My daughter will start kindergarten next Monday. I dreamed of this day during those sleepless nights with my colicky newborn. I envisioned how I would drop her off with a hug and a kiss each morning and spend my day pretending to be human again.
I thought I might even take a shower to celebrate.
I registered Hadley a few weeks ago and my reaction was very different from what I had imagined: I was annoyed.
I’m not perturbed with her or the school but rather the entire system. I had originally enrolled her in full-day classes. Those children have all the benefits of extended learning designed to further their young minds both creatively and academically.
But then the recession hit and the financial fall-out ensued. My husband and I started our own web development business during it all and we decided we could not justify the extra cost incurred with full-day kindergarten, along with paying for our son’s preschool.
Our situation frustrates me. Why, in what is professed to be the public school system, are we paying for these services? Emphasis has been placed on preschool and there are fantastic programs such as the Colorado Preschool Program to supplement families who cannot afford it.
There are no such programs for kindergarten in Jefferson County, the largest school district in Colorado. A failed mill levy has left the district with more than $30 million they need to cut over the next three years and kindergarten is one of the casualties. They hope to resurrect this mill levy in a couple of years because they desperately need the funding.
Denver Public Schools, on the other hand, has broadened its lineup of half- and full-day preschool and full-day kindergarten programs to more than 80 schools. They offer full and partial scholarships.
If preschool is important, how much more exponentially imperative is kindergarten? I was surprised to learn kindergarten is not even mandatory in the state of Colorado.
Neighboring Jeffco elementary schools announced they had received state funding to provide free all-day kindergarten. Ours was the exception. Many of my friends forsook our school to open-enroll their children elsewhere.
Of course, there are some parents who prefer half-day kindergarten for their children. I get that and I’m not saying it is for every child. We don’t want our children to grow up too quickly and in the end, these children will eventually get caught up. I know better than anyone the importance of teaching our children in the home.
But why do we hold our public schools to such a low standard, professing that the most important teaching should be in the home anyway? Yes, teaching them in the home is imperative but if that’s all that mattered, wouldn’t we all just homeschool? My point is there are so many more measures and programs in place for preschool than kindergarten and that just seems backward to me.
Many teachers and parents attest there is a large gap in first grade between those who do full-day kindergarten vs. those who do not. Kindergarten is much different than the carefree days I spent in Mrs. Garcillano’s classroom in the late 1970s. Many children these days have already had two years of preschool. They’re already starting to write and read. They’re ready to learn.
Jeffco mom Larkin Harmon eloquently summed up this kindergarten gap by saying, “The sad truth is that it shouldn’t be called, ‘no child left behind,’ it really should be called, ‘no child gets ahead.'”
My daughter will receive a mere 2.5 hours in the classroom a day juxtaposed against her peers who will get 6 hours. Add in breaks or a recess and she will be lucky to spend 2 hours in the classroom. Now, I’m not a math wiz but exactly how this hours constitutes a “half day” is beyond me. This is less than most preschools where half-day ranges from 3 to 4 hours. Across the country, the majority of kindergartens are a minimum of 3 hours.
The Early Childhood Education Department at Jeffco claims the 2.5 hours was dictated by the school’s principal. The principal says it was Jeffco’s directive.
Either way, the result is the same: some children are losing out.
Update: This story ran last week in various Denver Post YourHubs throughout Jeffco. Reaction was mixed. Some agreed with my stance, others (and I do quote) said “kindergarten teachers are an over priced Nanny who ‘teaches them.’ Trust me I know. I had kids in all day kindergarten in Jeffco (what a waste of my and tax-payer money).”
What is your opinion? Should more or less emphasis be placed on kindergarten? Should it be mandatory (mandatory does not mean requisite full-day) and what would that mean for state funding? Should all children in a school district be enrolled in either full or half day across the board?
Scattered Mom
I have worked in kindergartens-in my experience in BC, 1/2 day is all that is available. I believe it’s mandatory, as well.
Our systems are very different, so I can’t really say that I think one is better than the other, except that I know that my own child never would have survived all day kindergarten. It seems strange to me that some districts would have state funding and others would not (especially since yours is the largest district in Co).
I realize cuts gotta happen somewhere, but kindergarten isn’t the place to do it.
Rosey Pollen
Amber,
I would like to see every Colorado school adopt all-day kindergarten, but the funding is not there. Where the heck is it then?
