https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Fri, 01 May 2026 11:55:13 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849353 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 22:56:55 +0000 ChiCalGoBee 2849353@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: My son is a month younger than your daughter and we're also in California, so he'll be going to TK next year. TK was created in 2010 as a way to support fall kids who had, prior to then, been sent to kindergarten. Previous cutoff was December 2nd, and now it's September 1st. I am a former kindergarten teacher, and I will be sending my son to TK without hesitation. Most kindergarten programs require a kid to read by the end of kindergarten, and TK-with a curriculum designed by California Department of Ed to go hand-in-hand with kindergarten-will absolutely give him the readiness he needs. If your private preschool has a sound kindergarten readiness program, then maybe it's worth staying. But even if TK is at a different school than where she'll go to for elementary, my guess is the TK curriculum is aligned with your district's curriculum, which would be so helpful for her learning. Anyway, feel free to DM me if you want to talk more. Here's a helpful link about TK that I reference a ton: <a href="https://edsource.org/2017/understanding-transitional-kindergarten-a-quick-guide/585073" rel="nofollow">https://edsource.org/2017/understanding-transitional-kindergarten-a-quick-guide/585073</a> </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849305 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 16:57:15 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2849305@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KT326: @agold: @Corduroy: That is super interesting how it differs. In our district it's full day (8:30-3:30 or something like that), same as K and all elementary grades. If it was only half day that would be a hard no from me.</p> <p>It's such a bummer that TK is not offered at our neighborhood school where she will go to K because then it would be a no brainer for us, but the added inconvenience of a new school, not in our neighborhood, etc. is just too much I think. Also DD2 is starting at DD1's preschool this coming summer so if we moved DD1 to TK they would only overlap for the summer. If we keep DD1 at preschool we'll have a dreamy one drop off for over a year. And seeing sibling pairs now there is really sweet. DD1 is super excited to have DD2 there next year. All her little friends and the teachers all love and know DD2 already from all the drop offs/pick ups. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849302 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 16:05:18 +0000 agold 2849302@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: @KT326: I'm in California and my town's TK is a full day and my friend's town, in the same county, has only short day TK. So random. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849288 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 15:15:41 +0000 KT326 2849288@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: I'm in the south bay and it varies by school district. The district a friend works in does not have full day Tk or Kinder. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849264 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 14:22:01 +0000 Corduroy 2849264@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@KT326: It’s interesting how the schedules can differ so much. I’m Bay Area and TK is 3.5 hours. K is 5.5 hours. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849236 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 13:15:29 +0000 KT326 2849236@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: I'm in the Bay Area too and our TK has the same hours as K (full day).</p> <p>My youngest has a December birthday but it is after the TK cutoff of Dec 2nd. I'm hoping I can petition the district to let him start TK instead of doing another year of preschool (well, Jr. K since our daycare offers it). I feel you on making the decision due to cost. I really don't want to pay the Jr K tuition, it's like $500 more per month than preschool. Plus it would be nice to only have to do one drop off! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849227 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 12:16:46 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2849227@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't know about other school districts but ours is full day- same as the rest of the elementary school- TK... so you should find out for sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849226 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 12:11:47 +0000 agold 2849226@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: I'm in CA so I understand this TK vs preschool thing. My daughter is a late August birthday so I have no idea how that's going to work out when the time comes. Based on your recent reply re: 6 friends... this is what I would do. I would try to keep my girl with the group of friends. If all or most were going to the other school for TK, and then would be going to the other school for kindergarten, then I might take that route because TK is free. But if my daughter would be the only one making those switches, then I might be inclined to keep her at preschool with her friends and skip TK - less transitions. Even if it was going to be hard to pay for the extra year of preschool, I would do it if I thought it would be best for easy adjustments for my girl. Why does it have to be so hard!! Whatever decision you make, I am sure your daughter will do just fine. But how lucky for her to have 5 little friends already!?!? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849216 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 11:28:38 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2849216@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrsbubbletea: I work part-time. There actually is after care at the two schools that are closest to us, but I've heard from other parents with kids in K that there's a lottery for after care. I will probably sign her up for after care but not use it every day since my schedule is flexible. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849215 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 11:19:36 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2849215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: also in California. Do you work? The hours are super short. I think I would keep her in her school if you need to figure out aftercare. A lot of the afterschool programs where I live don’t take tk kids </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849124 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 01:03:18 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2849124@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: yes to the credentials. Our TK teacher had 17 years of teaching experience including some years in K and we were the second year of TK I believe. