I will admit that back in the baby days, when I looked ahead the the far, far off day that my girl would start school, full day kindergarten seemed like the mark of a better school. More equals better right? More time in school equals smarter kid right?
Fast forward five years and I chose half day kindergarten. Truth be told, our town does offer a lottery for full day kindergarten. And the lovely private school where my daughter went to preschool offers a very highly regarded full day Kindergarten program. But. Time is going by so fast. My time with both of my girls is going so fast. They have years of school ahead of them. Sixteen, at least.
And full day Kindergarten would mean that on days like today, we would not be able to hop on the 12:20 train into the city, lunch in hand, for an afternoon at the Children's Museum.
waiting for the train- the train ride always ranks as one of the best parts of the day
girl power!
both girls could happily spend hours climbing up and down this thing together
Days like today are the reason I chose half day Kindergarten. I just hope that down the road, those lost hours don't look bad on her Ivy league application.
I 100% agree with you!!! If we had the 1/2 day option, I would definitely go with it. Since I can't fight the full day program, I can find ways around it. My oldest was 1 month shy of being 6 when she started Kindergarten. My youngest turns 5 in late June. There is no way she is going to Kindergarten next year. So we will enjoy another year of preschool (3 days, 2 1/2 hrs a day) and I will savor all these moments. I became a SAHM because I wanted to be with my kids as much as possible. I am in no hurry to send them off.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so mad that no schools in our area offer it- not even the private ones, anymore. Luckily, due to the age cutoff date in our state, neither of my kids even CAN go to kindergarten until they are weeks from being six. So that helps.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a lovely day. I think I've said this before, but whenever you post pictures of your outings with the girls, I always want to be your kid for a day! What a fun mom.
Great decision. My daughter is now in 1st grade and I miss being able to do things with her during the day. Now, she is cranky getting off the bus and has to do her homework. These days are precious. Enjoy your girls.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you made the right choice1
ReplyDeleteI completely, and totally believe you made the right choice for all the right reasons. ♥
ReplyDeleteYour girls are too cute. How special that you have days like this to cherish forever.
ReplyDeleteI'm right there with you!! Here in Ontario kindergarten is half day for ages four and five - so I have one kid in junior kindergarten and the other in senior. The both go to school in the a.m. and come home before lunch. I LOVE it. We have the rest of the day to do stuff, go out for lunch, visit museums, or just hang out. Thankfully our two year old is pretty flexible so if she is late on or misses her nap, she is still pretty reasonable, so we do manage to take a couple outings a week.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way as you - these kids have eons of school hours ahead of them, let them be kids while they still can be!! So glad you had a wonderful afternoon together - the pictures are fabulous.
I don't know how you could have chosen any differently.
ReplyDeleteAnd, wow, that museum looks awesome.
I ABSOLUTELY hate that our schools do not offer half day. I hated sending Emmy to full day Kindergarten, after she has been home with me full time, every day, no preschool - I thought 1/2 day would be a perfect transition year to first grade. Well, I don't have that option, so that is AWESOME that you guys did! :)
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