Half Day Vs. Full Day Kindergarten?

I personally think that half day kindergarten is best. As a former kindergarten teacher, I think a five year old will function best attending kindergarten for half a day versus a full day.

I've had 4 kids my youngst is 9 and i think full time is better because it gets them ready for 1st grade.

From my experience they both have their pros & cons. After much deliberating I did put my daughter in full day kindergarten. The problem that I ran into with it was that by the time she did breakfast, lunch, and nap time at school she really did not get more of the "education" time than she would have in a half day program. The only thing that worried me with half day is where I live it would have been at a totally different school. Therefore, she would have done pre-k at one school, K-5 at one school and starting 1st grade at another. That was more changing than I wanted her to go thru. Plus, the cost was a big factor for me. The school that offers half day here has a monthly fee. The full day is at a public school with no charge.
Hope this helps!

I vote for half-day. The school system will have your child for the next 12 years. This is your last chance to have some extra quality time with your daughter. I did half-day with my kids and treasure the memories of those picnics at the park, trips to the zoo, and just having them around in the afternoon.

I spoke to 1st grade teachers at our school. They reported that they really couldn't tell the difference between kids that had done pre-k, half-day K, or full-day K. The biggest difference seemed to be having parents that work with them at home . . .read, do puzzle, provide enriching activities. Those are the children that show up ready and eager to learn.

I battled with that a couple of years ago. I had taught my daughter before she was old enough to go to Pre K so when she did go it was easy and fun for her. When it was time for Kindergarten she was so ready eventhough she was the youngest in class...! I'd say it depends on how mature she is for her age...sometimes it's harder on MOM to let go & realize she's ready to "mingle" a little more....I'd try the all day first. If she doesn't nap it shouldn't be a problem but get ready to learn as they keep them busy!!! Good luck!

Okay, I read the other advice and I am not sure what is right. My 14yr old went 1/2 days, so when they wanted my 8 yr(now) to go all day, I didn't see the need. So, we took her home at lunch. My 14yr old is in 9th grade and doing great in school. Our 8 yr old is in private school and making staright a's. A few people said let them go all day so they will be ready for 1st. grade. Well, if taking naps in school is getting them ready, I guess. We have a now 3 yr old son. He will be going 1/2 days too. I do not see the need. They are not doing much after lunch. Around here, the public school takes naps and plays. They can do that at home. However, if you are a working mom this is perfect. Full day would be the way to go.

My son is only 9 months so I'm not there yet but...I would have to say that I agree with going half day because a full day may be too much for a little one. Their attention span is not very long and I think it would just be overwhelming. I say half day slowly eases them and YOU into it. :) Hope this helps!

I think both of you would appreciate and benefit from the full day. She will be there all day so she won't miss out any learning, activities, etc. You may enjoy the time to yourself as well. Since you are able to pick her up, she will anxiously await your arrival so she can telll you what happened that day and you will more than thrilled to listen and watch how much she has learned -- not just academically, but socially as well.

They grow up too fast. Our son starts kindergarten in the fall and he will only going 3 days a week. They are full days but at least it isn't 5 full days. He has the rest of his life to be independent. We only have a few years to really enjoy all the snuggles.

Unless you work outside of the home (which I see you don't), I personnally think 1/2 day is more than enough. If a 5 year old can keep attention for 15-30 minutes of "reading" or phonics, another 15-30 minutes for math, and 15 minutes for penmanship, that's all the "formal" schooling needed. Additional time in listening to stories (Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Raggedy Ann, etc) supplements that nicely. Most of the other things done in formal kindergarten classes basically fill in time and let them get active so they can pay attention during the major "learning" parts of class.

That's not to say that kids don't enjoy it, just that full day kindergarten is more like daycare than true school.

I'm sure someone out there will disagree with me, but that's my opinion on it, hope it helps.

We have done both, and I definitely think 1/2 day is better. We're going to send my almost 5 year old to 1/2 day next year. It's going to make money tighter, but I definitely think it's worth it after having gone through both. Whole day is really long, even for the kids (like my oldest) that LOVE to socialize and be out all day.

half day is best. Even with a half-day school, my kids were exhausted in the afternoon. The afternoon at full-day schools is a waste anyway. All they do is nap time (which is a nightmare because some kids don't sleep, and the staff has to try to keep them from waking the others) and snack and stuff like that. All the learning takes place in the morning. Bring her home, have lunch together, then play or relax or nap.
I wish you the best.

My personal preference it to have my children at home with me more than at a school. Also, our first kindergartener was still taking 2-hour naps at age 5 so a full day at school would have spelled trouble at home. Besides, they are only that young for a short time and at least in Kansas, are not required to attend school of any form until age 7.

