Published just over 50 years ago, We Like Kindergarten is a simple children's picture book that follows one little girl named Carol through her day at Kindergarten. With lovely illustrations by Eloise Wilkin (I have friends whose children look like E. Wilkins illustrations) and simple prose in Carol's own voice by Clara Cassidy, the book is a quick
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Half day kindergarten is roughly three hours. Half hour the kids spend in either gym or music both of which are movement related. They do a lot of sitting and formal instruction which I find appalling. During these times the teacher stands in front of the class and delivers a lesson, then the kids read independently (this is so absurd), then they write, then they repeat with a math lesson and independent math work. The end of the day is either half an hour or an entire hour of play time. Friday typically they enjoy longer free time (but teachers deprive the kikds of that time as a punishment-how absurd!), meaning they play more than an hour. Kids sometimes lose free time if they are deemed 'behind'. My nephew and my son are in this group. I was able to work it out with the teachers and they no longer take play time away from my kid. I told them that if he cannot read a bunch of sight words, I am completely fine with that, so they should be too.
Kindergarten is not required, so I really have no reason to complain as I have a choice to enroll or not my kids.
In general, I do agree that full-day school is a national hazard. In Illinois, I have the luxury of sending my child to school as a part-time student who still enjoys all extra-curriculum events. My daughter needs this-half of day of sitting (reading, math, lunch and often more sitting during recess in case of bad weather) and she is beat (the air is stale, the rooms are small and house 24 kids+two teachers-prisoners fair better). She finishes school at 1, she naps, does quick homework, plays a couple of hours, we read and she goes to bed. This is a luxury and I can pull it off because my parents are willing to pick her up and watch her while I am at work. Most parents cannot, even those with one working parent, because they don't feel they can cover the rest of the material at home. Sure they can, especially in the primary grades.
I was appalled at the absence of recess and the ridiculous timeperiods between classes when I was in high school here. But in elementary there is only one recess and all the periods flow into one another. This is despicable.
--Teodora
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Your solutions for dealing with the school system are really interesting and helpful to read about. Thank you for sharing your experience here. I think there are more parents who might utilize your methods but they are not aware that they have the power to make that kind of adjustment to their child's education.
I think you would like flipping through the book I mentioned. Even in the activities where most of the students are seated for the instruction, the illustrator shows some of the students standing. It made me smile.
all the best to you,
Laura
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