Hurray, Hurray Full Day K!!!

Today, when picking Zach up from school, I saw a memo posted in the waiting area for Kindergarten in that town. The owner of his school is on the town council and is always posting what's going on in town. A lot of kids at the school will be going to Kindergarten at the public schools in that town and this is an introductory event. They have full day Kindergarten, we don't.

My Mom told me that when I was a Kindergartner in 1985 parents started to ask for full day Kindergarten. This past November was the first time it appeared on the voter ballot. It came close but didn't pass. And that was only for full day for half of the year.

Yesterday, Zach and I were walking around the neighborhood and on one street we were on you could see the entrance to the Elementary school he'll be going to. The principal was the Vice Principal at the Middle School when Josh and I were students there and I used to be a Substitute at that school. He's really awesome and I am thrilled Zach will be a student of his. He's never met Zach before but the first thing I was asked when the Secretary saw Zach was "Would you like registration papers?" I told her "Not yet, he's only 3 1/2". The Principal, Mr. A., was happy to hear he's in Preschool and since it was 2pm, Zach was able to see a Kindergarten classroom. Kindergarten got out at 12:30, the time he gets out now. Zach was PERFECT!!! He answered the "can you find" questions based on animal pictures on the rug, stayed near me and didn't touch anything, and said "please" and "thank you". It was a parent's DREAM!!!

Mr. A. commented on how smart he is and was as surprised as the Secretary (who recognized me from Subbing 6 years ago) that Zach was only 3 1/2. We finished walking home and I praised Zach for being so wonderful.

It renewed my interest in this battle. So many kids are in school for at least a year and a half before Kindergarten. I don't see what the hold up is. Maybe it's misinformation. When I was a Sub, I was in full day Kindergarten classrooms and this is what the afternoons looked like:

1. The special classes like Gym were in the afternoon meaning more time for reading, writing, math, and other key things in the morning when the kids are the most attentive. Meaning, you can get more out of the morning then when they are interrupted for these special classes. Which are required by law no matter how long Kindergarteners are in school.

2. After lunch was rest time but only for about 15 minutes - half an hour and during that time the surroundings they are taking in are things like the alphabet on top of the blackboard, further enforcing basics.

3. There usually was center time where kids explore around the room hands on activities that reinforce what was taught in the morning and a second story reading.


There seems to be two concerns about making Kindergarten full day.

One is: "Let Kids Be Kids" - These people envision these kids playing freely after school but to me that means two things.

     a. The kid must be overscheduled with extracurriculars because 2:30  - bedtime is plenty of  time for free play. Some extras are great but if you can't get enough weekly free play without those extra two hours, you need to cut back. That's too much for any kid.

    b. They don't know that the afternoons consist of what I described which is a great balance of education and play and don't realize what after school programs are really like. Still play, but not educational and more restrictive then free play as they are encouraged to not get too loud and to mostly sit still. They aren't getting the activity envisioned. I worked for the Y aftercare program in High School.

The second one is: "It'll raise taxes" - reasonable since it's an expensive town to live in already but we're talking about $20 - $50 extra a year meaning about 50 cents a kid. I still understand how money is an issue but overall we are talking an average of about $35 at most based on the average property size in town. I know not everyone can afford that much more but it was worded on the ballot like it was going to be more expensive per household then it is. If more people knew the true impact they may have voted differently.


I am considering going to that meeting in the town Zach's Preschool is in just to gather information. It'll probably be on next year's ballot and the push around voting time needs to include two things from the town to get it to work:

1. A layout of how the week would look with Full Day Kindergarten and what it currently looks like to paint a clearer picture of what the difference is.

2. Make a sheet like they would for determining what every household would pay extra based on property value. It would just be various property value ranges and what the annual extra cost would be for each with full day K. Mail it out so people can see the actual impact this would have on them specifically. They presented it based on the complete impact on the town and that made it look more expensive per household then it is.


So why am I so into Full Day K even though I wouldn't be effected by after school care?

1. Most kids are in school a lot already and by Kindergarten can handle more.

2. More time to stress social skills so First grade teachers don't need to spend that much time on sorting through recess issues and more time on education.

3. Building up endurance for the full day when the afternoon is easier to handle making the first grade transition a lot easier especially late in the year (something I have witnessed. Yes, there is a difference and this means better focused first graders making first grade more effective.)

4. As a Sub I was in both full day classrooms and half day classrooms. There is a difference in the long run. I also saw that as a tutor.


It's outdated to only have half day Kindergarten. Most towns have full day. The assumption is that it is full day. When I walk, I talk to neighbors (and that includes a pretty far distance from my actual apartment) and they all support full day Kindergarten. Maybe next year's vote will yield different results.

My facebook friends know where I live and most are also from this town. I encourge them, and anyone else pushing for Full Day K in a town that doesn't have it, to share this post with others whose vote might make a difference between Full Day K or not. While the per-household cost will vary per town, it probably still is a lot cheaper per household then presented on ballots.