The Dawn of a New Day: All-Day Kindergarten

Many of you know that and just decided to implement all-day kindergarten for the 2012-13 school year.

As a former teacher and a mother, I have mixed feelings, to be honest.

My daughter is currently enrolled in half-day kindergarten and attends K-Plus program (a supplement program that reinforces the concepts taught in kindergarten) three days a week. On Mondays and Fridays, she attends traditional half-day kindergarten while on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays she goes to K-Plus and kindergarten creating a full-day schedule.

I struggled with this decision: Do I just send her to traditional half-day kindergarten? Maybe I’ll just have her go to K-Plus two times a week. Maybe I’ll lock her away in a tower so she will not be influenced by the horrors of the tween culture that looms around the corner. (Oh, wait. That’s a post for another time. Sorry, I got ahead of myself).

Near the end of the summer, I determined that she needed more than I could provide for her in terms of social interaction. She was also reading by the time she was 4, which was another clue that she ready. I also appreciate that my daughter has a hard time with transitions. Sending her to school all-day, three times a week, felt right since it would give her a chance to acclimate herself to eating lunch in the cafeteria and riding the bus as well as the overall pace of being in school all day.

At the same time, my 2 1/2-year-old son was exhibiting some behavior that led me to believe that he needed some one-on-one time with me. At the end of the summer, I nervously enrolled her in K-Plus, but also knowing that I could pull her out if it didn’t work.

Sending her to K-Plus three days a week has been one of the best parenting decisions I have ever made. She is flourishing, and I could not be more proud (and relieved).

I totally understand the pros of all-day kindergarten. There is more expected of a child at the end of kindergarten; they need to read and write and count to 100 in several different ways. If children were to attend kindergarten all day, it could alleviate the pressure to cram it all in. 

Not to mention, we, as a country, need to be more on par with other nations in regards to education if we are going to successfully compete in a global economy.

However, there are cons to all-day kindergarten. Even though there is a huge developmental range that is considered normal, not every 5 year old is ready to be in school all day. I believe that it would be detrimental to a student to feel like they are behind before they even begin, resulting in a negative attitude towards school. 

I predict that there will be an influx of students that attend pre-K programs (which is going to be a problem in Chippewa Valley since there are only two classes). I think you will see parents holding their children behind until they are one year older, delaying the beginning of school.

And then there is the question of preschool. I have already touted my . However, since all-day kindergarten is going to be a reality, I am not sure if attending preschool will be considered an advantage, but maybe more of a prerequisite. In which case, the price needs to be lowered so that all students, regardless of their economic standing, are all on an equal playing field.

The bottom line: every child is different, and a cookie-cutter education system does not address everyone.   

I think in a perfect world, it would be nice if parents could choose what kindergarten format is best for their child. Overall, I am in favor of all-day
kindergarten, but I think there needs to be viable options for students who are
not ready, as well as affordable preschool choices.

Are you in favor of all-day kindergarten? Are you against it? What will you do if your child isn’t ready for all-day kindergarten? I’d love to hear what you have to say!
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