Would 1/2 Kindergarten be more appropriate for my child?

Question

My daughter attended preschool part time for the past few years at local churches, etc. Our Kindergarten's here are full day. She is not doing well at all with the transition. Math is in the afternoon and she is tired and burned out and now has to have tutoring. She would need help either way but is 1/2 day more healthy?

Answer 1

It sounds like your pre Kindergarten was more like day care and less like pre-school. The two are not the same and adhere to different standards. That said Kindy kids do burn out, my youngest daughter was very small for her age (at the 3% of population mark) and had the misfortune of being born at the very end of December. She had to start school in her 6th year (required by law). She also had no choice but to go to Kindy full time (9am-3pm), which is also required by law here. Thus, with these two things combined, she was by far the youngest and weakest in her class.

So, for the first year of her education when we picked her up from school she would get into the car very tired, in fact sometimes almost exhausted, and she was driven home and put straight to bed for a nap (for as long as she wanted to sleep, there was no set time). She would sleep anything between 30mins to 2-1/2 hours. Her normal bedtime was then the same as her older sisters, 9PM. This worked quite well and she eventually grew enough in stamina to deal with school and not need afternoon naps.

However the fact you bring up tutoring surprises me, at kindy level parents should be able to help their own kids, not need to get tutoring for them. I would think that tutoring itself risked burning a kid out at kindy age.

Answer 2

If you are concerned with this aspect of the school, perhaps your daughter would be better suited to a smaller private school where she would get the help she needs.

If private school is not an option, perhaps you might want to try adjusting your schedule. Before my daughter started K, she would stay up fairly late at night and was still taking a nap in the afternoon. When she started K, I started her on a 7pm bedtime and no more naps. I was fairly concerned about the change, but I am so glad I did it. She took to it quite readily and doesn't put up a fuss. She gets about 12 hours of sleep, which is what kids really need, and I don't usually even have to wake her up in the morning. She is up and dressed and ready to go much of the time on her own.

Many of my friends are amazed that she has such an early bedtime, and I will admit it takes a bit of scheduling on my part (earlier dinner, finishing homework, no after school errands, bath, etc.), but I did it because I knew it was the right thing for her. And some weeks by Wed or Thurs she will go to bed at 6:30! She knows she is tired and it eliminates so many of the struggles we were having. But I see some of the other kids in her classes who go to bed at 8, 9, 10 or even later and they are zombies!

Kindergarten isn't what it was 35 years ago when I went, but give your daughter some time to make the transition. The first couple of weeks are hard, but once you get into a routine it gets easier.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I personally think that full day is too long for a 5 year old to be in school. My kids have all done 1/2 day programs and have done well. My daughter is about a month and a half into KG already. She still comes home tired after only a 1/2 day sometimes and occasionally falls asleep early or takes a nap!

Answer 4

Most Kindergarten classes are full days, unless it is pre-k which I think can be full day also if funded by the government. Not sure where you live, but I think she needs to go ahead and get use to transition before going to higher grades. Just help her as much as you can and there is nothing wrong with having her tutored. Just be an encouragement to her, she will be fine. Good luck.

Answer 5

This is one of the main reasons we home school. Our local kindergarten is also full day. Last year my friend enrolled her child and he was exhausted! He was there all day and would come home crabby and then crash. And he still wasn't learning much!!

My oldest is now in a 2nd grade program at home--a year above where he should be. My 3 yr. old is now doing kindergaten level work at home. We are laid back and they do about 4 hours of work each day, on average. Much of it is hands on. In 4 hours we are able to get much more done than those who are in the classroom an entire day. My kids are both well above their peers. Yet, they are not pushed. They are not burned out and they are excited about learning.

Kindergarten should be fun and is should be inspiring children to want to learn about the world around them. It should not wear them out or burn them out. I am so totally against the public school system.

I understand home schooling is not an option for everyone. I do encourage you to move your child to a half day program if at all possible.

Answer 6

Kindergarten is for teaching the child how they need act and what to expect for the next 5 to 10 years of schooling.
It is good for your daughter to get used to it. Go at least half of the school year before you take your child out.

Answer 7

What has happened to kindergarten? It used to be a fun experience to introduce the child into a school environment. A kindergartener who needs tutoring in math??? Ridiculous.

Answer 8

Well, you have had a very bad introduction to a very grown up experience for your daughter. I have been on both sides as a young divorce mother sending her child to kindergarten as well as being a teacher for several years. Because it is very difficult to know what the exact circumstances happen to your little girl, this is the advice I can give you as a parent. Give the school a chance; the teacher is required to have a basic one year curriculum. Once the session get into full gear your child will be separated into a group more suited for her needs. As a teacher I have taught pre-school to the fourth grade; it sound like the days are long and maybe to structure for her at this time. It is like when you start a new job, once you get into the routine it is like the position was design for you. As for the food, there is a health concern not only for your daughter but for the other children, the reason is she had already bit the apple and schools are hot beds for bugs. It is unfortunate that you daughter missed her complete meal, but as a mom we know that if we cry long enough we deplete are body of water and that is where the headache came from, unfortunately your little girl did not know to drink water. The crying is also the reason she fell asleep. On, the lighter side your daughter would not have starve that takes a very long time; but you can inform the teacher that you would like to have your daughter eat her lunch and what she does not eat you would like returned. Just explain that you want to monitor your daughter food intake. She will inform the aid. If the teacher does not cooperate you can take your concerns to the principle. One of the concerns that bother all parents for any age of a child is an injury. We want to know who is watching are child. But, because you do not know exactly what or how this happened let the instructor have the benefit of the doubt this time; let me tell you why. I was in my late thirties when I decide to take advantage of my degree. I thought I knew enough about life and would be a great teacher, the incident the kindergarten children would run up to me in the morning and give me a hug. One morning a little girl with long hair came behind me for a hug, I wear a 2 carat princess cut diamond ring, in attempting to move the child from behind me I got her hair tangled in my ring when I lifted my hand I pulled out several very long strand of hair, I thought I would have a stroke because I would have never hurt anyone let alone a child. I let the mother know that day what had happen but to this day when I remember that incident I still cry. The legal side, any person who gets finger printed to work with children get a file with their state agency as well as the FBI, if they cause harm to your child they will not be allowed to work with children again. Of course some have slipped through the crack of a system but not many. So although home schooling may have a curriculum advantage there is no book every printed for learning social interaction. One of the things that I liked to do was to encourage parent to participate daily in the school, get to know the people who take care of your child. You can indiscreetly as personal question, start with question like when, where they graduated from, then progress from there. I wish you and your family well, this is only the beginning.

Answer 9

I just left a class meeting for my sons Kindergarten class.. It was letting us know what they will be able to do at the end of they year.. I was AMAZED!! I think if you just make sure she gets to bed at a decent time and gets a good breakfast, she will adjust just fine. If they have a "nap time", find out if she is sleeping or just resting, and if they dont, if she can rest when they go out to play... Its a new experience for her and she is probably over whelmed... and I think she will be just fine, besides.. most public schools wouldnt allow that .. I dont think.. good luck, it will get easier as the year goes on...

Answer 10

If you think it would be better for her. I think it is a good idea since a full-day of kindergarten seems to be wearing her out. it is very normal for a child to only go to kindergarten for half a day.