Young children and their families embark on the start of a child’s education journey with kindergarten. Parents must choose the path that will most benefit their child’s specific needs. 

Students begin kindergarten typically at age five or six in either a half-day or full-day program. There are many advantages and disadvantages to each program. 

The Ohio Department of Education requires kindergarten students to be in school at least two and a half hours a day for half-day kindergarten. 

Attending a full-day kindergarten program is beneficial for the academic, social and emotional growth of young students. A study done by Thomas Stinard in 1982 indicated that students in  full-day kindergarten do as well, and oftentimes better, on assessments than half-day students. This study also shows that it is better for children to be kept in one place with the same peers during the day. This proves that full-day kindergarten is a good alternative to half-day kindergarten and daycare combined. 

While the full-day program is beneficial to children, there are also disadvantages. Many people argue that full-day programs merely become child care and do not promote any more learning than a half-day does. It is also arguable that full-day programs are detrimental to parent-child relationships. 

Another arguable disadvantage is that full-day kindergarten is not developmentally appropriate for children of this young age. Five and six-year-olds have short attention spans which is not always supported by full-day programs. A half-day program is argued to be more developmentally appropriate for this age group.

Half-day kindergarten programs are approximately two and a half hours a day, five days a week. This is a beneficial stepping stone for the transition between preschool and first grade. Many preschools allow students to go between two and three times a week for a few hours each day. First grade is a full school day of learning for five days a week. Having a half-day program that is five days a week helps to ease the transition between the minimal hours of preschool and the increased hours of first grade. 

The main disadvantage of half-day programs is the midday disruption. If the child has to leave school and go to daycare, it is a different environment with different people. There is also less room for non-academic activities such as field trips, extra play time and assemblies, due to limited amounts of time in the classroom. Half-day schooling is mostly academic and does not have as many opportunities for free play as full-day schooling does. 

Whatever path a parent may choose for a child, both programs are beneficial to the academic, social and emotional growth of the child.