Can 2 half day Kindergartens = full day?

[AmyB]

I am wondering if anybody has ever tried pasting together two 1/2 day Kindergarten programs to make 1 full-day Kindergarten, and if so, did it work?

My 5 yo enters Kindergarten in the Fall. Her sister goes to the local public school and LOVES!! it, so little sis is very eager to go there too. The problem is, they only offer 1/2 day kindergarten which actually means 2 1/2 hours. As a working single mom (absent father) this is, to put it mildly, a real hassle.

I am considering the option of enrolling little sis in the public school for a.m. , picking her up for lunch, then another 1/2 day possibly at a Montessori school or maybe at a University Laboratory Kindergarten.

I'm pretty sure the curriculum in the two schools would be different enough so her day wouldn't be redundant. I should mention that little sis is an extremely analytic, smart kid who can already read and add a little bit and likes doing "puzzles" in pre-k workbooks. I think she will probably thrive at school as long as they give her interesting things to do.

Would this kind of schedule drive her/me nuts? Would it be any better/worse than sending her to regular daycare? Would it be better to just bite the bullet and pay for a full-day private program so she doesn't have to cope with two different classrooms?

Thanks for any insights!

[Alyantavid]

That seems like a ton of work to me.

The school district where we live has morning and afternoon kindergarten and I know some parents choose to send their kids all day, but the programs are a little different so the kid doesn't end up just repeating what they did in the morning.

Our daycare takes kindergarteners in the afternoons and between the daycare and the parents, they all manage to carpool the kids to daycare everyday. Is that an option?

[Drummer's Wife]

I would probably find an afternoon daycare provider (or morning, if she is in PM Kindy). Or, put her in an all-day program somewhere else - and know she'll be at the same school with sister the following year. I don't know that you can dual-enroll in Kindergarten at two separate public schools - and private ones cost money, so you might as well pay for daycare and she can just relax, hang-out, and play with the other kids. Some Montessori schools do have separate AM and PM sessions - but a lot have the morning as a more authentic work-cycle, and the afternoons are more like resting, recess, play-based.

[eepster]

Most of the preschool/kindergartens in our area offer "kindergarten enrichment." It is designed to compliment the halfday kindergarten that are offered in some districts in our area. DS's Montessori (which does preschool through kindergarten) offers a half day enrichment option and aftercare that one can use on either a regular or occasional basis.

IMO if it is what your DD wants, the drive isn't crazy (or you can carpool,) it won't cost you a fortune, and you and DD will actually manage to get to eat; then go for it.

[daytripper75]

We're doing this next year. I spoke with a few families who have already done this and they said it was a busy year but worth it.
I am doing it because dd is a voracious learner and is ready for all day and because I wanted her to finish her three year cycle at Montessori and have the neighborhood school experience.

[amydidit]

Our district only offers half day kindergarten with no option of full day either. AND you don't even get to choose if it's morning or afternoon. Oh, and did I mention it's only 4 days a week now? I hadn't though of doing 2 different programs. Instead we're putting her in a 5 day, full day kindergarten in a private school. If you're going to pay for the second program anyway, why not just put her in it full time?

[Ellien C]

Back in the 70's my mom sent me to morning public kindy and a private nursery school in the afternoon. The nursery school even had a bus that picked me up at school. I didn't know the difference. Worked fine for me.

[texmati]

We used to get sent to a montossori after kindy, and it worked out fine. I'd ask the people at the private school, if they do this often with other children.

[its_betty]

That's exactly what my son did for kindergarten: public school mornings, Montessori afternoons. Worked great for us, and gave us a chance to see which type of learning style worked better for him. He just 'graduated' from 5th grade at the public school.

I learned to bring a snack to the door of the public school at pick up time, since he was hungry and prone to grouchiness. He arrived at the Montessori just in time for lunch, so the timing was good for us.

[kittykat2481]

I used to work for a daycare/preschool and there was one little boy that we would go pick up after his 1/2 day pre-k program, and take back to our school for the afternoon. I'm pretty sure they still had to pay full price though, because the only 1/2 day option was morning only, but other than that it worked out fine.

[eepster]

Originally Posted by amydidit

If you're going to pay for the second program anyway, why not just put her in it full time?

At DS's school the fullday Kindergarten cost about twice as much as halfday kindergarten enrichment, so money would be one reason. Another is that many families want the child to start forging friendships with calssmates they will have till middle school, and not come into 1st grade as the "new kid."

[BCFD]

I also put in my vote for an afternoon Montessori program.