Children who attend all-day kindergarten classes are likely to find creative learning programs, more relaxed teachers and better preparation for 1st grade, says a Purdue University child development researcher who spent two years studying 12 kindergarten programs in northeastern Wisconsin.
“The children thrive and benefit because they have more time to do things and there is more flexibility with what the teachers can do,” says James Elicker, assistant professor of child development and family studies at Purdue in West Lafayette, Ind.
The study shows that half-day programs, originally intended to be less stressful on 5-year-olds, may increase stress for children as well as teachers, who are required to teach two different sets of children in a more regimented curriculum.
