Full day or half day?
Hello everyone! I'm on mobile so I'm sorry if formatting is wonky.
My daughter will be turning four in May and next year we have the option of sending her to full day (9-3) or half day (9-11:30) PreK. I've been driving myself crazy trying to figure out which would benefit her the most with moving into kindergarten the following year.
I know teachers see a big difference in kids who stay home until kindergarten vs kids who have been in daycare or PreK. When she was two she went twice a week for 2.5 hours to a drop off class and this year she's been going four times a week for 2.5 hours. She absolutely loves "school" and is sad on days she doesn't get to go. She adores her friends and has learned so much.
On one hand, I want to soak up all the time I can get with her. Four is still so young and sending her for six hours a day seems like so much. On the flip side, kindergarten is seven hours per day so I don't know if the jump from two and a half to seven would be too much on her. She also learns way better from her teachers than she ever has from me. We work on letters, numbers, shapes, etc at home but she soaks up so much more in a classroom setting.
I'm a SAHM and we try to do an activity outside of the house each day so school isn't/wouldn't be her only source of learning and peer interaction. We visit the library, zoo, children's museum, soft play, etc multiple times each week. Would replacing those activities with more school benefit her or hurt her? I almost feel guilty sending her to school for half of her day when the whole point of being a SAHM is to be able to spend time with her.
Teachers, do you notice a difference in kids who attend longer days of PreK as opposed to shorter days? Parents, do you feel like your child would have benefited more one way or the other?
Thank you for any and all advice!
Posted Feb 26, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC