Graduation...

From preschool, that is. My 5 yr old daughter graduates today! I am so excited for the summer with her before she heads off for full day kindergarten next Aug but it is bittersweet. It just feels like it is all going so fast. I wish we could slow down time or bottle them this size forever. Anyone else losing their babies to school?

August 2 -- that sounds like such an early start date!

Bryn starts kindergarten this fall, too, on September 7. I've had her in preschool for the last few years, but this just feels really different. The school seems so big, the kids seem so big..... . I feel like I might as well be sending her to college. I know.... ....give me a break...but this is feeling like a huge transition.

[Flynn]

JMom,

I have to ask...1.) did you choose all day kindergarten 2.) do you have to pay for it 3.) and what led you to these decisions?

I'm curious as heck since our pre-school search was WAY MORE involved than I would have liked. I need to start thinking about the next step way early so I have a game plan!

Sorry for the semi-hijack!!!!

We decided to do full-day kindergarten. Our neighborhood school offers a half-day class and one full day (or two, depending on enrollment). We have to pay for it.
Part of me is having regrets about not checking into the Spanish immersion school that is close by. It's hard to get into because it is available district wide. That is full day too. But I'm getting off-track....

We chose full-day for a few reasons. I talked to her preschool teachers about it and they thought she would do well with it. I felt like the half day schedule was jam-packed and rushed. The full day program has more instruction time but not a whole lot more -- it's just a little more of a relaxed schedule. In fact, I think there might not even be recess time in the half-day. Full day is 8am-2pm and half day is 8a-10:45. When we toured the school, the cafeteria and the idea of having lunch at school was a *highlight*. An entire year of answering why she doesn't get to eat lunch there would get old (this is a minor reason!).

I feel like I am heading into a big adventure of public schools. Maybe it's not what I am making it out to be. So far it has seemed rather bureaucratic and disorganized, especially compared to the smaller, nurturing preschool environments that DD and I are used to. Good thing she is usually more adaptable than I. Here we go!

Wow, there are a lot of kids going to kindergarten this fall!

I lost Tim to the education system this past fall. He goes to a public school Pre-K program that is close to full day (9 am -2:45).

They are holding a little ceremony the Friday after next, and then going to The Evil Mouse. We are going shopping for a suit for his aunties wedding, so he gets to wear that (and change for the Mouse).

[SueC]

We had Maya's preschool graduation today as well--they worke caps and gowns and played Pomp and Circumstance. It was really cute! There do seem to be a lot of kindergartners in this bunch, I'm a little emotional at the prospect of my first baby taking such a big step. (I know those of you with older kids have got to be chuckling...)

[quote="Flynn"]JMom,

I have to ask...1.) did you choose all day kindergarten 2.) do you have to pay for it 3.) and what led you to these decisions?

Yes, I chose all day. IF she gets in. She is on a waiting list and has to be tested first. The reason I even starting looking into full day is b/c I want to get my soon to be 2nd grader into this particular school. (Longer post ) This school offers full day K and I wanted them to be together. I wasn't sure about her going for so long as she has only had one year of preschool and only twice a week. My son went to two years of preschool and it was four days a week. I asked her pre school teacher what she thought and she highly recommended that Brook go to full day, she felt she was ready. I am still not totally sure but I think it is b/c I am the one wanting to hold her back and she doesn't need to be.

I don't have to pay for it. That is always a plus and a HUGE reason I can even be doing this. There are alot of programs that have a tuition. We just can't afford them

Hope this helps. Maybe in the end I will have one child at one school and my younger child at another although I really hope not!

***On a side note, graduation was so adorable! Like Sue's little one they had caps and painted shirts and had a video set to music of their year and performed a little for us. They were each "spotlighted" and then gave all the mom's and dad's a rose. I was choked up the WHOLE time! ***

We will put our oldest into Kindergarten this fall also(Aug 17th). We pulled him out of his preschool more than a month ago. There was not much follow through with other parents in the discipline section and they were just watching movies- a couple a day!!
Anyway, he is excited that he can ride the bus(if we would let him!). They don't have them divided, just K-5 on the bus. I am sure that he could learn lots on that short ride!

There was not much follow through with other parents in the discipline section and they were just watching movies- a couple a day!!

I would have done the same! (Remove from preschool). If they are accredited, they shouldn't be!

Since we have a big kindergarten group here....what is the feeling on riding the school bus? I have to admit, I hadn't thought much about the negative implications. I took the bus for 7 years and had very few problems but was one of the last to be picked up and first to dropped off. And had a _strict_ bus driver. At least I guess that is what it was -- she didn't let much past her and when I do remember any problems I had it was with a substitute driver. I'm not crazy about the idea of her riding without a seatbelt, especially when the law is for her to be in a booster, but it is a short trip and the bus shouldn't go over 20 mph. Given the recent comments about bus riding, I'm thinking we won't be using the bus! How about everyone else?

I'm kind of surprised it is even option since we live close to the school. Denver all but eliminated bus service as part of cost-cutting.

I used to ride the bus forever...literally, when I was a kid. We lived about 15 miles into the country away from the school, our neighbor was the bus driver, and I was first on the list. I got on the bus at 7a, for school that started at 8:25a!! I rode that way from Kindergarten to 6th grade, then we moved. I enjoyed it though, and the driver that I had was great.

