Tell me about your Kinder's day

[Eman'smom]

Ds will be starting K in the fall, and I'm not quite sure what to think. For right now I'm not planning on homeschooling, ( I really don't see ds and I "clicking" with it) the charter schools are either a distance away or seem to have other "issues".

I had basically planned on sending him to public school with an open mind, well I'm reading the online handbook and not really liking what I'm reading.

Classes go from 9:05 until 3:50 four days a week and 9:05 until 1, 1 day a week. They only have 15 minutes of recess once a day (thank you Bush and NCLB).

This just seems like a really long day for a 5 year old to not only be indoors but "learning"

I can't/won't be able to find out the schedule until registration and "the tour".

What does your child's schedule look like?

[LiamnEmma]

hmmm, seems like there'd also be a 45min lunch/recess block in there as well...teachers get lunch too you know...I can only speak to the district in which I work and the district in which I live, and both kinder groups in both districts have ample free time throughout the day. They do free play/developmental things after lunch and lots of arts and crafts activities--where I work there was a huge play production just before winter vacation that looked like a lot of fun. I hear you though. Last year when I sent ds to kinder, I felt like I was throwing him to the wolves and I hated the idea of a full day kinder program. I'm still not so hot on the idea, but not that my free-spirit, oppositional, go with his own thing child has made it through unscathed, I feel much better about it. Of course, the district I live in uses a graduated schedule so that they are not really full-day until April of the school year...

[kewb]

My dd attends a full day private Kindergarten from 9-3.
Her typical day usually looks something like this:
9-9:15-students are settling in.
9:15-9:30-Morning Message. Their teacher writes a good morning meeting on her easel pad and th children all try to read it.
9:30 to 11:45 - involves handwriting worksheet, activity sheet, craft project, some free play and circle time.
noon-12:30-lunch
12:30-1-outdoor recess
1-1:30-rest time
rest of the day is similar to the morning-combination of learning & free time. There is also a snack time or 2 in there.

Depending on weather they do assignments outside on the school grounds, a few fiield trips & assorted other special activities the teacher plans at the school.

[Eman'smom]

[QUOTE=LiamnEmma]hmmm, seems like there'd also be a 45min lunch/recess block in there as well...teachers get lunch too you know...QUOTE]



Sorry I didn't state it better, the 15 minutes of recess is directly before or after your 25 minutes of lunch (45 minutes of total time, I guess 5 for walking). I also assume there would be an hour of something like art/PE/music so the teacher would get her prep in.

Either way I'm glad to hear it's not a full day of seatwork. I just hate that full day is mandatory here, he seems awfully young to be in school that long.

I also have an over-crowding rant, but that is anothe post

[oceanbaby]

Well we are homeschooling, but I did tour many public and private K's in our area. Most of the private K's had a short morning recess and short afternoon recess, with a lunch/recess in between. I believe most public K's had a short morning recess, and then lunch/recess, but no afternoon recess. The ones that had art/music/PE only had it a few days a week, not everyday. I was not happy either about full day Kindergarten, so I understand the problem you are having with it.

[1xmom]

My dd is in K this year and she really likes it. Her day is pretty much like mentioned above and she has PE, music, dance, art and library 1x/week.
She also has been in day care and preschool all day since I am a WOHM. One of the main adjustments she had to make was the lunch period. At preschool it was a full hour, at K it was 25 minutes. The first 2 months of school was a serious adjustment. By the weekend we did very little, b/c she was just so exhausted from school. She just wanted a "sleep-in" day. Now she is ready to get more into some afterschool activities and we're always finding something to do.

[TiredX2]

Wow, I don't have a kinder (will in the fall) but I can't imagine only 15 minutes of recess daily.

DD is in the 2nd grade and she has 15 minute morning recess and 15 minute afternoon recess. She has 55 minutes for lunch which, I *think* is 20-25 minutes for eating and the rest for recess. Oh, she also has snack.

She has two "periods" of PE, two of music and one of library.

Class is 9-3:30

DS will go half day, so 3 hours and that will include recess.

[Mirzam]

My DS currently goes to a half day kindergarten (public waldorf/intergrated day/multiple intelligences inspired school) and his hours are 8.30 to 11.20 with one recess but most of Friday am is taken up by a hike. However, next year he will be attending a private contemplative school (unique one of its kind so far!) and they offer full day kindergarten, with a combined 1st/2nd grade.

Here is their typical day:

8.30 - 8.50 Entry (outside)
8.50 - 9.20 Morning walk / large movement
9.20 - 9.45 Morning Cirlce (kindergarten and grades combined)
9.45 - 11.15 Kindergarten lesson
1 grade lesson (next year will be 1/2 grade)
11.15 - 12.30 World languages
Spanish (Mon, Weds, Fri)
Chinese (Tues, Thurs)
11.15 - 12.30 Unfettered time - the classes intermingle and children play and work in their own chosen areas of interest. Substantial snack is available at this time too, the children can eat when they want.
12.30 - 1.00 Weekly story told Mon, Tues and Weds; recapitulated by students on Thurs and acted out Fri.
1.00 - 1.30 lunch
1.30 - 2.20 Afternoon lessons (one from each domain of learning - this is a comtemplative school so the domains are sciences, embodiment disciplines, contemplative practices, humanities and arts).
1.30 - 1.50 Silent time during afternoon activities (this is an excercise of being with oneself in a group situation)
1.50 - 2.20 Clean-up and daily chores
2.40 - 3.00 Afternoon snack and closing circle
3.00 Departure

(Friday is a half day and ends at 12 noon)

[jkpmomtoboys]

We go to a public Sudbury-like school and have a half day K (8:15 - 11:35). The day looks something like this:

8:15 Attendance, Opening Activities ( Calendar, Weather, Star Attraction)

8:40 Language Arts Workshop (story, concepts about print, phonemic awareness, shared reading, interactive writing, independent writing, writing workshop, handwriting)

9:40 Snack Recess

10:00 Math (Math Lab. on Wednesdays from 10:45-11:20 followed by reflection)

10:35 Centers (Math, Language Arts, Art, Computers, and Play. The kids work in a different center every Mon., Tues., Thurs., and Fri.)

