Will your child be easing into a new academic routine by participating in a half day or extended day program, or does your school district offer full day kindergarten? You might hear arguments for and against any or all of these choices (and whatever other program schedules that might exist), but in my opinion, what makes or breaks any kindergarten schedule are the expectations, intentions, and knowledge (or lack thereof) of developmentally appropriate practice of the adults involved and their resulting respect or disregard for the world of young learners.
Here are some helpful references:
* The Top Ten Signs of a Good Kindergarten Classroom
* Kindergarten Readiness: Is Your Child Ready for School?
* Helping Young Children Start School
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(image: Jim Gordon)
Half Day Kindergarten: (my classroom sample schedule)
A half-day program typically lasts three and a half to four hours, though I've heard of some districts offering kindergarten classes that are only two hours, forty-five minutes long. Most teachers will have a morning class and an afternoon class that follow the same daily curriculum schedule. Depending on the district's transportation budget, morning students will typically ride the bus to school in the morning with parents or babysitters providing their own transportation home before lunch, while afternoon students will be dropped off at school by parents or day-care providers at lunch time, and then ride the bus home at the end of the school day.
*8:00 – 8:30 Arrival; Put backpacks/coats away; white/chocolate milk choice chart for snack; activity at desk after bathroom, washing hands, etc.; correspondence from home to teacher; attendance taken, Pledge recited; finish desk activity (this is also a good "chat time" for students to communicate and catch up with one another before having to focus their attention on the teacher)
*8:30 – 9:00 Calendar/Morning message/Story/Songs and Fingerplays
*9:00 - 9:30 Writing/Language/Literacy (journals, environmental print, new vocabulary, phonemic awareness, etc.)
*9:30 – 9:50 Recess
*9:50- 10:20 Math with math manipulatives/technology/exploration
*10:20 –10:45 Learning centers with curriculum concepts/topics integrated: books, painting/clay, computers, one on one time with teacher, math manipulatives, pretend play, blocks/building, puzzles, creative construction zone, puppets, writing, listening (cd or tape player), and weekly poem. Students will have free choices as well as "must try" centers, and students will straighten up centers before moving to their next activity.
*10:45 – 11:05 Center and classroom clean up, washing of hands before snack. Snack.
*11:05-11:30 - Storytime, Show and Share, Songs, Concept Review, prep for home (students empty cubbies, pack backpacks, straighten desks/chairs)
I have an hour for lunch, prep, and whatever lunchtime duty I might have for the upper grades, and then repeat the above schedule for the afternoon class, typically from 12:30-3:30.
Extended Day Program Particulars:
When I taught in Alaska, the extended day schedule alloted four and a half hours for students, with teachers working with two groups of students each day, with both groups of students "overlapping" for shared recess, lunch, and "special" time (PE, Music, Library).
Group 1 would attend school from 8:30-1:00, while Group 2 would attend from 10:30-3:00 (the overlap time when both groups of students attended class and activities together was 10:30-1:00). The academic portions of the schedule for each group were slightly expanded and could include computer lab time (though that was another "large group" option), and both groups had their own snack time halfway through their activities. Calendar activities and an additional story could take place with both groups together at 10:30 which freed up each individual group from redundancy.
The transportation situation was the same as the half day program.
Full Day Kindergarten: (my sample schedule)
*8:00 – 8:30 Arrival; Put backpacks/coats away; white/chocolate milk choice chart for snack; school lunch/home lunch chart; activity at desk after bathroom, washing hands, etc.; correspondence from home to teacher; attendance taken, Pledge recited; finish desk activity and chat time with peers.
*8:30 – 9:00 Calendar/Morning message/Story/Songs and Fingerplays
*9:00 - 9:30 Writing/Language/Literacy (journals, environmental print, new vocabulary, phonemic awareness, etc.)
*9:30 – 9:50 Check out books at the library (it was a daily option at my last school instead of a once-a-week visit)
*9:50- 10:20 Math with math manipulatives/technology/exploration
*10:20 –10:35 Snack
*10:35- 11:15 Learning centers with curriculum concepts/topics integrated: books, painting/clay, computers, one on one time with teacher, math manipulatives, pretend play, blocks/building, puzzles, creative construction zone, puppets, listening (cd/tape player), writing, weekly poem. Students will have free choices as well as "must try" centers, and students will straighten up centers before moving to their next activity.
*11:15-11:30 Center and classroom clean up, bathroom/washing hands before "special" (PE, MUSIC)
*11:30-12:00 PE/MUSIC
*12:05-12:45 Lunch and Recess
*12:45- 1:15 Bathroom/washing hands, then Storytime, Show and Share, Songs
*1:15- 1:45 Rest and Relaxation (some students take naps, others look through books quietly)
*1:45-2:15 Art or Computer Lab time
****2:15-2:45 Round two of centers, or explore science/social studies concepts in large group lessons, though some students need a second snack at this time as well.
*2:45 Concept Review, prep for home (students empty cubbies, pack backpacks, straighten desks/chairs)
*3:00 Dismissal
**** The second round of centers (with materials focused on curriculum topics) provides students with extra time to explore and work with manipulatives and other equipment or resources to expand and solidify their understanding of concepts introduced. Many parents think that a full day program means that students will cover MORE curriculum topics, stretching into first grade material..."working ahead." This is NOT usually what happens, rather, the kindergarten curriculum is experienced more in-depth by students during the extra time in the classroom, enhancing comprehension and facilitating further exploration with concrete, "real" experiences and reflection.
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Remember, the schedules I shared above are only examples- and your transportation situation will be determined by your district. Take advantage of any Kindergarten Round-Up/Registration opportunities your child's school offers, pick up information packets or check the school's web site for schedule information and a sneak peek at what you and your child have to look forward to!**********************************************************************
In case you're interested, here's the link to my post about Kindergarten Round-Up and the observations I make when I meet new students for the first time.
Great post -- thanks! My son's been in Montessori preschool for the past three years (9-3 four days a week). We're transitioning to the neighborhood public school for kindergarten, and it offers only a half-day program (2 hours and 40 minutes). In your opinion is that amount of time too short to get in enough playtime/social time/creative enrichment? I'm not too concerned about academic advancement because he has a pretty solid base already so I trust that will come along just fine. But it's a bummer that since the program is so short the kids don't get art/music/PE until first grade. I have the option of applying for a transfer to another school that offers a full-day kindergarten, but I do like the idea of walking him to our neighborhood school, and I'm excited to have a year of mornings with him (he'll go to pm kindergarten). My plan is to do some loose project-based homeschooling with him in the mornings, and to help lightly reinforce the literacy and math concepts he learns at school, though I don't have any experience with homeschooling so we'll see how that goes! I guess I'm just wondering if you strongly advocate longer kindergarten programs over shorter ones? I want him to love his kindergarten experience.
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