AM vs PM kindergarten

[psyche]

My son will be kindergarten-aged next year. We're actually sending him to a Montessori school, but we're moving so he'll be at a different one. While filling out the form I realized that he could actually go just in the afternoon rather than the morning. He's probably both willing and able to go all day long but 1) that would be quite a lot more money and 2) it'll be our last year before he's in school all day anyway so I don't want to rush it.

For those whose children have attended afternoon K, how did the rest of your day flow? Were your children awake and ready to learn?

Personally, I'm really tired by the afternoons (one year old doesn't sleep well) so in a way the PM class looks attractive because my oldest could be around me during my slightly-perkier AM hours.

[sarahmae1]

I think it depends upon your child, and your family routine. We chose afternoon K (and also afternoon pre-k) for our oldest because we are night owls and like to sleep in too. He does not like to feel rushed, and of course I want to make sure he gets enough sleep and has breakfast before he leaves, and he usually isn't hungry right away when he gets up. Next year when he starts 1st grade, I worry about how the mornings will go. So I felt it was best for him to go to school in the afternoons. However, my younger DS still naps in the afternoons so when he goes to pre-k/K I will likely choose morning classes for him if that is an option.

[CarrieMF]

They don't have am/pm k except in the catholic schools here, but I had a choice of am/pm for playschool.

I prefer the AM. I am already getting 2 kids up & out the door to go to school, getting a 3rd ready to leave at the same time(or later as in the playschool case) is no big deal. Then I am up & more mobile and find I can do more of my stuff.

For the PM I had a hard time having to stop what I was in a groove of doing to get her ready to take her to school. we were often late or almost late because of it. It interrupted the whole day, whereas picking up at noon doesn't seem to have the same interruption.

For the first few weeks they are tired and you'll either have a am kid who may be willing to nap/have a rest time when they get home, or a pm kid who is extra cranky at 4pm.

[melissel]

My best friend and I were just discussing this. She's decided that she's going to send her DS to afternoon K, because she does lots of activities and supplementation-type stuff, and she wants to spend her time with him when he's fresh and eager to learn. He's way beyond K-level work anyway (like, WAY beyond), so for him it will be mainly social time.

[m71]

We did afternoon K this year, and it's been great. Sleep ins, pyjamas until lunch, lots of time for play and expeditions.

It's given my kids (now 6 + 3) an extra year of mornings to play with each other -- especially important as it's only really been the last year that the younger has been able to actively play with the older. It's made a huge diffference to their friendship, connection + closeness.

The best part was the option of an afternoon nap -- until the younger unexpectedly quit her afternoon naps mid-year!

[mata]

my oldest dd is not a morning person, so we did afternoon kindergarten. I actually preferred it-although I am a morning person myself, it was nice to have the morning with her to leisurely have breakfast, maybe take a swim, and not rush to get there right after waking up. When my youngest goes to kinder I'll probably also opt for afternoon-makes coordinating their drop offs and pick ups easier.

the only thing that's strange for us with afternoon kinder is the placement of the meal-we'd go straight to the cafeteria and lunch would be served at 10:30 am. DD would have just eaten breakfast at 9 and didn't want to eat anything. Then they'd have snacktime before getting out-she wouldn't want to eat at home. I had a challenge getting nutritious meals in her, and she actually was quite thin.

[AnnR33]

This is of course a generalization but our past Montessori teacher said that she found the morning class to have a bit more energy and sometimes a little more crazy
The afternoon class works better for kids that are more laid back and it seems to be more calm.
I always liked the afternoon session for many of the above reasons.

[ABand3]

My oldest DS did afternoon preschool and K - we loved it! No rushing around in the morning was the best part. We could sleep in or hang around the house in pjs until lunch, or we could get up and go do errands or something fun as a family. After lunch together my younger DS was ready for a nap, so we drove older DS to school, younger DS fell asleep in the car, transfered to the bed, and I had two hours to do what I wanted. It worked great for everyone.

Afternoon class was a bit more calm, plus there were only a couple afternoon classes versus many in the morning, so the whole school was emptier and quieter.

My younger DS is now in morning preschool (afternoon is not available here, we've moved) and I can NOT get into a good rhythm with my days.

[psyche]

Thank you for all the replies.

They helped me decide to ask for PM. Hopefully it will work out!