Community Corner

Moms Chat: Why We Need All-Day Kindergarten

Moms Chat: All Day Kindergarten Views

Would it surprise you that the United States lags behind the rest of the industrialized world in preschool and kindergarten education? The rest of the world seems to recognize that the first 5 years in a child’s life are critical in developing the skills necessary to become a life long learner. For most of the industrial nations, there is either free or subsidized education for all children ages 3-5 available eight hours a day.

Here in Fairfax County, a world-renown education system, early childhood education is not available equally throughout the county and is eons behind countries such as China, France, Japan, Germany, and many more.

In McLean, not one of our four elementary schools has full-day Kindergarten, even though the tax revenue collected in McLean outstrips many other areas in the county as well as the State. McLean Patch Moms speak out about their views of full day kindergarten coming to McLean. You can read Jennifer here and  and a different view from Kathleen here.

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Jennifer Bargerstock,   Falls Church resident, married, with two sons and a daughter, one Golden Retriever, one mixed poodle-terrier, two cats.

It is inexcusable that McLean area schools do not have full day kindergarten. Fairfax County has lost sight of its goal of providing a world-class education and has fallen into the trap of funding special projects and untested/unverified programs to the detriment of proven education programs such as early childhood education.

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My children all had half-day kindergarten,  after participating in full-day preschool.  Full-day kindergarten would have given them the opportunity to participate in more group activities, learn how to socialize appropriately, have more time for free and cooperative play as well as spending time learning academically.

Whether a child learns all their letters in kindergarten, they do get to learn how to behave in a classroom, how to cooperate with others, how to listen and how exciting learning can be. I taught in a Chapter 1 program for 4-year-olds when I student-taught years ago. Our day encompassed many things, from calendar activities (number and day recognition), center time, story times, PE, lunch and snacks (manners!) and even being sung or read to sleep for naptime. These kids benefited from the amount of time we had together each day; and even though they qualified for the program because they were the neediest children identified, they went on to be excited and happy learners when they joined their peers in full day kindergarten (I didn’t teach in Fairfax, obviously) the next year.

Let’s bring full day kindergarten to our “world class” schools here in McLean.


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