Full-Day Kindergarten?
The committee I am on to study the feasibility of full-day kindergarten for my town is coming to a close. We have done extensive research on full-day kindergarten from many angles. From an academic point of view, there are no studies to date that show any difference in long-range achievement between those who have whole-day versus those who attend half-day kindergarten.
But there are certain intangibles that studies have a hard time quantifying. When I think of how much curriculum needs to be packed into the two and a half hours of school, it makes me tired! If the kids went for the whole day, there would be much more time to get everything done at a reasonable pace. There’d be more time for social interaction and development, for exploration into nature and science that kids just love, and more time for specialists like me to get to see the children who require extra support.
If it’s true that everything you need to know, you learn in kindergarten, I think we should have more time to get that important work done!
Our committee meets this week to vote on what our recommendations will be. I’ll keep you posted!
December 2, 2007 @ 3:31 pm
Hi,
I admit there is nothing scientific about what I have to share here…but years ago I had the opportunity to teach All Day Kindergarten. I absolutely LOVED it. I would like to say that we never ever felt rushed, but there were days when we got so busy that time flew by!;-) The All Day K started out as a pilot program, and I had the chance to see my kids in action with the half day kids. Please don’t take this the wrong way…but they seemed on a different level than the half day kids. Again, don’t take that statement the wrong way, and I am not saying they were like “first graders”, but they were definitely like 2nd year Kindergarten students. Which, when you think about it, they probably were, they had twice as much class time as the other kindergarten students. What I noticed was nothing that could be “tested” or filled in on a worksheet, (Which we didn’t do) but the level of confidence and willingness to take risks among the kids was much higher with the All Day K’s than with the half days. Not EVERY single child of course, but the vast majority for sure. I am back to half day sessions now, and feel cramped to get to everything I would like to cover. But it is the way it has to be for now.
Good luck with whatever your district decides.
And again…not sure if what I have to share is helpful, but I would venture to say it was eye-opening for me as a teacher!
December 3, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Hi Cindy,
What a treat to get your comment! I will definitely share it with other members of our committee and it really does go along with what I have been thinking about full-day kindergarten.
On another topic, I am just finishing an on-line course called “Social Software” in which we have created a blog, wiki, and (some of us but not me) a podcast. This is my introduction to all these wonderful technologies. I wish I had found your blog sooner!
December 3, 2007 @ 6:42 pm
Hi Sara,
Well in honor of your class….WELCOME to the world of the “social side” of the Internet! I am a “newbie” myself. I took a class this summer and never really looked back!! I love it. I am amazed almost DAILY at how connected we all can be. It’s a wonderful journey…I hope you’ll find it as much fun as my students and I do. We are nearing time for them to take on more responsibility for what we post on our blog. We’ll see how it goes.
’til later…
Cindy