'Kids need to play and move'

Joan Howell, Pablo, full-time kindergarten teacher, phone interview with MEA-MFT Today:

"I had never taught anything but full-time kindergarten before coming to Montana," said Joan Howell.

Joan said she has taught in several other states "where the poverty level is similar to here. The amount of time I was able to spend in developing children's skills in developmentally appropriate ways was important."

Kindergarten children "need to play; they need to move," Joan said. "In half-day programs, those things were pushed aside because of the focus on academics. Writing and fine motor skills are not developed when children don't have time to play with play-dough and string beads."

Implementing full-day kindergarten in Pablo "has been the best thing that could have happened here."

Joan taught first grade when she first came to Pablo and the school had only half-day kindergarten. "I spent the first 26 days teaching the letters of the alphabet. That's not the case now."

Joan said a lot of children in Pablo come to school with minimal language skills. "With full-time kindergarten, they have time to socialize and talk with each other and develop language skills. That doesn't happen in a half-day setting."

Full-time kindergarten children in Pablo "love school, and they love being here all day. Two and a half hours (half-day) is a lot more stressful than all day long. You're pushed to get everything in."

With a full-time kindergarten program, "There's more freedom to teach in a less stressful environment." Children learn the school routine; they learn about recess, lunch, etc., so they can hit first grade running.