The parents I know who are sending their children to all-day kindergarten are using it as free daycare. In our city there is such a need for after school care that nearly all of the public schools will be all-day in a few years. Right now they don't have the space. Also, with the No Child Left Behind standards being so high the kids who were in day care all their lives, vs. preschool, often need the extra time in a classroom setting.

I was excited when we first moved to a full day Kindergarden area. My 5 yr old boy started this year in a half day (2.5 hrs) and in Jan we started a full day class. He was not ready. Now he is under such stress from the moving to a new home that the stress of full day school was too much. Talking to the teacher and the counciler some kids are ready and some are not. A lot depends on sex of the child and the true age. My 5 yr old will not be six until April. Most of his male classmates are already six. The teacher says the girls respond much better. You know there is a difference in the way we learn at this age. The whole of the staff at the school agrees it levels out around 2nd grade. So I'm sure if your little one will turn six closer to Dec or Jan and being female the all day kindergarden will give her a kick up going to first. I liked the idea that all day lets them go to a P.E. or a music class every other day. Good luck and remember most all day classes will offer a half day solution if your little one gets too stressed. That was the solution for us.

My daughter started Kindergarten this year and we enrolled her in the public school system which has a full day program. She had been in a pre-K program that had a really good half day Kindergarten. It was a very difficult decision to make, she is a very smart little girl and very social, not to mention she really loved her class mates. But what is it that they really needed to learn in Kindergarten? She already knew her letters, how to count to 100, and simple math...but what she didn't know how to do was walk quietly in a line, how to eat in the Cafeteria, how to follow the rules for a full day of school and most importantly...how to be away from Mom all day. And then the biggest hurdle...NapTime. She had not taken a nap since she was 3 and now she has to discipline herself to rest quietly for 30min. We felt that she needed to learn all these basic rules before 1st grade when she will need to concentrate on the reading, writing and arithmetic.
We are fortunate to have 5 star public school system and this has been a very good year for her so far. She is now reading, doing some math and her favorite Art. She has learned to follow the rules (so you don't get your car moved)and NapTime is no longer a major stress factor...sometimes she even sleeps.
Hope you find this helpful...T.

personally i started my son out at half days to get him used to it... children stress just like adults do.. you don't want to overwhelm your daughter.. then after a while you can enter her full time

I have experience with both half and full day. My opinion is that the full day programs are better for the kids. My older two boys both had half day kindergarten and there just isn't enough time in the day to focus on much of anything. Sure, they learned and practiced reading and writing the alphabet and beginning word skills, but there was little time for coverage of other subjects. Out of a 2 1/2 hour school day, only about an hour to hour and a half was spent learning.

My daughter (the youngest) went to full day kindergarten. She got a wonderful variety of learning. She was able to read at a second grade level and was adding and subtracting before she left kindergarten. Naturally, some of this had to do with the additional work she was getting at home (my 6 yo and 8 yo are now homeschooled). However, it came down to a full day of school for her was 6 1/2 hours, of which actual learning took place for at least 4-5 of those hours.

Hope this helps!

Hi K.,

I have three sons. My oldest went full day and his two brothers went half-day. To be honest,I saw little difference in the way all three handled kindergarten. They all had a great time and adjusted well to the school system. Half-day kindergarten is tough on the parents, especially if both work, because you just drop your child off at school only to turn around a couple of hours later.

My oldest son is in full day Kindergarten this year. He loves it! It is amazing how ready they are. They learn so much. My son can count by 5's & 10's. They have already learned to write all their numbers, the entire alphabet (upper & lower cases). They are focusing on reading & spelling by phonics this semester. They have been learning math by patterns, and this semester they are starting a little more basic math (2+2=4). They have P.E., and one of his favorite things was buying a lunch box. He thinks taking his luch to school makes him very big. Most children are ready for it. They just soak up the knowledge.

I think it is better if the children learn to be away from us as soon as possible. I see children at Headstart haveing a hard time without there parents but I have had know problems with either of my children as much as I wanted to be there with them they learn many new things. Part of a day only three hours is not much time for them to learn much. One great skill is social skills. How to interact with others and share.. Good luck

We have a 1/2 day k where I work. All the main work is done in the morning. Some of the kids stay for an
extended care for the rest of the day. ALl they do is lunch, nap, snack and play for the rest of the day. Both of my children went here and I LOVED IT! They are both very good students, one is in college and one a junior in high school. They both will end up with lots of scholarships.
Of course it depends on your schedule and the child. I recommend if you are leaning toward the 1/2 day, if your child's birthday falls were you can send them to the 1/2 day this year and if you need to repeat a whole day next you would have that option. No one knows your child better than you do. It is a hard decision, but you need to pray about it and go with your gut feeling. Even if you are wrong later on down the road, you will have an opportunity to work it out.
Monroe, La.

i would rather have full day because the longer the day, the more they can learn

Most public schools have full day now. But the afternoon is spent in nap time. I would op for half-day if I was a stay at home mom. Some private schools offer the half day program. M. Woods I have grown children and grandchildren now.

