Date posted: 4-30-01

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By Veronica Thomas

DeKalb News Service

ST. CHARLES -- Codi Cook has a busy morning.

The two and a half hours he spends in kindergarten at Munhall School are packed with activities that include choice time, math, science, reading, gym and art. When school is over, Codi goes home to spend the rest of the day with his mom and little brother.

His mother, Heidi Cook, says Codi usually is bored after school and watches a lot of television. She wishes there had been a full-day kindergarten program for Codi, and says if one had been offered, Codi would have been enrolled.

St. Charles doesn't have a full-day program, but many neighboring communities do. Many parents and teachers want the program, and wish the school district would start one. Others think children in kindergarten are too young to be in school all day.

Donna Dowd, a kindergarten teacher at Munhall, believes in the program.

"The other kindergarten teacher and I have begged to pilot a full-day program for three years," she said. "We think it would be wonderful for the children. Kids come to school with so much prior knowledge. It feels like we're just getting started, and it's time to go home."

Bonnie Gould, director of the First Baptist Preschool in St. Charles, isn't sure a full-day program is a good thing.

"I haven't done a lot of research on the subject, so I don't know all the pros and cons," Gould said, "but I know from a parent's point of view that it's probably too much for a child to go from going to preschool two or three days a week to going to a full day of kindergarten five days a week."

Gould said one reason she opposes the full-day program is the curriculum for the program is the same as for a half-day program.

"I don't think it's necessary to have a full-day program at that age, especially if the curriculum is the same," she said. "What are they doing for the rest of the time? Are they resting, watching a movie or doing something else?"

Dowd said that even though the curriculums would be the same, she would use the extra time to discover things with the children.

"We could write, dramatize stories and do more art," she said.

Denise Hobbs, who also teaches kindergarten at Munhall, agrees.

"If we had longer, I'd like to explore science more," she said. "I'd spend more time reading books with the kids and doing more writing with them. They would have more time for art, and to use their senses."

Cook said a full day would allow teachers to spend more time with children who need extra attention.

"There are 25 kids in the class and only one teacher," she said. "They can't learn what they need to learn in two and a half hours. Full-day kindergarten would give the teacher more time to spend with kids who need the extra attention."

Gould believes children should have time during the day to rest. She thinks a full- day program would cause kids to get tired.

"Kids are tired when they come home from school," she said. "They need time to themselves and time to rest. Even adults get tired in the afternoon. I think at that age we should just let them enjoy being children. I don't see the need to rush them."

Dowd thinks children spend too much time watching TV and playing video games. She said a full-day program would allow for more balanced activity.

"Some parents say that children would be falling asleep in their dinner plates," she said. "I don't agree. The school day provides more stimulation, but it's a better balance. There's interaction, movement, quiet time and more time for diverse learning. That's better than kids going home and sitting in front of video games and TV shows."

Dowd and Hobbs both have heard criticism that working mothers only want a full-day program so they can get a free baby-sitter.

"It's not about the moms, it's about the children," Dowd said. "We wouldn't promote this if we didn't genuinely believe the children would benefit."

"We would never use the kids to promote the agenda of working mothers," Hobbs said.
Dowd said the school district is behind a full-day program, but doesn't have the money the program would require.

"It costs a lot of money that this district doesn't have," she said. "At this school alone, you would need two more teachers and two more classrooms.

Parents also are mixed on whether a full-day kindergarten would be good for kids.
Theresa Leduc, who has a son in kindergarten, said she would have preferred for her son to be in a full-day program.

"My son wanted to go all day," she said. "His brother is in school all day, and he wanted to be like him. He's been in preschool, and he was ready for school."

Christina Chacon also prefers a full-day program. She agrees that children need more activity, and doesn't feel the half-day program offers enough time for children to learn.

Jessica Cushman disagrees.

"If the school had given me a choice, I still would have chosen a half-day," she said. "I think they're still too young for that much school."

Gould said her school is starting a kindergarten program that will be three hours long, instead of the traditional two and a half hours.

"It's a little longer," she said, "but not nearly as long as a full-day program."

Dowd hopes a full-day program will eventually be offered.

"We're not back in the days when kids only went to kindergarten to color and play," she said. "It used to be thought that kids could only pay attention to something for 10 or 15 minutes. Now we know that kids can pay attention for 30, 45 or even 60 minutes. When the day is over, a lot of them ask, "Is it time to go home already?"

Source list:
· Donna Dowd, Kindergarten teacher at Munhall Elementary School, (630) 377-4862
· Bonnie Gould, Director of First Baptist Preschool, (630) 584-6768
· Dr. Denise Hobbs, Kindergarten teacher at Munhall Elementary School, (630) 377-4862
· Heidi Cook, mother
· Theresa Leduc, mother
· Christina Chacon, mother
· Jessica Cushman, mother