anyone done 1/2 day kindergarten + preschool during the same school year?

[ElliesMomma]

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Edited by ElliesMomma - 5/28/11 at 11:01pm

[ChristyMarie]

That is our plan for DS next year.

He's currently in full day Montessori but will go to public school for kindy.  Well, our K program is 2 hours.  The kid will be bored out of his mind.  So I've requested PM Kindy and plan to have him in Montessori for the morning then public for the afternoon.  Luckily the schools are a mile apart and a mile from my house so we have the ability to do it and have it all work out time-wise.

DS needs that stimulation all day and I just don't see 2 hours of K helping him progress at all.

[MJB]

I haven't done half-day pre-K plus half day K, but my son turned 5 in December and is in full-day K, from 8-3. It's not too long of a day for him. He was in half-day preschool for 2 years, and he was bored to death in the 4s class. He bounced off the walls waiting for his brother to get home from school. I let him use an online homeschooling program during the afternoons and he went through several grades of language arts (starting K at a 3rd grade level reading) and kindergarten math. That might be another option if you want to enrich her half-day K experience.

[chaimom]

My dd is in a full-day pre-k in a public school  that goes pre-k through 5.  She turned 5 a couple of months ago.  

She's been going to the K class in the morning since last October, and then she goes back to her pre-K class for "specials" (including Spanish language) with the rest of her age group.  

She's not overtired-- she hasn't napped since right around turning 2, though.  And I know a lot of kids in her pre-k class still nap.   I think most 5-year-olds can handle it.

[meemee]

hmmmm. 

just be prepared that the first couple or even 3 months will be v. v. v. tiring for your dd. 

with just K.

most kids even with half day kindy like mine (who was in FT dc before that) were absolutely EXHAUSTED the first few months of the start of school for K, 1st and somewhat 2nd grade. 

i couldnt afford it. but if i could i would have done it myself. coz our public school didnt do all the stuff that dd enjoyed at her playbased dc/ps - like art, science projects (they had them but just once a week, when dd was used to doing it twice a day). 

[its_betty]

My son (now 12) did this: public K in the morning, then Montessori K in the afternoon. The biggest challenge was the pick up: he'd be a grouch -- hungry, needing a break, and wanting to stay and play on the playground. I was on a tight schedule since I did the switch on my lunch hour from work. Things got much better when I started meeting him at the door of the public K with a snack in hand. Then I'd get him to Montessori K in time for him to have lunch there.

Otherwise, it was good. And interesting to directly compare how he learned, more traditional public school vs Montessori.

[RollerCoasterMama]

That's our plan.  We're switching to a different Montessori preschool next month (for LOTS of reasons!).  But a major perk is that they accomodate school age kids.  So after a year of just regular preschool, then he'll go off to kindergarten.  If he's in half-day, then he gets brought back to the preschool just in time to play outside and do lunch and they do Montessori things for the afternoon.  If he's in full-day, then he's bussed back after school and has an hour or two of activities until I pick him up.  Honestly, I suspect he'll get more out of the Montessori afternoon than full-day kindergarten, so I'm not even feeling inclined to try to get him into full-day.

When I found out about the bussing service to the public school across the road from me, I was ecstatic!  (Not relevant to the OP, but I'm still doing my happy dance and crossing all fingers and toes that this school is as good as everyone says because it sorts out school transportation through 3rd grade if it works out!!!  It's a full-time WOHM single mama dream come true if it works out!) 

Will your kiddo be in the preschool before starting kindergarten?  Not that it's a deal breaker to start two new things at the same time, but one of the reason I like our plan so much is that he'll have a solid year at the preschool and it will keep some continuity when he starts kindergarten.  He'll get to ride the bus with a few friends from preschool and he'll spend the afternoons with the teachers he knows.