Is Kindergarten mandatory

[ischoll]

I have just read that they are thinking of making an all day Kindergarten and maybe making it mandatory, but I was wondering if Kindergarten was mandatory in the first place in BC?
My son is in Waldorf (still trying to convince huuby to let me home school) and I find that they do mostly the same things that I Have been doing at home. Baking, cleaning, free time play and I throw letters and numbers in there. I can't wait to see him doing more crafts, because at this point I feel like I am wasting my money and energy and still having to deal with negative side effects of school.

[robugmum]

Kindergarten is not mandatory. It is considered preschool - the only difference is that it is government paid for while 3 and 4 year old preschool is mostly private in BC.

[ischoll]

I would like to present this to my husband. Is there a website that I can get teh information from?

[dawncayden]

As far as I know it is not mandatory, but looking up a website for you I found this (http://www.childcarecanada.org/ECEC2001/BC.pdf) that says that Kindergarden is compulsory.

But even if that is true, you can still use the kindergarden year to try out homeschooling and see if you like it...and if not, register for grade 1.

[DevaMajka]

One of these might help
http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/legislation/schoollaw/revisedstatutescontents.pdf
http://www.gov.bc.ca/bced/

[ischoll]

thanks for the help. I also read from the links taht Kinderrgarten is compulsory. i will try homeschooling any time! Convincing my dh is harder then....(insert your idea here.) it would be easier to lead a mule without carrots. still workig onit and ont giving up. :D

[vancouverlori]

Hey Iska,

you could try distributed learning!

That was my compromise with DD's schoolteacher dad and family. He's not all that happy about it, but he was ok once he understood that she was following the same curriculum and courses, but just doing it at home, and especially that the program we were following had social/extracurricular activities included.

Of course she's in Gr. 9, so it's more like school than the elementary stuff. I would have unschooled DS, who is also in K, but it would have been awkward to bring her to stuff that DS couldn't participate in, even though other kids his age were... so I took the carrot and signed him up. So far our "learning all the time" attitude and lack of attention to formal stuff haven't raised any eyebrows, but it's early! :mischief We're learning to write by using a laser on the ceiling as we have a leisurely morning cuddle, or by using a Q-tip on the steamy bathroom mirror after mommy has a shower! It's all good.

Unfortunately, the deadline for funding has passed... but you might try your local school district's program (otherwise you could go anywhere).

Go to LearnNowBC (http://www.learnnowbc.ca/) to find out more. It lists all the programs and their websites.

You may not do it this year, but it may give you more "ammo" for next year. And holy cats, Waldorf is major moolah! Most of the DL programs actually "give you" money to spend on educational resources like books and manipulatives and school supplies. So maybe that would help, to show him the argument from the economic side as well, especially if you can show that he's essentially doing the same thing but for way more money.

Good luck!

[ischoll]

HI Lori,
We met at a diaperfree meeting. :thumb A few days after I posted my last post, dh was on his way out the door and mentioned a possibility of moving to Victoria. He mentioned that it was more crunchy than Vancouver and would probably also have a Waldorf school. I mentioned that if that is the case then we can trial homeschooling for KG. He agreed! OOooh Yeeeaaah. I was put on the waiting list for New West homelearners and was accepted after the weekend. Since I had to give 30 days notice to Waldorf, we are still going 1-2X per week. the pressure is on to make sure things go well as dh wants to reassess at the end of the year. Luckily, there is a teacher who will assess my ds at year end and I will use that as ammo to continue into Gr1.

[vancouverlori]

Oh, I'm so glad to hear that!

So you're there at NWHL with Helen and her 2 kids (who also signed up at the last minute) - another EC'er and possibly Ksenia and her son too (she signed up but got cold feet.)

Good luck! (not that you need it!)

[ischoll]

I saw Ksenia last Fri at the primary morning class. I am not sure who Helen is yet. my son wanted me to pay lots of attention to him because he was scared. new environment and all.