Kindergarten Answers!

Well, the kindergarten stuff has all been resolved. Last week, I called around to find out if LilKat1 could transfer to another school that offered half-day kindergarten. I found a form that I was supposed to fill out and went down to the school that LilKat1 is currently enrolled in to turn it in. When I got to the school, it turned out that the principal was on the phone with the principal of the school that offered the half-day class. So all I had to do was wait around a bit and find out if the transfer would be ok'd or not.

A few minutes later, the principal came out to talk to me. She said that the transfers are normally denied, but since she had talked with the other principal and there is space available there, they would ok the transfer if we wanted. But she encouraged us to stay at LilKat1's current school and just have him leave early if we didn't want to have him there for the full day.

I told her that I was concerned that the class would go over things during the afternoon that he would miss. And when he came in for the morning portion, he would be behind. The principal showed me the layout of the class, and it turns out that this won't be a problem. In the morning portion of class, they learn about math, reading, writing, etc. It lasts for about 2 and a half hours. If we just had LilKat1 go to this part and then pick him up, it would be pretty much the same thing as him going to half-day kindergarten.

After the morning session, the kids go to lunch. They get about 45 minutes for this and then come back to class for a half hour rest time.

The afternoon session also lasts for about 2 and a half hours. The kids learn about science, social studies, art, and other stuff. I think they also learn Spanish during this time.

Since the things they learn in the afternoon are not related to the things they learn in the morning, we wouldn't have to worry about LilKat1 getting behind if he went home early. The teacher would provide us the details about what the kids will be learning about in the afternoon, so we could decide which components he could go to and which ones he could skip.

It seemed like a great option because LilKat1 would be able to get a half-day kindergarten experience if we want, but he could also go to the afternoon session if the class is doing something particularly interesting. He would be able to stay at his current school which is nice because that is where all of his neighborhood friends are going. And even if we pick him up before the afternoon session, he'll still be able to eat lunch with his friends and play with them before he goes home.

So that's what we decided to do. The kindergarten picnic is tonight, so LilKat1 will get to meet his teacher and the other kids in his class. We get to bring our own dinner, so LilKat1 has requested pizza and cookies. Earlier this summer, he was very nervous about kindergarten. But now, he's really starting to look forward to it.