Preschool THEN Kindergarten?

A

austeach

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I have just read a post that may have cleared up a few things for me. Do you start at Preschool, THEN go to Kindergarten and into Grade 1?

Over here (Australia) we have Kindergarten, THEN Preschool, THEN grade 1. Not sure why. We didn't have kindergarten for a while, and only brought it back in over the last few years. Our kindergarten and preschool are not compulsory, so not all kids attend. Starts being compulsory in grade 1. I think kindergarten is 4 half days a week, and preschool starts being full time. Some preschools may still offer part time, but I'm not sure. We have K to grade 7 in our Primary Schools and Grades 8 to 12 in our High Schools. Some Middle schools are starting to pop up with grades 7 to 10 (I think).
 
The children here can go to pre-school, kindergarten and then to grade 1. I would say all of my students in the past three years have attended some sort of preschool program. Either their day was half day or full day.
I teach full day kindergarten but there are quite a few schools that have half day kindergarten programs.
Pre-school and Kindergarten are not mandatory. Children here need to be in school from age 6-16.
 
as of 2005

In the States, or maybe its only in Florida, we are going to have four year olds in public schools for Free day care as of 2005. you start in nursery or preschool and then kinder. (i skipped kindergarten) and then first grade.
 
I think that must be a FlA thing because I have not heard of that here(MN). Here to go to preschool, parents must make that decision, and often pay for it, unless you qualify for Head Start or your district offers a school readiness program through community ed. or ECFE. Often then there is also a charge for ECFE.
 
The counties are also mandated to serve pre-k children who have been identified as having a disability.There is no cost for this program--in my county in is a full day program. This is the unit in which I teach, we are certified teachers and are on the Elementary School Campus.
 
I am the one who asked for info on public preschool. By the way, thanks to the reply! I live in Arkansas; preschool is offered in a few public schools, but not many to my knowledge. Children are not required to attend preschool, but are required to attend kindergarten. The children I would like to reach would be those who are not able to attend any other program for whatever reasons. We have so many in class this year that started at the very bottom. I would love to give them the extra help that preschool would offer. Thanks for the info!
 
We also have programs for children 0-6 with special needs in MN that are provided at no cost.
 
Preschool is not required- it's an option many parents choose and many preschools are great at preparing kids with 'school readiness skills'. Kindergarten is NOT required in all states which I find a bit strange. I had a student come from India a few years back. Kindergarten there is called 'first standard', first grade is 'second standard'. I was teaching third grade, her mom said she had finished 'second standard'. The school thought that meant second grade so they put her in third which was a year too advanced for her considering she really just had finished first grade!! It's funny how it varies country by country and even state by state!!
 
In Michigan Kindergarten is not required, but most children start in Kindergarten. They are suppose to be 5 by Dec.1st, but I found out the other day that I have a child who will not be 5 until the end of January!!! I couldn't figure out why Mom said he had been in preschool for 3 yrs & still didn't know his letters! He had been in a speech program & I just assumed that the focus was speech & social skills, not academics. He's big for his age & gets along well with the other kids. He doesn't have fine motor skills & catches on to things slowly. Mom told me earlier that someone from the previous school thought that he was gifted & I'm telling her that he doesn't even know the letters in his name! We're a brand new school & checking out everyone's birthdates is not high on my list of things to do!
 
Children entering private preschool have a wide range of maturity. Some are potty-trained, others are not. Some have trouble separating from their parents, while others are independent. Some still take daily naps and some don’t need one. Find out how the school staff deals with all of these basic needs and then decide if the policies will work for your child. Also, take note of the school’s total number of students, average class size, and student-teacher ratio. Ask yourself if these elements fit with your child’s needs.
 
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