My kids are all past kindergarten, but I could tell a difference in who went to all day, and who did not. I do however, feel that teachers who teach all-day Kindergarten have quite a task ahead of them, being with 5 and 6 year olds ALL day can be challenging. Maybe a team-teaching element could be implemented.
Sorry for the rambling…
Rosey
Tia Juana
Oh honey. Just move here – we got it all together educationally!!!!
But really, I agree with you on most of your points and can see your frustration but truthfully, I don’t think there is as big of a gap as you may think between 1/2 and full day K kids. There is no doubt in my mind that the full day kids get more out of the program because they are there longer. But what should really be the question is what the curriculum mandates – do the full day kids have a different curriculum than the 1/2 day kids? Here they do not. The difference in the programs lies in the “specials”. Full day kids get longer Art, PE, Music, Computers, etc and any leftover time is spent expanding on the regular curriculum. Sure, that alone might get them ahead, but I am here to tell you after having had 4 kids go through Kindergarten that only two of my kids were reading by the time they left Kindergarten and the other two did not master reading until well into first grade which is well within the normal spectrum of beginning reading. By the end of first grade they were all, by and large, at the same level of learning as their siblings were at that same age and at the top of their class. Were there kids who did better? Sure. But there will always be kids that do better. As a side note, only one of my kids went to full-day Kindergarten so you can see, I don’t put a lot of credence into the full/half day being the reason for the reading gap – so many more issues to affect a child’s well being and educational success.
It is unfortunate that your county is having such financial issues but if it were me, my focus would be curriculum based and not based on who gets it free and who doesn’t or at all. That battle is age old and not a new one. If the curriculum specifies a distinct difference – outside of the “specials” of education – then I think you should be up in arms because that to me is the inequality and a battle that can be won.
My guess is that by the time your kids are in middle school, this issue will be the farthest thing from your mind because there are so many other things that affect a child’s ability to become good, responsible person outside of whether or not he got to go to full or half day Kindergarten.
Unfortunately though, our country is infamous for inequality among school districts. I don’t know how you change that. If you can figure that out, then you have solved one of our biggest eduactional problems in America.
Tia Juana
PS: That other lady apologized for rambling. Maybe I should too.
PPS: Good luck.
Lauren in GA
Sorry you have gotten some hostile reactions. You see, this is what you get for being so articulate and having such incredible humor infused writing. I loved the article.
I was just kidding about the, “that’s what you get”…I know why the principal wants you on his or her team. You are amazing.
So, that’s what you get 😉
Amber
Fantastic feedback and perspectives everyone. Keep ’em coming!
Denise
Believe me, I understand this frustration. You are talking to a Mom that went to Kindergarten round up when my child was 2 1/2 because, our very accessible elementary school (right across the street) was not going to meet our needs as they focus on ESL and is a school especially for that. But you don’t (ok, well I didn’t think to ask that question, when my baby was 10 months old when we were buying this house). Anyway, point being we open enrolled our child in another DPS school, for ECE to get him “in-line” to be accepted for Kindergarten and beyond. So there was my year of 8:15a.m.-10:55a.m. great, but I was willing to suck it up for the bigger picture! Then came Kindergarten, and since we open enrolled him, guess what? Another year of half day, which is funny, because it really should be called 15 minute Kindergarten! Then they flipped flop that, so he went from 12:55-3:00. Thanks for jacking my schedule, DPS! Ok, so here is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow or the light at the end of the tunnel….My kiddo was more than ready to start Kindergarten when he was three, he’s just that kinda kid, so you can imagine how I felt when he had to go to 1/2 day at 4 and 5 yrs old. But, he did not have “to catch up” in first grade, he knew exactly what everyone else did, because you have to understand, 5 year olds in Kindergarten have about 2 hrs of learning time as well. The rest of the day is recess, lunch, quiet time, art, music, etc….so in the end, being a veteran, here’s what I’d suggest, after 1/2 day Kindergarten, go to the local rec center and enroll in gymnastics, music, art, etc…for nothing more than a little extra Mom time! But don’t worry, there will be no “catching up” time, you will just have to schedule the parade to come down your street next year! 🙂
Hang in there!
ShanaM
I think Kindergarten should be absolutely mandatory, whether it is full day or half day.
