Everyday Kindergarten Versus Every Other Day?

I am a 2nd Grade teacher and recently earned my Masters Degree from The Ohio State University. My final research paper was on all day vs. half day kindergarten. My research showed all day, everyday is better. Most children already attend pre-school or daycare programs that help ready them for kindergarten. Others who have not attended those programs would benefit from the social aspect of school. My personal opinion is the more time a student has in the classroom the better.

I would say yes you are setting him up on a good consistent path.I can't hardly believe that they make you pay to go to kindergarden every day though, that is just crazy.The every other day program can become very confusing if you don't keep a calendar of it and then there are those dreadful holidays that really mess things up.I think most parents just can't afford to pay that kind of money every month.That's $2,025.00 a year per student.That is a lot of money if the parents can afford it.That breaks down to about $11.25 a day, but most child care would cost you more.

My kids went everyday, thought it was good for them, and they did fine. The town next to ours is the every other day and alot of moms I talk to at the gym do not like it. If you factor in days you have off for breaks, teacher days, etc. It ends up being very, very inconsistent and alot of them said their kids really struggled with that because that is what makes a child..consistency and discipline. If you don't have that alot of kids will struggle.

I'm sure, especially now adays, money is a big factor for alot of people. I'm sure they would send theirs all day if they could. So, if you can afford it, go for all day.

I think the consistency of every day is very important. When you go every other day you may miss long stretches because of holidays, bad weather, etc. I found that my children do best when the had a consistent daily routine, and every other day would have been difficult for them. Also, the daily exposure will make learning more "permanent" - and your child will be less likely to "forget" stuff over breaks and the summer.

Having raised three kids with half-day kindergarden, I can tell you that having a child in half-day kindergarden is like losing a year of your life. You barely get them there when you have to go back and pick them up. If you have older kids in all day school, then you are also making another pickup for them, or 2 different drop-off times. It is NOT a fun year for a parent trying to get anything done, let alone if you have to work and juggle that schedule as well. That's why the schools came out with this all-day kindergarden every other day program. Some schools do it in innovative ways, but that is the reason- it's such a hard schedule to juggle, both on the part of the parents, but also on the part of the kids and the teachers. They barely get started with something and then it's time to go. If you try to throw a recess and the required bathroom break into a 2.5 hour schedule- you don't have much time to get things accomplished. So- that's the background on longer-day kindergarden. If you are doing the every-day kindergarden because you want him to have more education or it fits your schedule best or you want the consistency for him...those are all valid considerations, but don't think he'll forget things if he is only going every other day. It's still a very valid learning process and has been highly successful across the country. (Unless I'm reading this wrong- and you're "every day program" is really a half-day every day?) There is nothing wrong with half-day every day, but it is hard on the mom :) and harder for the teacher to do longer projects. JMHO

I believe that kindergarten should be a transitional year for the school days to come......it is not a "cheap" form of daycare, and most studies can't prove that all day is better than part-time. If you follow the facts that are out, most of the benefits of an all-day start will begin to dissipate within 3-4 years. Why do we as parents think that our 5 yr olds need to separate from us in order to be successful?
As a Mom, and teacher (now I stay at home), I can't stress enough how important the first 5-6 years of a childs life are. The home life, the parental bonds, sibling bonds, stable foundation, and consistency are instrumental in a healthy, happy and successful child and adult.
Our district has now moved to everyday kindergarten. We chose to enroll our son for 3 of the 5 days. He attended full days 3x per week which gave him enough school time, and still kept him at home also. He thrived. He just entered first grade, and being a year older and having had a good transitional year , is ready for the new routine.
As long as the state of Ohio does not mandate everyday kindergarten, we plan to stay with the part time program for our other children as well.
You will do what is right for you and your family. As an outside looking in opinion, I say you can never err to the side of home, love & comfort! One more year with you is more valuable than you think!
Good luck!

How old is your son? We decided to send our daughter at three to a Montessori school. It's the Montessori philosophy that the children go everyday providing consistency at this young age. For us this made sense, especially since my daughter had a hard time transitioning each day. If we went every other day then she would have to go through this every time we took her. In the sense that children have a 'day of transition' after/before weekend breaks, going every other day means the child would always be in a sense of transition from home to school to home to school, etc.