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849123 Thu, 04 Oct 2018 01:01:42 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2849123@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: we did TK and had a great experience. K curriculum is more challenging, but my dd could read a bit by the end of TK. For us it was the school she is in K in, so it was nice to also make new friends and all of that. Plus no preschool tuition, haha. Other parents who did TK also have told me that their kids seemed to have a huge advantage, but obviously that would depend on the area/school/kid. Either way it sounds like you have great options! Good luck deciding! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2849035 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 16:20:49 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2849035@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I get that it's a tough situation that is family-specific. There's a group of 6 kids (including DD1) at her preschool that I believe qualify for TK so she would not be the only kid much older if we kept her there. That is a strong reason to keep her there actually (to stay with her friend group she's had for the past 2 years). The preschool is in our neighborhood so most of the kids go to the same elementary school too. The only real reason I see to put her in TK vs. stay at preschool is cost and I hate making decisions about my kids based on cost. Her teacher at preschool suggested getting all the TK-eligible parents together to discuss so I guess i'll see if I can make that happen. We'll have more info from the district at the end of this month since enrollment begins in early Nov. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848967 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:09:18 +0000 JCCovi 2848967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m wondering where you are. We’re in the Bay Area and our local highly ranked elementary school has no TK but we could have transferred to a neighboring town and sent her to TK there 15 minutes away. We ended up enrolling her in a private K program. If she ends up repeating K I don’t think it’ll be too different than TK and then K, but this will also give us a chance to see if she can keep up with the older kids socially and emotionally (academically we’re not worried). </p> <p>Repeating Preschool wasn’t an option for us because she would have been far and away the oldest kid left and all her friends would have graduated. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848966 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 14:06:55 +0000 KT326 2848966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My understanding is that TK is the first year of a two-year program. The curriculum is similar but not the same. I don't have personal experience with it yet, but I know a few kids in DS's kinder class did TK and they were right in line with everyone else (so not ahead and bored). </p> <p>Does your private preschool offer Jr K? I wouldn't want her to get bored by repeating another year of preschool. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848954 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 13:44:17 +0000 peachykeen 2848954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Would she be repeating the same material/curriculum at preK that was covered this year, or is there a more "advanced" class for the 2nd year? If it's the same material/class and I felt she had mastered it well enough I would probably to the TK. I totally get the idea of not transitioning her twice though - we had to make the same decision with DD1 this year (not with TK but with public pre-K at a different school than her elementary). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848939 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 13:18:28 +0000 Corduroy 2848939@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: My DD didn’t qualify by birth month but she started K this year so I know of TK. For the parents I talked to, the TK provided quality instruction for a short period during the day. Whether they chose to enroll in TK came down to the cost, quality and location of after school care. If you’re in a SAH situation and you’re choosing between preschool and TK I got the impression TK is the way to go. </p> <p>I was surprised to find out last year that DD was the oldest in her class. She has a late Feb birthday so nobody with a fall birthday stayed at her preschool. She went to a local economical preschool not a top notch place. </p> <p>In my limited experience she is neither ahead nor behind her K classmates that went to TK.</p> <p>ETA: I think TK teachers have credentials and are paid like elementary teachers rather than preschool teachers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848936 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 12:55:50 +0000 Foodnerd81 2848936@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Pajamas: I’m confused- so the TK is for kids that are just barely too young to start K (basically it’s like advanced preK?)? Then they do regular K the next year? What’s the benefit of TK vs preK? </p> <p>My daughter turned 5 right before the cut off but her preK teachers recommended waiting a year for K, and we did go with a “junior kindergarten” which I think is mostly the same as this TK. It’s a little faster moving than her old preschool and definitely preparing her more for real school- more behavior stuff, more independence. But the reason I chose it is my girl needs some help with the social emotional maturity stuff and this teacher is good for that. Half the kids are late summer bdays who are waiting a year and the other half are early fall bdays like your son. </p> <p>If you are happy with where he is and feel he is being well prepared for k, I wouldn’t rock the boat. But if you feel like he needs a little more, I guess find out more info?</p> <p>Short story- I don’t think our old preschool was equipped to handle my daughter’s issues. If she had been thriving there I would have stayed. But I love the school and my little one started there this year. The junior K teacher is family with our town K and works to prepare them for that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848928 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 12:29:00 +0000 MamaBear87 2848928@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you have an option that you like that isn't tk and don't mind paying an extra year I would just stay at preschool an extra year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/experience-with-transitional-kindergarten#post-2848922 Wed, 03 Oct 2018 12:17:36 +0000 Mrs. Pajamas 2848922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I live in CA and here we have no public pre-K but Transitional Kindergarten (TK) offered for kids born after the normal 9/1 cutoff. DD1 has an October bday and is turning 4 soon so I need to decide soon whether to put her in TK next fall or hold off and keep her at her private preschool (which we all love).</p> <p>I'm curious if others have made this decision and how it turned out. TK is not offered at our highly rated neighborhood elementary school which is a big reason why I'm leaning towards keeping her at preschool (I don't want to have to transition her from preschool to one school only for a year, then to another). I hear the curriculum is pretty much the same in TK and K as well which seems silly. Thoughts? </p>