In Ontario, kids can go to Senior Kindergarten at age 5 and Junior Kindergarten at age 4. (Marissa was only 3 when she started school because her birthday is in December) Senior Kindergarten is mandatory and Junior Kindergarten is not. Each school district is different on whether it is full- or half-day. Some do full day only on Monday, Wed and Friday. All free, obviously.
I think the Kindergarten program is the best thing a parent can do for a child.
Brandy
Wow! I didn’t even know 1/2 day kindergarten still existed. I went 1/2 a day when I attended kindergarten, but that was…a while ago.
I have also never heard of anyone having to pay to send their child to kindergarten.
In Arkansas, kindergarten is full day and it is a part of the public school system and free of charge. Our school district has even started a pre-k through the public school system for the children who have not had any pre-school and whose parents can not afford to send them.
Good luck, and don’t give up. This is definately an issue in which being “one of those” parents is worth it.
JoAnn
What’s so confusing about this whole thing is that the funding isn’t district-wide! The elementary school by us that offers full-day Kindergarten is part of JeffCo, and they are using stimulus money to offer it for free. Your school in JeffCo isn’t. I just don’t understand how they chose the list.
Good luck!
Court
The Free List vs Tuition-Based List is based upon grant writers at some schools and not others. Our son will be attending a school in the foothills. We have the “option” of driving him 20 minutes further into the mountains to attend a free Kinder and thus further separating the driving gap betwewen he and our younger child, or pay $300.00 per month (no that’s not a typo!) for full day kinder. The elementary he will be attending just hired on a grant writer last year. so far, due to the economy crunch, she has been highly unsuccessful.
superpaige
I wish we had full day kindergarten here. It’s not even an option. My little boy will be at school for about 3 hours. *Sigh*
Awesome Mom
I wish we had a choice here in Kansas. My school district has all day Kindergarten and quiet honestly while I love having Evan gone all day (he has become quite a challenge of late and it is nice to have the break) but I also think he would do just fine with a half day of school. I am sure that Hadley will do great no matter how much school she gets, she seems like a smart cookie just like her mom.
Amber Johnson
Reading these confirms how screwed up the system really is. Why are there so many discrepancies across the board?!
diana/sunshine
my kids were in the cherry creek district and both only went to half day kindergarten (although, i think it was at least 3 hours). i don’t know if it’s the same today, but there was an opportunity for them to go all day, but the extended time was just a glorified babysitting service. it did cost and we opted not to put them in that long. to be honest, it seemed like a lot of “school” time for both my kids at that time.
i can understand your frustrations and don’t understand any hate mail that you might have received from sharing your opinion. i think you will find that this is only the beginning of your frustrations when it comes to your school and district. it’s reality. i say pick your battles – there will probably be some important ones.
of course, there are both pros and cons to any public school system. i think it’s important for parents to be aware of this and not count on the schools to be the end all answer when it comes to their kids and their education. i say this because too many parents expect to drop their kids off at the first day of kindergarten and pick them up at their high school graduation and expect them to be well educated, well behaved, and ready to tackle adulthood. what happens at home during those 13 years should have more weight than what is happening in the hallways and classrooms. classroom education is important, but life education is even more so.
amber, please know that this last paragraph isn’t directed at you. i know you know all this and your home life is, and will be, a priority. i just couldn’t help spouting my two cents. good luck to you, jamie, and hadley this school year.
Amber Johnson
No offense taken. Fantastic feedback directed to ALL parents!
Jesse
Honestly, emphasis on early-education seems like a major joke to me. I went into half-day Kindergarten in 1999 already reading and writing. However, the kids in full-day Kindergarten who didn’t start school already capable of reading and writing, didn’t really ever reach the fluency that the rest of us did throughout all of elementary school.
Competence isn’t related to how long you spend in a school building. It’s about how much learning is emphasized and is happening at home.
kagey
School government is one of those weird things that is locally controlled to a great extent. There’s no state-wide or national control, and as a result change comes in “movements” or trends rather than in a top-down way. Sometimes this is really good — different communities need different things, and local control means you can adjust for that — but sometimes it means that the folks who are stuck in “the way we’ve always done it” get their way and no good change can be achieved.
My son will be attending Kindergarten for 2.75 hours for 5 days a week this fall. We’re in Cherry Creek School District. To get full day (8-2:30), we would have to pay, although there are programs for households that qualify financially or due to the child’s learning disabilities to have the tuition waived. The second half of the day is referred to “kindergarten enrichment” — it’s a different teacher, different activities (although orientation meeting made it clear that the curriculum covered is the same — simply different activities teaching the same stuff). On the continuum of daycare to school, it sounds like it’s more on the daycare end, although some kids need different angles on the same topic to absorb it, so maybe that’s what’s needed at this age.
