The Decision of Kindergarten...

All schools (public, separate and independent) are "Calling All Three Year Olds" during the month of November.
Avon Maitland District School Board
Huron-Perth Catholic School Board
Huron Christian School

This is when you would go into the school of your choice and register your child for JK/SK. Each child is expected to visit several stations so they can "evaluate" the children to offer feedback to parents on areas you can work with your child prior to school beginning in September, 2013.

This can be a difficult time for parents as the school environment is so different than the cozy, home atmosphere your child and you have become accustomed to. My suggestion is that if you have any reservations about sending your child to "big" school arrange for an observation of the JK/SK class without your child. Go and observe the class in action. With the influx of schools closing there are many schools that have more than 1 kindergarten class, so if you can, I would try and observe each class. You could then specify which teacher you feel would best suit your child's personality.

Before going into the classroom I would read through these attached links. The information sound terrific - so, be sure to use the "language" in the guides and look for examples of these learning experiences when you visit the classroom. The classroom and your child's experience at school really does depend on the teacher. Take notes if you need to during the observation time and then send them to the teacher or principal in an email after the observation. You will not be able to discuss anything with the teacher while they are in the classroom with the other students, it will be an observation only.

Kindergarten Curriculum - full document
Kindergarten - A Reference for Educators

You are not required to register your child in a publicly funded school setting - however, once you complete paperwork - they do have your child "on file" and will continue to call you until you have enrolled them. So, it's easier to not enrol them now if you have any reservations. Kindergarten is not a mandatory full-time program. You can choose when you send your child (2 or 3 days/week, mornings or afternoons only) of course the school encourages full-time enrollment because they receive more funding, but the decision is yours to make.

You can also homeschool your child. The general rule of thumb is 1 hour/grade/day. Kindergarten is at the discretion of the parent. The amount of quality and focused time is what counts, not the length of the day. You, as the parent are also able to follow any curriculum that you would like. The Ontario Curriculum is online Ontario Curriculum by Grade so you can have that as reference but it is not mandatory that you follow it. I would encourage you to check in with it though just to make sure there isn't an area of study that has been overlooked. The majority of home-schooling families I know do school in the morning and the afternoon is less structured, independent time, spent reading, sketching, observing nature, etc. There are a couple of home-schooling groups in our area and if you would like to have some contact information I can supply you with that.

And lastly, learning doesn't happen inside 4 walls of an institution. Learning happens all around us and it is up to us as parents to be an advocate for our child in any learning situation they are exposed to. We know our children best.