Walker Elementary started providing kindergarten students with an all day program in the 2003-2004 school year. We love it! We are now much better able to provide our students with individualized attention. We can give our neediest students more one on one and small group time, and provide more challenging activities and projects for those who are ready for more. Everyone benefits from the more relaxed atmosphere and the enrichment we are able to offer.

Research shows that full day K is less stressful for children and teachers because there is more time to spend on in-depth learning and activities and we have a varied schedule of active and quiet activities. Both the academic and social benefits of a full day program have been clearly documented - and we're definitely seeing those great results here at Walker.

After comparing similar half-day and full-day programs in a statewide longitudinal study, Cryan and others (1992) found that full-day kindergartners exhibited more independent learning, classroom involvement, productivity in work with peers, and reflectiveness than half-day kindergartners. They were also more likely to approach the teacher, and they expressed less withdrawal, anger, shyness, and blaming behavior than half-day kindergartners. In general, children in full-day programs exhibited more positive behaviors than did pupils in half-day programs. Similar results have been found in other studies as well.

Observers of trends in kindergarten scheduling argue that changing the length of the kindergarten day is not as important as making sure that all kindergartners are provided with developmentally and individually appropriate learning environments. We agree completely! The length of the school day is only one dimension of the kindergarten experience. By far the more important issues include the nature of the kindergarten curriculum and the quality of teaching. We strive for the best here at Walker and focus all our efforts on providing the best learning environment possible. We're not here for the money, folks! We truly love these kids and our jobs.

Initially, this is a long day for a few of the kindergartners, so we monitor the children carefully and adjust our activities as needed. After a week or two, the children all settle in to the schedule and maintain their remarkable energy and enthusiasm the entire day.  It's the teachers who dream of naps!

Please make sure your child has plenty of rest at night and a healthy breakfast each day. Breakfast is available here! There's tons of research to support the benefits of healthy breakfasts for students - but I'll take pity on you and I won't lecture you on all that endless research!