1/2 Day, Extended Day, Full Day Kindergarten

Are you a parent of a soon-to-be kindergartner? Whether you're dreading August (and cutting those apron strings) or can't wait for stores to fill their aisles with back-to-school essentials and watching your neighborhood streets for signs of new-bus-driver-route-practice, knowing your young student's kindergarten schedule is going to be essential in planning your time (and his or hers) for this very special school year!

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!

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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.

That Time of Year...Kindergarten Roundup (Repost)

**The following was originally posted by me at In Practice**



It's that time of year for kindergarten teachers: planning to meet "next year's" (August's) kindergartners. After Easter and spring break, school districts nationwide hold their Kindergarten Roundups, encouraging enthusiastic parents and usually eager-yet-nervous children to start making their immunization, school shopping and pep talk plans in the hopes that the first day/week of kindergarten is emotionally survivable for all involved. I have to admit, I've never been able to keep the image of lassoing five-year-olds-that-yes-have-made-the-cut-off-date out of my mind during spring registration, and in fact, several of my former administrators have even suggested that my colleagues and I "troll for kids that look old enough" as we drive through the school's neighborhoods before work each morning. Each administrator has wanted our numbers to be as close to accurate as we can have them before school staff sizes are re-evaluated over the summer due to increases or decreases in enrollment- very understandable.

Teaching in schools with larger student and family populations that fall within lower socio-economic levels means that I have had my share of hosting kindergarten "sneak peeks" involving myself, my students, future students, and their preschool or Head Start teachers, and not the students' parents. Typically, preschool teachers contact me and my colleagues in advance, asking us to look at calendar dates to find a morning or two when they can bring their students over to see what kindergarten is all about. They ask to sit in on storytime, centers, and participate in snack and possibly recess. I of course, give my Super Stars the heads up that younger visitors will be spending time with us during the week, and each year we inevitably agree that we should do what we can to help them feel comfortable during their stay.



Three or four students per preschool teacher arrive for their sneak peek, usually wide-eyed, and not at all reluctant. I purposely revisit old standby stories such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See or Green Eggs and Ham for storytime, and my Super Stars teach their guests the motions to our fingerplays, "Two Little Sausages," "Once There Lived a Quiet Mouse," and songs like Shake My Sillies Out. The preschoolers visit the learning centers they are most interested in, and can tour the classroom and its materials on their own, with a friend, or with one of their teachers. Painting, playing with blocks, dressing up in the pretend center, counting/sorting/classifying with math manipulatives, pounding and rolling clay, putting puzzles together, working on the computer, playing musical instruments, or quietly looking at books...are some of the activities that I will watch my future students exploring during their visit. *

Why am I watching instead of putting myself front and center, vying for their attention? For one, I might not be their teacher in August. Two, I feel it's important that the children make this transition successfully in their own way(s) and in their own time. It's not important that students *like me* when they first meet me, it's important that they feel welcome, and that they feel safe. And finally, yes... I'm taking mental notes, sometimes scribbling thoughts and observations down about each of the children as they familiarize themselves with their future environment.

~Does the child wear glasses? Hearing aids? Appear to have physical limitations that differ from his/her peers? What is the child's size, and how does s/he use physical space? Does the child squint, or say "huh" or ask for directions to be repeated again?

~ I listen to them speak...is there an accent? Is the child bi-lingual? Is only English spoken in the home? Does the child speak English at all? Understand it without speaking it? Are there pronunciation issues separate from language comprehension and expression? Regardless of oral language, does the child prefer to use sign language of some sort, gestures, to communicate rather than speaking?

~ Does the child interact with others? Others of the same gender? Opposite gender? Does the student only demonstrate parallel play? Does the child recognize and choose to acknowledge and cooperate with transitions?

~ Is the child passive or aggressive? How about passively aggressive (that one usually takes time to observe once the new school year has started, unless parents, a previous teacher or daycare provider tells me in advance)? Allergic to anything?

~ Is the student a watcher or a do-er? A little of both? How long does it take him/her to come out of a comfortable shell?

~ Is the student aware of his/her own needs and wants, and is s/he capable and willing to be in control of belongings, potty issues, and sharing resources? Does the student ask for help?

~ Left handed? Right handed? Ambidextrous? Knows how to cut, hold a pencil or crayon, and move objects and materials from hand to hand smoothly?

~ How does the child move? Running? Jumping? Climbing? Walking, skipping? Does s/he have good balance?

~ Does the student appear well nourished, clean, wearing clothes that fit? Does s/he appear well rested? Is the child lethargic, or a bundle of excess energy?

~ Does the child like to complete one task before moving on to another, or does s/he flit and float, moving between activities and projects, dabbling a little bit here, a little bit there?

~ Are hands and kleenexes used when the child sneezes, or are sneezes wide open and shared with the classroom? Does the child still put objects like toys, pencils, crayons, rulers, scissors in his/her mouth?

~ I also listen to our guests, what I call "professional eavesdropping." Do my students shout out "Hey, we have that book at our house!" Do they question what paint or clay is? I can learn a lot about my future students' prior schema just by listening in on their stories and interactions while they're in my room.

Colleagues at each of the schools I've worked have asked me if I can tell with just one visit which students have had prior exposure to a school-type setting or structured learning environment, if I can tell which students have been read to nightly at home, which students have experienced hands-on learning, which students have made mudpies with real dirt and water and which have only made them by drawing or painting them with a computer program.

Yep. I can. While I hope that Kindergarten Roundup leaves each preschooler with a good feeling and anticipation about the upcoming kindergarten experience, it gives *me* my own sneak peek, providing me with vital information that I feel better about having long before the DIBELS test booklets arrive in the building in the fall. Recognizing and appreciating the wondrous diversity, strengths, needs, and potential that each new class represents makes essential relationship-building happen more smoothly and naturally for our youngest learners.

Welcome to kindergarten! Bienvenido!

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* Yes, some schools include preliminary formal assessments for incoming kindergarten students during Roundup . I've worked at one that did, and two that did not. My own preference is to refrain from putting barely-five-year-olds through additional performance stress on a day that should be about discovery, bravery, inspiration, anticipation, and belonging. Of course, that's just me.