Deciding between half day or full day

I have a post in the TC about which Kindergarten to send Anthony to. BUT, one K (the one he's actually enrolled in) is full day. The one I think I want him to be enrolled in only (maybe) has openings for half day. I won't know for sure until August 10th when the office opens again.

Half day seems to really limit what you can get done during the day. But that's kinda the school that I think I want (better test grades etc).

Is half day so bad?

Half day at the better school or the more convenient full day at the okay school?

Which would you choose?

I hate this!! Being the mommy sucks sometimes. lol

 

My girls are going to full day K in the fall. Reasons are:
1) this will put them and my 6th grader all on the same schedule. They catch the same bus at the same time, go to the afterschool program together, have the same days off, etc.
2) because I work, they would be in the schook daycare if they weren't in K. The cost for all day K is partially offset by the savings in daycare.

From what I understand, they will be getting more art and music and such - not more math and reading.

That said, if I were you I would opt for the school you plan to keep them in long term so they get comfortable and make friends.

If neither is the long term option, I would take 1/2 day at the better school.

 

We have no choice. I'd rather they go full days but they are half days (due to budget). BUT.. in your case, if there is a half day open in the school you want them in, I'd nab it and then they continue to go to that school. Right?

 

I actually would prefer 1/2 day--it will not be an option next year for K.

The reason I would pick 1/2 day are :

1. I dont need all day care- I stay at home
2. they are young (early fall B-day)- that is a LONG day for a 4 and early 5 yr old
3. the afternoon is more 'play' time- art/music/etc are the same for 1/2 adn full here
4. then we can have more mommy & them time for community activities (play groups, library, nature center, etc)


If they have good test scores and are already a 'good school' I would go 1/2 day and enjoy it. If you really need all day care anyway--I would see if you can get on an all day wait list or do a 1/2 day at the school you want and an enrichment at a local child center.

For K we are considering a small school w/i our local district (not our home school) because it has a strong community and social education program versus the more traditional home school. They are equal in academic scores.

KC

 

Jackson had half day, and I loved it. The class was smaller than full day because more people wanted full day. I still had time with him during the day to expose him to museums, story time, library, lessons, etc. Going into 1st grade, he was still ahead of most of the kids in his class, even those who had gone through full day, so at least for him, there were no drawbacks to half day.

ETA: I didn't have a half-day option by the time Hayden and Brady went to K. It was a LONG day for them and it took a while to adjust. When I'd go in the afternoon to volunteer, the teacher would tell me how the kids were so tired, they could barely keep focused.

 

I think that it's a descision you have to make from your gut using your comfort level with program and knowing your child.

We had the option to pay several thousand dollars and do full-day or take the half-day. Even without the financial consideration, I think we would have done the half. This is the first year of full-day here. At the info. program in April, the parents got to ask questions. The question came up about how would they deal with twin placement. The answer was "oh, we hadn't thought about it yet. What a good question!" People were asking how the curriculum would be different from the half-day. They didn't know. And this was April. The main reason they stated for offering the full-day was because of parents requests due to having to pay for daycare for that other half-day. Honestly, I wasn't comfortable with the program and the answers I was getting.

Marissa

 

There is no academic difference between 1/2 day and full day K--the main reason that full day K isn't mandated. Basically, research hasn't shown a difference in achievement between the two. Generally, kids in full day K get more of the "specials", more recess time, and more unstructured time. The academic time really doesn't increase. I had one K teacher of 1/2 day say the biggest difference is in what you do with them. In otherwords, if you have a child in 1/2 day and then let them watch tv all day when not in school, there is no benefit. But instead you should supplement the K program with sports, library time, etc.

 

ours did full day because it was the only option at the time & we were pleased with it. the twins loved it. half day is now available but my baby is going to do full day because the school is 30 minutes away & so doing half day would mean i am driving to & from school all day long. he has brothers in the same school so he has to do all day. in your situation i think i'd do half day at the better school. there will be plenty of years of all day school so i'd savor that last little bit of freedom that they have. if they couldn't do everything they needed by having half days the school wouldn't offer it & if it's the school that is best & you would rather them be in then i'd send them there.