kinds of questions. They often love to bake (time to teach measuring). They often love to draw and paint. They often love to have you read to them. They often love to play dress up or to do outdoor activities like biking, sledding, trampolining, etc.
I have taught pre-K through grade 12 most of my life.
It was a tongue-in-cheek response to the poster suggesting that kindergarteners be consulted and canvassed for thoughtful responses regarding their thoughts on whole-day vs. half-day kindergarten.
That said, though, in my experience, many children WOULD, in fact, choose TV and snacks over a whole laundry list of developmentally appropriate play options, due to lack of exposure, and have no attention span for non-tech-based activities. The same child who will easily play a computer game in the technology area for 30 minutes if allowed to do so is also often the one who cannot sit for five minutes of reading at circle time, and cries to come in from outdoor play time, because he or she is "bored." But that's another topic.
That is totally untrue. Five year olds are curious about the world. They ask all kinds of questions. They often love to bake (time to teach measuring). They often love to draw and paint. They often love to have you read to them. They often love to play dress up or to do outdoor activities like biking, sledding, trampolining, etc.
All of which they could and should do at home with Mom/Dad instead of an all-day kindergarten if at all possible.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
Moderator - Diabetes and Kentucky (including Lexington & Louisville)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.