She's four now and will be starting school again in a few weeks. Her two year old brother will be attending with her. Half days, five days a week. It's the best choice for us as a family.

That's my 2 cents!

Our school district has alternate day kindergarten (full days on mon/wed and fri morning or full days on tues/thurs and fri afternoon). That is free. There's also the option to pay for full-time. Most parents send their kids full time. We sent our son full time 2 years ago. Many of his friends went alternate day... some are in the gifted & talented program with him now. If you look at a typical 2nd grade classroom, you can not tell which children went full time and which went alternate day. They have the same curriculum and learn the same stuff. The only difference is that the full time kids have more opportunities in the classroom to reinforce what is learned and practice it.

As for the reasons... many of our friends who do alternate day do it for financial reasons. They also want to spend another year with their children doing things like zoo trips, hiking, playgroups, children's museums, etc before entering 1st grade. Once the kids start going fulltime it's really hard to fit those type of things into the schedule (and those places are packed on weekends). Some of the kids also do other programs like weekly classes at the children's museum or soemthing like that, that is also educational and social.

Our reasons for sending our son full time was pretty simple: he needs a routine. He not just thrives on it, but his personality pretty much demands it. Going to school every other day would've been a disaster. As it is, weekends can get messy because they are different. This is very typical of ADHD and Asperger kids, though.

Just as a side note... we are the only school district in the area with this schedule. Most go everyday for half-days. Although most also offer full day, everyday. I think the consistency is better.

Every child is different. You have to do what is right for your child. You cannot compare your child to other kids. Is your child ready for it? WHat type of program was he in before this? Usually a district does testing on a child to see if he is ready. How were his results? Is he a young 5 or older? Boys do better starting kdg at an older age than girls. Forget what others say and look at your child and figure out what he needs and then make your decision by that.

Consistency for children is always best, but the deciding factor should be the child's age. Boys especially should be a little older to begin kindergarten if they are to do well in later years. Children born in the summer are often not developmentally ready for kindergarten the fall they turn 5. Many spring babies struggle also. Check the law in your area. Most places children do not have to be in school until they are 6 years old and they can begin kindergarten at that time. The tests they give at school may indicate readiness and they may do well for several years, but around junior high school it begins to show. I taught junior school for many years and would often see boys especially struggle getting C's and B's when they would have been straight A students with little effort had they waited a year. So my advice is, if he is old enough send him for the whole day.

Our district only offers half day kindergarten. But I think you are doing the right thing.

Everyday is the way to go!! It keeps your child on a consistent schedule, kids need that. Of course you will now have less time together, but he has many years of school ahead of him that BOTH of you need to prepare for. Kindergarten is the perfect time to adjust to the daily changes because ALL of the children may be experiencing homesickness. Come 1st grade your son will be used to being away from you everyday, all day...he will be able to focus on schoolwork!
Good luck!

L.

*you may also want to check out http://citymommy.com for more advice and tips*

Hi Sandy :D

Everyday is the way to go if you need a babysitter --- I think many people use school/daycare/preschool for a babysitter --- there are many older kids in sports just to the parents don't have to be there when they get home from school.

Every other day is probably great - and would save you a lot of money --- I would guess that the days when some kids aren't there, would be more like playtime and that is a lot of money for a play day... do you? It depends on your lifestyle and also - maybe MORE IMPORTANTLY on how well your child does in class... if he is an excellent and smart student, he wouldn't NEED to go EVERY day... Plus once the kids start school... you won't have as much influence on them as when they are at home.

Let me know if you want any more opinions... :) I'll share more if you want.

Hi, Sandy! I have kids who are just entering the middle school, and we also had the every other day kindergarten. I guess my question to the school would be if will he be learning the same thing two days in a row, or is there a separate cirriculum for kids who are there every day? I would think that they would be repeating a lot of the information to the kids who are there every day, because they need to give that same information to the kids who are there every other day. Does that make sense? Sorry if it sounds confusing. We did the every other day kindergarten, and they did just fine as they proceeded into first grade. Besides, you could save a lot of money!! I wish you the best of luck, I'm sure you'll make the right decision for your son and your family!

Just wondering where you live? Do you use a daycare facility? It was $125.00 a week for my daycare but they provided kindergarten at the facility and were licensed to teach it. We had a two child discount, thank goodness.
I have never heard of a school district that charged for every day kindergarten!!!