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Full day kindergarten programs benefit not only children, but the parents who are often in need of wholesome day care. Why waste this precious learning time. Most children entering the first grade with one or two years of structured learning and discipline behind them, do better and have no problems keeping up in the first grade.

A caution here is sending them to kindergarten too early. If they are not fully ready, say five before September, then another year of development would benefit them greatly. To hold a child back a year after starting in one class often is embarrassing to the child, but worse, may cause feelings of inferiority. Yes, beginning at the age of five, full day kindergarten is best. For four year olds, however, only four years.

Updating the above two paragraphs I sought online help in deciding the pros and cons of full day kindergarten from Bracken Reed in "An Option worth considering". She cites others who agree that information is lacking on the precise details but she did find enough evidence to support a normal school day for kindergartners.

I came away for reading with more knowledge on the subject but still with my original idea that for some children a full day of kindergarten will be okay but for younger children they may need to go home and take a nap. Emotional security being the key word here along with actual age. Some children actually go to school too soon and this can or break their whole school experience for them. Yet in this area, we are again talking about the normal school age and are not taking into consideration the students who may need to learn a new language as well as learning what children normally learn in school.

For those language underprivileged and those poverty underprivileged - two separate categories - a full day of kindergarten may be the best approach. As with everything when you are getting input from others, there are varying answers and the one conclusion we all can agree where education is no one size fits all.

Yet children must be educated and that education to be meaningful must be tailored to each child individually, and as great and as wholesome as that seems, it is not fair to expect the school system to get an A here. An A for effort will do. Some teachers fear, she says, that the programs for the normal first grade will be trimmed down to fit the kindergartner, and that will leave the first grade inadequate for those who have had kindergarten.

Interaction between teachers and parents and a more exploratory atmosphere seem to be the answer. Yet, as I stated above, this works well in theory but will the school system be able to afford the extra help this will entail? These are questions to ponder and in the meantime, parents and teachers will continue to see what works best for each.

The school experience at least prepares the student for this one thing in life: it prepares him to expect the unexpected and what may at first be seen as a draw back to a good education, may prove to be the catalyst that meant the difference between a mediocre education and one filled with promise and a lifetime of living fully within the confines of one's capabilities.

Source:
http://www .rel.org/nereport/jan03/kinder garten.htm

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