K.,

I think they get sent away all day, every day too soon. She will be away from you all day for a very long time once she starts 1st grade..

I let my kids do 1/2 day and then we had a nice lunch and a nice nap together in the afternoon. I miss that time that we had together now that they are older.

I beleive that a full day of kindergarten is better. In the city where I grew up we had half-day kindergarten. But now the world is so advance with technology and kids are growing up much faster than what used to be. There is much competition in th world and now everything is about time; who can do what by when. In order to get the knowledge that the children need, and if the school is providing exceptional materials for learning; a full day of kindergarten shouldn't be too bad.

If you ask me, a full day is WAY too much for a 5 or 6 year old. We were in a state that only offered full-day when my son was 5, and we held off an extra year.

My son is starting kindergarten next year also. Right now he is in preschool (4K). I typically drop him off at 8:00 and pick him up at 3:00, so he goes a "full day." He loves it. Matter of fact there are many days when he wants to stay for "just a few more minutes." So, I just wanted to let you know that my 4 year old loves being in school all day.

My son is in Kindergarten now. They are required to go a full day.

I can tell you it is too much and he would fare better going a half day. The poor child gets home without a nap and is so tired that he falls asleep before supper is ready.

The are sending home vocabulary words for him to learn, that he will be tested on the Debils test.
Not nouns and simple verbs either. These words are pronouns, color and number words. Many of them are words I learned in 2nd grade.

Because, he has the attention span of a normal 5 year old the teacher assumes that he has ADD, and comments on it every time we are up at the school for conference or an event.

I think it depends on the school district. In Stillwater where I am a kindergarten teacher, we have all day kindergarten. There is no half-day kindergarten unless you go private. If you have the option for both and you feel more comfortable doing half-day, do it. My class has lunch so late that we have about an hour left at the end of the day for something. Sometimes we do extra center time or extra recess. Other times we learning games or fun movement songs. I would ask around at some of the full day K classes to see what they do in the afternoon. That way you will know if it is worth it.

R.:I am a kindergarten teacher in Stillwater, OK and a mom of one 2 year old.

I think it depends on your kiddo's temperment. My son loved all day kindergarten. I wish it had been available here for my daughters. I felt like after 1/2 day pre-k that my kids were ready for a full day. I also think it gave my son a running-start at reading, etc.

Well I have been to both... My son went to half day and my daughter went to full day. My experience has been full day seems to be better. They have more time to learn and not feel the pressure of getting all of the information in half of the time. This also give the children more time to socialize with there own age group.. Not with just our friends and family. You know they get to pick there own friends. I hope this helps... Sometimes it also depends on how old they are when they enter in to school.. My daughter is one of the youngest in her class.. she is a summer baby... Best of luck...

My son will be three in April and has been in pre-k since August 2007. We started him out going 3 days a week. His school is run as a typical school so the hours are only 8am-2:45. He loved it so much and was learning SO MUCH that I started him full time in January. It really just depends on your daughter and what she's ready for. I found that the consistency of him being there everyday helped and he doesn't miss out on the daily learning they do.

I recommend half-day kindergarten since you are a stay at home mom. She will not miss any of the learning experiences by only going half-days. I did this with all three of my boys. My youngest is in Kindergarten right now. I think it gets them used to going to school every day, but doesn't wear them out. They will have plenty of time to be in school all day in the years to come!

At this age I tend to think a full day would be too much for them. They do need a nap during the day and I know the kindergarten offers that. I would think some children would be able to rest. You could have them home and love them a little longer during this time. They will be grown and gone before you know it. Make every little bit of time quality.

I agree with all of the half day votes. Everything geared toward "preschool" happens before lunch time. Not to mention that gives you a couple of hours to get mommy work done while your child is gaining time with her peers. A win win for everyone involved. Then you can enjoy afternoons together until you have to send her to school all day everyday.

I loved Half Day kindergarten. It really does ease them into the whole school atmosphere but then we moved here and they don't offer that anymore but my daughter didn't care. She was just so excited to be at school.There are pros and cons to both.

I personally enrolled my daughter in the pre-k program at the kindergarten center in blytheville, full day program, since she had never been with anyone but me or my mom we struggled with drop off at first, but after the first week she was ready to get out and go every morning. she enjoys having to wear a uniform like her big sister, though i dont see the point. But her schedule is very rewarding to her as far as i can see, they have breakfast in the morning center time playground library time more center time naps snacks and stories before they come home. She has learned witing her #'s 1-10 her name and most of the alphabet. Good Luck---A.