How Long Should My Preschool Class Be?

Preschool is not held all day long like daycare. There is a sweet spot that will work great for the length of your preschool classes, read this post to find out how long a preschool class should be!

Preschool or Daycare?

You may be thinking of starting an all-day preschool class, maybe 8 hours. Or to accommodate parents’ work schedules and travel time, you could have a 12 hour class. Just think of everything you could teach your students if you have them for 12 hours a day, 5 days a week!

No! Don’t do it! A 12 hour “preschool class” is a daycare. So is an 8 hour, or even 6-hour class. A preschool class is a much shorter, concentrated time of teaching and educational activities designed to prepare a child for Kindergarten. Trying to teach a young child for 6, 8, or 12 hours a day will only exhaust you both. Not to mention that the child’s attention span for actual learning would be gone long before their “school day” was over.

How Long Should Your Preschool Class Be?

Most states have a limit on the number of hours you can teach preschool aged children without being licensed, so if you are not licensed yet, be sure to check what this time limit is. For many states your preschool class, without a license, could only be four hours or less.

Our recommendation is to hold a local preschool class for no longer than 2.5 hours per class. That means you could have a first group of students come in a T_TH 9-11:30 a.m. class, and then those students would go home. Later you could have a second group of students attend a T_TH 12-2:30 p.m. class. Similarly, you could have a third group of students attend a MWF 9-11:30 a.m. class, and a fourth group of students attend a MWF 12-2:30 p.m. class.

For the most part, the length of your preschool class is a personal preference. What works best for you? What number of hours do you love teaching your preschoolers? Is there a point where you just feel like you are done now? Is there a point where you just wish you had 30 more minutes? Whatever that sweet spot is for you is how long your preschool class should be.