Tuition Based Kindergarten

Hi! My son attends Seton Academy here in Vegas (they have a northwest and southeast location) and it starts with toddlers (2years old) and goes through kindergarten. The 2s and 3s can go half days and only a few days a week if you like. But for the 4s (Pre-K) and kindergartners it's full day 5 days a week. And it's definitely educational! My fiance says he's now totally sold on private education, in a pre-school (not daycare), because he sees a huge difference in how articulate my son is compared to the son of one of his co-workers who goes to regular daycare. My son already knows his abc's, colors, shapes, can write his name (right now in all caps, but they are working on lower case letters now, too) and can count to twenty and is progressing nicely from there...he'll be in the Pre-K program this fall. The school does provide before school and after school care, if needed, which is just a wonderful bonus to us working parents!!! Fabulous school!

The school we attend doesn't offer this program so I don't have first hand experience, but from what I have heard it doesn't offer anything more. I don't know what they do all day with the kids, but my friend is a teacher and she said one of the K teachers that moved to our school used to teach a full day paid K class and told her it wasn't worth it.

You could ask at the school to see what it is they do all day and then decide. I think alot of people use it because it is cheap daycare not because it offers more.

Really how can they offer better programs at some schools and not at others. "At-Risk" schools get free full day K, some schools get paid full day K and some don't have it at all. I think the full day classes at least have a size limit since I know the school near us that offers full day K usually does a lottery because they have so many people that want in the program. Half day classes don't seem to have a limit. All of the K classes at our school currently have at least 30 students. My son was supposed to go to a private full day K with a small class size, but the school has now cancelled the program so I've had to enroll him in the public school in a class of 30+ kids for only half day. :( My only hope is that once school starts they will add another class to lower the class sizes. They did this the year my daughter was in K, the classes all started with 30+ students and after a few weeks they opened a new class.

I am a teacher with experience in half day and full day kindergarten. I will be teaching a tuition based kinder program next school year. I think that there are many reasons that make the full day program the best choice for most children. First, the tuition based programs are usually capped at a certain number of students and have a full time aide in addition to the classroom teacher. In my case, I will have no more than 25 students, and I have a wonderful aide who works with individual and small groups of students all day long. She also does a lot of the required assessments and testing so that I can teach! Last year I had two half day kinder programs (a.m. and p.m.) Half day kinder usually does not have an aide and the number of students can go up to 37. Last year, I had 33 in a.m. and 34 in p.m. Having almost 10 fewer students next year in a full day setting will allow me to do so much more academically. Secondly, full day kinders many more minutes for academics. The full day program has about 30 extra minutes each day for math, and about 30-40 extra minutes for language arts. I will also be able to do a lot more science and social studies with the kids.

Full day kinders also have 50 minutes for specials everday. This includes art, music, p.e., and library instruction by a specialist. Half day kinders only have one special one day a week. I believe that most of the tuition based programs are academically focused and do not use the extra minutes for fluff. The program does have minutes alloted for lunch and lunch recess. My half day kinders very rarely had recess because of time, which is a shame because it's great for the kids to be outside and run around.

If you believe that your daughter is mature for her age and will enjoy the academic and social experience of full day kinder...then I think that it's by far the best choice for most kids. I hope this helps. Good luck with your move!

I'm a teacher in the school district. The schools here in the rougher neighborhoods have all day kinder. The rest of the schools have half day. If you want to pay for your child to go for a full day you can, that's why it's called tuition based. Her school should also offer half day if you choose. I teach at a school that does all day and I can tell you that it is very educational. There is a curruculum set up by the school district that the teachers follow. I also have a four year old in daycare and I can say that the two are worlds apart. I have found that full day is very beneficial! Good luck

I am in favor of full-day Kindergarten for most children. It is not a day care! The students are exposed to a lot more educational activities. It is impossible to accomplish (as much curriculum)in a 1/2 day or 2 1/2 hours "regular" Kindergarten classroom and in a room that has no limitations on the number of students enrolled. The full-day K classroom has a limit of students enrolled and qualifies for a full-time aide to assist the teacher. Many other states have full-time Kindergarten as a routine practice (without pay).

I am a pro-full day Kindergarten advocate!

The only time, I feel, that a parent should put their child in a 1/2 day Kindergarten class would be if their child is still too clingy and immature, they can't afford it, and/or they are very active in many different educational experiences with their child outside of school.

My daughter who is 5 will be going to Kindergarden as well. She's been enrolled into Merryhill since she was 3 (for Pre-school & Pre-K). Since she's been going there she has learned so much to prepare here for Kindergarden. It's not daycare at all.. She was at daycare which is a free for all! They really do work with your child to develop them with there reading, writing, art, music. The have a schedule they stick to which is good for them. Plus the inter-act with other children.

She's 5 and can add, subtract, started to read, write, know all the abc's, learn spanish... I would highly recommeng a tuition base program. Merryhill can be pricy but so worth the education. Check around and see if the school has a schedule & they will give you an outline so you can see what your child will be doing each day! Good luck!

I would go to the school and ask for a copy of the curriculum, and the daily schedule. If your daughter needs a full day of Kindergarten, such as has a really late birthday and could really benifit from the full day, or is just really in a period of absorbing everything around her then do all day. If not then I would keep her home. They are little for such a short time. It can be a daycare, but on the other hand your child might really benefit from it. So examine herneeds as well as the schools educational standpoint. Also, if she has never been in a Pre-school situation then full day could overwhelm her, so again, look to her for answeres. ALSO>>>YOU are the MOMMY. Mommy decisions are hard, so listen to your heart and if you want her home then by all means enjoy each moment you get with her!

I am a teacher and I believe that full day kinder is usually the best choice for your child, if you have the option. My son went to full day kinder last year, and he did great. Most first grade teachers say that they can tell a huge difference between the students who had full day and half day kinder the year before.

With the "No child left behind" law, all students have to be tested, and that means even the kindergarten kids. When the teachers only have the kids for a little over 2 hours a day (half day program), it takes away alot of the instructional time. At the school I work at, the kinder teachers who only have the kids half day say that they spend most of their time testing the kids and the full day kinder teachers say that the extra time that they get with the students makes up for all the testing time that takes away from teaching time.

And of course, the classroom size limits for full day is great too. They also get a full time aide. The poor kinder teachers who teach half day usually have around 30 kids in the morning, and then another 30 kids in the afternoon, with NO aide. The full day kinder teachers only have 25 kids and the extra person in the room makes a big difference! So, think about which teacher will have more energy and motivation, haha!

If you can afford it, I would do it.

I would try going to La Petite Academy. They offer private kindergarten