Ah, but alas, the times have changed....I never sat on the bus with a Gameboy or got to watch/discuss/reenact the latest Mega-action violence filled thriller either. Drew is absolutely giddy that a bus will stop at our driveway. His mother is not. I am not sure how I feel about it.

[Sheherezade]

My kids ride the bus to school, but I pick them up at the end of the day. The ride to school is short and my daughter is on a K only bus because she is in an afternoon session. The ride home for both is 45 minutes due to the route, despite the fact that we are a 5 minute drive from the school. That seemed crazy to me. Also, my son came home in tears after his first day on the bus home. Apparently, he endured 45 minutes of being called a "freak" and a "weirdo" and a "pervert" by two kids behind him because he wears glasses and was new. They were loudly making guesses about what he was like. (He is 8 years old.) My daughter has also told me some tales about older kids threatening her friends on the afternoon bus with actual violence. Some of the K kids in her class are terrified of the big kids because there is a rumor that they stick straight pins in your face when the bus driver isn't looking. Yikes. I'm sure it is just scare tactics and intimidation, but I'd rather not have them deal with it when I'm available. Besides, I'd rather spend that 45 minutes with the kids. The teachers have told me most of the parent complaints come from behaviors picked up on the bus because it is unsupervised. (Swearing, violence, sexual talk) The school is K-3 by the way, so these older kids are only 9. I don't think any of this happens on my son's bus to school because of the strict bus driver. Of course, there is no talking on his bus and no toys or books allowed out. That may be fine for a 5 minute ride in, but wouldn't work on a longer ride. How boring!! I do have to note that the kids who live around here and already have packs of friends on the bus seem to do fine. It is the new guys, the little ones, and the loners that get picked on. Great world, huh? Luckily after 3rd grade, we live within walking distance of all the schools.

[houseelf]

Jessica, Laura, Nellie, Matt, Tracy, Sue, (did I forget someone??),

((((Group Hug)))))

How did our babies get so big? :| I can't believe it. I know that DS is ready, but I'm not. :| My sphere of influence is ever diminishing while the rest of the world's influence is enlarging. This fact both scares the bejeebies out of me and makes me sad. Let's come back here in the fall to commiserate.

My DS's kindergarten teacher will be the same that he had for preschool and his class will be comprised of many of the same kids. This will not be a huge transition except for the fact that he will go to school until 3:00 instead of 11:30. We choose this school for this specific reason: To minimizes the changes in his life because he will be our child who has to endure a couple of cross country moves while in school.

Flynn,

1.) did you choose all day kindergarten 2.) do you have to pay for it 3.) and what led you to these decisions?

Initially, I was a little skeptical about all day kindergarten. After all, it is a long time to be a very good boy and he has energy to spare. I want his first educational experiences to be positive. In researching this, I contacted the State Department of Education, an educator with the local Early Childhood Education group, and did some informal research on the internet to discern which would be the best option. What I found out mirrors Nellie's observations. All day kindergarten tends to be somewhat more relaxed with more time for things like recess, art, field trips, etc. Half-day has to cram in all the same academics into an abrievated schedule. (Apparently, the academic expectation of kindergartners has ratched up since our days of circle time with cookies.)

Further, I remember reading that the the kids in all day vs. half day still appeared to test slightly better at the end of the second grade year. Of course, this could stem from confounding factor like any one of the following: full day kids may have parents who work outside the home and therefore may have had more preschool; or their parents can afford full day tuition and therefore enjoy a slight socioeconomic edge; or these kids have parents who more aggesively pursue educatioanl opportunites for their kids. Who knows. But I digress....

In our case, the aftercare ($5 an hour) for half day public school plus the $2,900 full-day supplement was only slightly cheaper than private school. His current school offered a class size of 6 of which he already knows from his preschool. This made it a no-brainer decision for us. I would urge anyone to make this comparison in their own district if they are not happy with their local public school.

Finally, if you're still with me , Flynn is 100% correct, this preschool/school thing isn't as straight forward as one would think. For you first time parents out there most preschools have finalized the following year's enrollment by January or February of the preceding year! . Slackers beware! (This happened to us).

Kelly

[Phoebe]

My oldest won't be in kindegarten until 2007, but I am following this thread with interest. Our school district has some all day programs which are paid for out-of-pocket. However, the regular program is offered two full days and one half. Does it sound good?

Jennifer

[SueC]

School bus? Absolutely not! My daughter kind of wants to ride the bus but I'm just not ready for that yet. She is small in stature and pretty shy, so I just feel like I'd be throwing her to the wolves to allow her onto the bus with the big kids. Also, while I know that statistically buses are pretty safe, we just had a bus accident in Kansas City where several kids were seriously injured because the bus driver apparently ran a stop light and plowed through an intersection (killing two people).
Regarding full-day vs. half-day--my dd's kindergarten is full day with awesome hours. It goes from 9-4, so pickup shouldn't interefere with naptime. Her preschool is only about 3 hours, and honestly it feels rushed to me so I think in kindergarten full-day is okay if they are going to get any downtime at all. She is used to a 5 hour day (when you combine the 3 hours of preschool and an additional 2 hours of parent's day out), so the extra 2 hours might be tiring for her at first.