11:15 Community Circle Reflection/Tribes Activities

11:35 K Dismissal

Wednesday: (10:00-10:30) Buddy Time (30 minutes each week working collaboratively with 2/3 buddies. 4/5 buddies join once each month).

Art Wise, alternate Tuesdays 8:45-9:30

Library/Computer Lab. alternate Thursdays (30 minutes)

[siddie]

That is so developmentally inappropriate but also fairly common now. I withdrew my child from a school that had a similar schedule.

Now my son's school is so great. They have a 20 minute recess in midmorning then 30 minutes after lunch. They also have centers time where they can move from activity to activity at their own pace. You may have to look around for a new school.

School starts at 8 and is over at 230. In addition to recess and lunch, they also have a 1 hr nap in the afternoon. This is a private school known for high sat scores, kinders often score at a 2nd grade level.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

My son also does full-day kindergarten (8:30-3 M-Th, 8:30-12:20 F), at a private school. There is one morning recess (15 minutes), a 45 minute lunch/recess time, plus 1 hour of sports in the afternoon. The rest of the day is spent in a mix of math, phonics, reading, music/assembly/drama, art, values/religion, and science. While there are "seat time" activites where the expectation is that they are quiet, still and concentrating, some of the classroom time is also moving, active time.

Since he has always done full-day preschool and daycare, this is actually a shorter day than he was used to, although more intense and with les free choice than before.

If you are concerned about the length of the day or the amount of "in your seat and silent" time, ask lots of questions. You may find that much of the in-class time isn't nearly as controlled as it sounds like. But then again, ours is a private school that isn't stressed about NCLB or any other standard other than the schools own.

[mamaroni]

My dd attends the local public school. The K's go two full days and one half day. there are 19 kids in her class. School hours are 8:35 - 3:35, half day is 8:35-11:35. The daily schedule looks like this (I don't have specific times tho):
welcome song
attendance
letter work
writing workshop
snack
recess
word wall
calendar
phonics
recess/lunch
centers (kids move around to different stations in the classroom)
math
recess again
reading workshop
science/social studies
daily message

The half day schedule follows the same morning schedule.

She has one "special" each day, gym, library and/or music.

The kids in her class spend some time in their seats, but I've been in the classroom and the kids are up and down quite a bit too. And some of the things are done on the mat, or at different places in the classroom. It is definitely not a strict "stay in your seat" atmosphere. We're also lucky to have a great teacher. . .we really jive on our philosophies. good luck!

[Kirsten]

My dd2 is a kindie this year at our alternative public elementary. That program only has full day, but we could get half day at any of the "regular" elementaries.

She arrives between 9:20 and 9:30; school starts at 9:30. They have a little something to do at their tables, then morning meeting. Morning meeting is great but I don't have time to type it all up right now. Then they do yoga, with one child leading the pose selections.

There are three recesses (one morning, one right after lunch, and one afternoon) plus a morning protein snack.

School is out at 3:05 so it is about 5 1/2 hours. I haven't timed out recesses, lunch and snack.

I really think half day kindergarten is best for the majority of five year olds but full day is the price we pay to be in our school. Getting in at kindergarten is hard enough, almost impossible at 1st grade.

[ladylee]

My daughter attends 1/2 day (afternoons) public K. Drop off is at 10:20 am-in the cafeteria where they eat lunch. At 10:30 in the morning. My daughter has only just eaten breakfast by that time and never eats lunch. They go to class at 10:45-actually, that varies depending on what day o fthe weekit is. Some days are library, computer lab, etc. From about 11:30-1:30 they pack in a LOT of content and activities-too much, IMO. Then 1:30-2:00 is snack time and recess. Although I'm happy she's only in half day, they pack way too much in during that time.

[Soxfan Mom]

Originally Posted by siddie

That is so developmentally inappropriate but also fairly common now. I withdrew my child from a school that had a similar schedule.

I'm curious; are you referring to the post above yours or the original post? I wonder because my child is in a system that operates much like jkpmomtoboys' does.

Personally, a 5-year-old spending a full day in school seems overwhelming. My memories of kindergarten are of playing, learning to zip up my coat and naps on rectangular carpet remnants.

[writermommy]

I taught full day Kindergarten and the kids really did great. Still, I thought my dd would have trouble adjusting, since she had spent most of the year before at home with me. She loves school and can't wait to go each day. Her day starts at 8 and ends at 2 pm. They do group and a little individual work in the morning, then have their specials gym, library, computer, music, art one each day and two on one of the days. They have lunch at 10:30 and I'm glad about this since she doesn't like to eat much in the morning. I don't have to worry about her being hungry. Then they have a half hour of recess. They go back to class and do more reading/phonics and some math. Then they have free play time. If the weather is nice, they have a second recess time, then snack. She is out at 2 pm. I really like her program and find it to be very developmentally appropriate.

I taught prek and k for many years and I checked out every school in our area before choosing hers. She goes to a Catholic school. The public school in our area has half day kindergarten, but I'm not thrilled with the district. The high school and middle school are completely out of the question IMO. Also, the half day program tries to cram in all the academics that she gets in a full day, without any of the fun of recess or free play because there isn't time for it. They also go to school until almost 4 pm, which is too late for me. I like them home early. We still have some of our day left.