SAHP question :How old...?

[Momo]

For all of you other Stay @ homers: How old was your first child when they finally started going to school full time??

DS will be 4 on Oct 2nd. We have put him in a pre-K program that is all day, 5 days a week. My friends back home said their kids didn't go to school all day until 1st grade! He, like most kids, is having a hard time. This will be his second week. I am beginning to wonder if I naively over did it a bit by signing him up for 5 days /all day??

[PrincessFiona]

It actually depended on where we lived...In Pennsylvania, at 3 kids could go to 3,4,or 5 day a week preschool...mornings or all day. It just depended on what you wanted.

In Florida, the standard pre-k program was 9am-1.45pm. Everyone did it and the kids all adjusted (oh, and there was no mommy guilt over it because it was pretty across the board). Here, at 3 years of age you get two mornings a week for 2 hours and for 4 year olds it is 3 mornings a week for 2 hours. Anything more is considered daycare and there is plenty of snubbing.

I say stick with it....It took my daughter a few weeks to adjust but then she did fine....and never had an adjustment period. My second grader did the two hour a week preschool thing and only half days of kindergarten and first grade was a harsh adjustment for him time-wise...

kris

mine won't be going full day until 1st grade. originally i was bummed that there wasn't full day kindergarten, but now i'm grateful. he's been having a heck of a time adjusting to the rules / regulations of school and I think full days may have done him in.

[mommax3]

In TX, preschool was 9-2 and there was full day kindergarten. The most preschool my kids did there was three days a week. Here, preschool is only 8:30 to 11:30, and there is not full day kindergarten, although if the governor has his way, there will be by next fall. I was not about to go "backwards" with my third and last child, so last year (as a 3 and 4 year old) he did preschool two mornings a week, with extended care (until 3) afterwards. This year, he is in pre-K three mornings a week, and does extended care three afternoons.

I felt like for me and my kids, kindergarten was soon enough for all day, five days a week. But it is different for every child. If this is his first time away from you (like if he didn't do any school last year) this might be a lot for him to start out with. Would you have the option of cutting it back a little bit now, and then adding more later? If it is stressing you out that he is having a hard time, it is not really a break for you, right? Maybe his teacher or the director at the school can help you figure out if this is a temporary thing or not.

Sally

[Phoebe]

Pre-K is offered 4 days a week at my daughter's preschool from 9 to 1pm. I thought it was going to be a lot for her, but she loves it. Our school district offers both all day and half time kindergarten. I am not sure what I will do. I am leaning toward the half-time, but they go two full days and one half day. I hear from lots of parents that the off days are boring for the kids. They go to school for so long that full day sounds like a lot. I agree, it depends on the child.

Jennifer

It depends...3-4, we started our oldest(6) for three days a week at 3, then four days at 4 and so on, then Kindergarten here is 8-3 everyday. The youngest (3.5) just started pre-school and goes three/four days a week from 8-2 mostly.

I think it depends on the child, as Tara said. Our pre-K was 5 days a week from 9-12 and she did a late lunch every once in a while. Full day K was a big transition and it took a few weeks for all of us to get used to. This despite having done extended day preschool at 2 and 3.

[PrincessFiona]

Matt, isn't Florida great!

[Momo]

We pulled DS from the all day 5 days a week pre K program & plan on going a different route. It was way too much for him @ this stage & age. I feel guilty because I think I was so excited about having one less kid around I over looked the obvious.