To be honest, some of the activities I do with my son at home are more advanced than what he’ll learn in kindergarten. I intend to keep up our “learning time” even once school starts. Will he be frustrated with Kindergarten? Will he be ahead or behind once we get to 1st grade? I have no idea. But if we find he isn’t being challenged at all, I will have to think about homeschooling for 1st grade.
Melissa
I am split on the 1/2 day vs. full day. You see, we just did preschool at home because we couldn’t afford to send her to the $160-500 a month super daycares (which is about what the preschools are around here). So, she hasn’t had the chance to learn to sit still, listen to directions, and behave in a classroom setting. I’m not sure how she would do in a full day class. It might be too much for her. On the other hand, no one else is getting a full day class in our area… so I’m not concerned about her getting behind her peers.
Kassie Bunting
We put our daughter in preschool for one year. They learned basics. Things she mostly already knew. Then we went to Kindergarten. They have all day Kindergarten here. At first I thought it would be a waste of time and tax dollars. I thought it was basically state funded daycare. I was wishing there was a way I could have her go for half day. I had been told there was nap time, snack time and an extra recess. What we got was a rather pleasant surprise. There was no nap time. They did have 2 recesses during the day and a snack time, but the rest of the time was spent learning. They also participated in PE, art, music & computer classes. I still worked with my daughter at home and she knows how to read, but she learned all sorts of scientific things that I wouldn’t have even thought to teach her. She is starting 1st grade on Wednesday and I feel that she is very prepared. I think that it is more beneficial for the kids to participate in all day Kindergarten.
CJ
We chose to enroll our girls in full-day ECE & full-day Kindergarten last fall at a monthly cost of about $640 at a Denver PUBLIC school. When I lost my job at the beginning of the recession scare, we decided scrape together the monthly fees in order to keep them enrolled. I’m pleased with their education & glad we were able to let them stay.
All grades are at least a year advanced from when I was that age 37 years ago. My daughter’s ECE was like Kinder was for me with “fun” learning & a nap, etc. My other daughter’s Kinder experience was more akin to my 1st grade experience.
I totally agree that Kindergarten should be mandatory now. For kids to NOT have Kindergarten -or only a 1/2 day of Kinder- is like NOT having 1st grade.
There are so many cuts in the various governmental budgets due to the recession. School related activities & classes are those that shouldn’t be affected no matter what. It’s EVERYONE’s future that’s at stake. I would gladly forsake upper echelon government salaries in order to improve schools. As far as I know, Colorado schools never did have all that much by way of state funding compared to the rest of the country. The Kindergarten debate is just another example of the “importance” of education in Colorado.
I could go on from here, you know; maybe the way schools were funded in Colorado was sufficient 15 years ago or even 10 years ago, when the state population hadn’t exploded yet. It’s time to come up to the 21st century. Dare I say it (hate mail be damned) but re-think property taxes, anyone?
Kimberly
I’m going to be 100% honest here and admit I don’t know enough to have an opinion, and that’s kind of disturbing considering Emma starts kindergarten next month…
Melissa Taylor
The crisis in Kindergarten is multi-fold. First of all, the emphasis of academic instruction gives little or know time for children to develop important social roles, expand language and initiate learning and play. I could footnote this comment with tons of research proving that play is central to childrens’ physical, emotional and cognitive growth. In Finland, China and Japan for example, kindergartens emphasize play, not academics — and they’ve always “out scored” us if tests are important to you.
Second of all, just as I’m for universal preschool, I am for universal kindergarten. Like you, Amber, I agree that all children should have access to the same quality kindergarten education. Not just the affluent kids.
Like Amber, I had to search for a preschool in my district (DPS) that was half day. While there were some, it was a difficult proposition. One that required me to drive a distance to get a “free” education.
Change needs to happen. Parents must demand this change. Without our voices in unison, nothing will ever get better.
Amanda D
Last year my daughter went to kindergarten and we could put her in all day for $250/month. We can’t afford that so we put her in half day. She was at school for 2.5 hours, but they didn’t get breaks and I wont be surprised if your daughter doesn’t. With that little time in school, there wasn’t enough time for recess.
