How was the transition to a full day at school?

[Music-mommy]

HI all,
I enrolled dd in an alternative school for K and she goes 2x/week for about 5 hours. But I"m not impressed with the school really. It's non-coercive and supposed to be child led learning, but in fact seems more like a daycare.

I went and checked out a private french school and it seems really awesome, small classes, great teachers... also alot of play based learning in K and it's totally french which is really important to me, as I'm bilingual but we live in English Canada.

So I'm thinking of enrollingdd there for January. Only thing is it's full days 9-3:30 every day.

Just wondering how the transition has been for other people's kids to full time, from part time school?

She'll be 5 in a few weeks and has changed so much in the past few months, she wants to play alot, be with friends etc...

I"m scared of losing my attachment to her, but also don't feel like I can provide what she needs during the day, especially with a littel one in tow.

[CarrieMF]

Here the only half day K is at the Catholic system, all the other public schools are full day K(every other day). Prior to that my kids were in playschool 2 days a week for 2hours. The only transition was they were more tired for the first couple of weeks.

[sarasprings]

We haven't gone through this yet, but I really believe it depends on the child. I think 4 and 5yo are much better able to adjust and be in school longer than 3yo, but they are still young. My son, who didn't love preschool last year that was 2x a week, decided that he wanted to add 2 short afternoon days a week to his 3 morning days. I miss the extra time with him, but he's happy and content and we just do our things when we can.

Is there any way she can watch or participate in the class for a few days and help you make the decision? It really is a big one and I think that children really can be a part of decision making.

Or, are you comfortable enough with her present school to wait until next fall?

[wildmonkeys]

My son went from two two hour days to five full days and it was fine. I worried about it for months and it seemed he hardly noticed the difference. The main difference is that we don't do "playdates" during nonschool hours anymore, as I figure he gets so much socializing in with his school friends and that is family time I am no longer willing to share.

I do know some people have said their kids had a difficult transition, but I think it really does depend on the individual kid. My son is a pretty steady kind of kid who never really went through a melting down/falling apart phase and he just sort of embraced his new schedule as well.

Good luck!
BJ
Barney & Ben

[Music-mommy]

Thanks so much for your posts. I would never have even considered it last Sept, but she has changed so much in these past few months. And she's just bored at home. She enjoys staying full days at her alternative school, but I just don't see anything happening there other than childcare.

So I went ahead and registered her for December 1st. I'm really hoping that it works, but I am kind of sad that I won't see her all day, so maybe it's more my problem than hers!

Anyhow, thanks for your input and I'll let you know how it goes!