I’ve come to grips with the fact that kindergarten is more “academic” than it used to be. Instead of listening to stories and cutting out shapes, kids are practicing their consonant blends and practicing addition. Well, there are still stories and shapes, but the brain-work is definitely increasing in proportion to the fun-work.

And now there’s the semi-recent trend of schools and districts moving to all-day kindergarten.

C.’s school sent home a note just this past weekend about the possibility of them offering a full-day kindergarten program. I believe they’re planning to offer it in addition to half-day kindergarten rather than in place of half-day kindergarten, so parents would be given a choice as to which program their kids would be enrolled in.

My initial response was: “No, no, no. Kindergarteners are too young to be in school all day.”

But wait. Before you defend all-day kindergarten, I’ll say this:

• I completely understand that all-day programs are much-appreciated by families in which both parents work.
• I know that tons of kids across the country (including my niece) have done the all-day thing and have thrived in it.
• I also realize that it’s not a 6-hour “academic” program and that the second half of the day is more about stories and resting and coloring and… well, all the stuff that kindergarten as a whole was about when I was five years old.

But I also know that there is no way C. (now 9) would have been ready for all-day kindergarten when he was 5 or 6. In fact, just yesterday he reminded me about how traumatic his first week of 1st grade was — complete with throwing up and going to bed at 6 p.m. without dinner, all because he was utterly exhausted. If we had tried to convince him that school was an all-day endeavor a year prior to that? I think he would have considered packing his Dr. Seuss backpack full of clothes (and some Matchbox cars) and running away from home.

L., who won’t be going to kindergarten for another 3 or 4 years, is even more of a “Don’t make me sit still for too long” kind of kid than C. ever was. I know he’s got time to mature and calm down a bit. But we’re just hoping that the children’s ministry at our church will see fit to move him to the 2-year-old Sunday School room (where children are expected to sit down and listen to a brief lesson) before he’s 4.

And aside from the fact that I don’t know if my particular kids are cut out for all-day kindergarten, I hold to the idea that kids in general need lots and lots of time to play and run and imagine and explore the outdoors and think and be by themselves and cuddle up on the couch with mom. And sending them off to a long day at school a year earlier doesn’t completely fit with that theory.

[Let me insert a moment of honest, selfish confession here: There is a part of me that is looking forward to having many hours every day to myself, being able to run multiple -- even many -- errands in one day instead of squeezing them in here and there, having the option of meeting a friend for lunch (sans kids), and all the other stuff that goes along with full-day school. I won't deny that. I'm just not sure when that all should start.]

So, I’m curious. What’s your opinion of full-day kindergarten? Did your kids have it? How did it go?

If I were trying to decide this week whether to enroll L. in the half-day or full-day program, how would you advise me?

(Oh, and no arguments, please. Just share your honest opinion while respecting the opinions of others. Thank you!)