I think that kindergarten should be mandatory and while it would be nice that it be all day, I don’t think it should be mandatory. Every kid is different and some kids couldn’t handle all day.
Good luck with the upcoming school year!
The Barking Unicorn
Well, first of all, if the mill levy failed then you’re NOT paying for full-day kindergarten, are you?
Unless, of course, you really want to put your daughter in kindergarten, in which case your have the FREEDOM to do so with what’s left of your money after tax season.
That’s called liberty, dear.
You italicize “public school” as if hinting that means “it’s supposed to be free.” It isn’t free, ever, even if you have no children in school. Taxes are taken from those who benefit directly and from those who receive “benefits” of the most far-fetched nature.
That’s called democracy, dear. You don’t want to pay the full price for kindergarten so you hire (elect) a bunch of thugs to steal money from others at gunpoint to help pay for it.
Incidentally, don’t ever confused education with what goes on in public schools. Go read up on Procrustes and say farewell to your daughter.
Kari
I don’t think this article insinuates we get anything for free. I think she made a great point that there has been a huge amount of emphasis placed on preschool in Colorado and yet somehow kindergarten falls through the cracks. And that is just wrong.
Brillig
I LOVED having Maddie in full-day (when we lived outside of CO) and I was excited for her little brother to start in the same school with the same schedule the following year. But then all of a sudden we left and moved here and Douglas County charges for full-day also, AND there’s a waiting list. So it really wasn’t an option. I couldn’t believe it. Maddie had an amazing education and was doing far beyond her grade level in math and reading, while her brother didn’t even START math in kindergarten because there wasn’t enough time. Now he’s in first grade and he’s fighting to catch up with the kids who were able to go all day. That just doesn’t seem right. Like you, I know they’ll catch up eventually. But he was so READY to learn, and it’s frustrating that he didn’t get the chance. I have two more boys who will enter this system, so hurry up and get it fixed, okay? 😀
Tee aka The Diva's Thoughts
I had no idea that paying for preschool or kindergarten in a public school system was even a possiblity. Boy am I out of the educational loop. Clearly there needs to be an overhaul to address your very real issues here.
Fiona
I’m frustrated at the inconsistent and completely illogical use of public funds … DPS has a program that will pay participating preschools to provide families a “credit” – because my family makes too much money I now get to pay more because the school’s costs went up in order to participate in the program… we’ll be attending a different preschool this year and I can count at least 10 other families put in a similar situation. Kindergarten is NOT daycare! My children learned to read in kindergarten and learned basic math skills … not to mention that without a solid academic and social base children are put at a disadvantage. Learning to line-up, wash-up, pick-up and participate in a classroom setting are all extremely important skills. Skills that are essential to order in the classroom as they get older!
Patti Jo Medina
You’re paranoid. You’re child won’t be behind academically as a result of not attending all day kindergarten. She’ll actually probably be ahead in the game because she won’t be tired and burnt out – she’ll still like learning. Plus, you are actually her best teacher. Kids at this young age don’t lean best from flashcards and rote learning. She’ll learn more than her counterparts as she plays, talks with you, cooks with you, hikes and explores with you, reads with you. Don’t believe me? You can learn more about it yourself by reading “Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children REALLY Learn and Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less” by Kathy Hirsh Pasek, Ph.D. and Robeta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., with Diane Eyer, Ph.D.
And if you want to, go ahead and teach her how to read. I suggest “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” by Siegfried Englemann, Phyllis Haddox & Elain Bruner. She’ll read at a 2nd grade level by the time you finish the program.
We could also discuss the negative “socialization” she’ll also be receiving. But we’ll leave that for another day.
Patti Jo Medina
Another thought:
Public schools were originally started to educate the poor who couldn’t get an education any other way, and of due course children there didn’t get as good an education as their wealthy counterparts who attended private schools or were tutored at home, that’s because it was free! Of course everyone likes free (although it really isn’t)but now that means everyone is getting the cheaper, poor education. Really public schools have never been and never will be the best way to help children educate themselves. Here’s a great book to read about teaching our children to be leaders. No matter where they are taught – public, private, or home school. “A Thomas Jefferson Education: Teaching a Generation of Leaders for the Twenty-first Century” by Oliver Van DeMille.
Eunice Robertson
Here in South Africa, at least here where I am in Durban, most of the early learning is done at nursery or preschools, and most of them take children almost from birth to 6 years old , when they go on to “big” school. some of the schools have now started to run what they call Grade 0 (zero), taking children from 5. I taught my children basic reading, writing and maths at home, just as my mother had taught me, and I was taken aback at the attitude of some of the teachers, “Now we’ll have to unlearn them all the things you taught them!” I always thought that basic education was the same the world over. Anyway, with my two grandchildren, my daughter had to go out and work, so they have been in school since quite young.My granddaughter is 3, but even since she was about 18 months, the children have been given educational activities to do.We pay at the schools whether preschool or “big” school. Education is important, but needs to be done inside and outside the home.
Lisa
My kids caught the tail end of full-day K the last time it was an option in Jeffco – they were increasing the number of schools with FDK options in 1997, when my son went, and decreasing them in 2000, when my daughter started K, so we had to scramble to find a placement.
The state only ever provides funding for the mandatory half-day, so we paid tuition to make up the difference. I would have had to pay for day care anyway, so it wasn’t much of a financial hit.
Then FDK disappeared altogether in Jeffco. They tried to bring it back this year, but the money is just not there. Some schools that are flagged as underperforming are getting stimulus money, and FDK is one way to spend that. In a perfect world, all schools would offer both options.
Both my kids spent years in day care and preschool, so they were ready for full-day. My son’s teacher told me at the end of the first week that he was ready to read, and by the end of the second week, he was doing it! Your kid may vary, and that’s the point of kindergarten – to assess where they are and go from there.
To the Barking Unicorn I would just say: if you think education is expensive, try ignorance.
Kin Smith
You could do a far superior job of teaching her simply by keeping her home and doing the things that Patti Jo suggested. Sometimes we put way too much stock in the public school system. Don’t forget that YOU are the expert on your child. And besides, kindergarten isn’t all it’s cracked up to be………she probably already knows most of the stuff they will learn. They cater to the dumbest among them. Bear in mind, also, that the NCLB law is a crock.
And lastly, take it to the Lord.
Lisa
We prefer a half-day kindergarten program but unfortunately, our neighborhood Jeffco school only offers full-day. I’m rather frustrated that I’ll have to choose the open-enrollment option so that we can choose a half-day program.
I think the “catching up” is over-exaggerated. Sure, some kids have a hard time adjusting, but all too often we overlook how temperament plays into it. I have a very anxious, shy child who does not want to attend preschool and who will undoubtedly do better in half-day kindergarten. If the adjustment is difficult, it’s because she’s an anxious, shy child. Pushing her into preschool this year and full-day kindergarten next year would not change the fact that it would be a difficult adjustment to both and probably still be a difficult adjustment in first grade. Instead, we’re choosing the slower route.
On the surface, she’ll look like she confirms the notion that kids should be pushed into more school, faster. However, I think if we actually did that, she’d be the kid who was is being told to go for evaluations for ADHD or any other number of issues because she’s not socially ready to be in school 6 hours a day.
Academically, she will do just fine. There is nothing they are teaching in kindergarten that I cannot teach at home (and I’m already teaching how to read per her request).
Andrea
I think you are missing the entire point of this article. This is not disputing the importance of raising children and teaching them in the home as well. This article is about the discrepancies in kindergartens across the state. With the low standards and expectations everyone seems to have for the public school system, why not just homeschool your children? Why are we not striving to hold public schools to a higher standard?
I think kindergarten should be mandatory. Amber isn’t saying everyone should go to full-day. I, too agree some kids just aren’t ready for it. It’s just with the state of Colorado behind kindergarten, funding and believing in it, what a huge difference that would make on its importance.
Instead of just brushing it under a rug with a pathetic couple of hours in the classroom a day.
J
I know this is an old thread but here goes. I just started looking at kindergaden. My daughter will be 5 next summer. What I have found is disturbing. Kindgardens are not play based anymore but spend most of the time on academics due to no child left behind. This is very sad and counter productive. The studies show when children are pushed this young they are actually generally behind children who were in play based programs by the age of 8-10 years old and they never pull back up. Our society is losing its creative thinking and it is because we don’t allow our children to develope this creativity as young children. I am glad kindergarden is not mandatory I did not know this. This may simplify things for us. We might just stay with pre-K for another year.
J
Oh and my daughter can write and read some. But it’s all been learned play based at her own speed.