I would go further than that. My experience with a school based after school program is that it is not structured enough. I switched my children to a high school sitter at my home for less money!!

The kids love it and they are at home with no big pressures.

I would also visit afterschool unannouced about 1 hour after it starts. 6 pm pickup time is not an indication of what is really going on there.
My son hated afterschool, and I found out why after picking up him once earlier at 4 pm. 40 children in one room running and screaming is not a pretty sight.
When my middle son went to school, I hired a babysitter, an retired gentleman, to stay with both of them after school. At least they had been fed right after school and spent 1 hour a day playing outside.

Wow, for a change I mostly agree with the advice given. I would speak to the director of the afterschool program and work with that person to come up with a plan for the teachers. They absolutely ought to have some ideas of how to help a child who is miserable. Alternatively, particularly since it sounds like it's only a few days a week, I wonder if it would be an option to pay a sitter - maybe another mom from the class who could use some extra $$ - to watch your daughter instead of sending her to afterschool. Or even trade off - you take her kids one day, she takes yours another.
Good luck. I'm fortunate that my kids have been happy at their afterschool program.

Here's a thought. How about letting her come home and be with family after school? K plus after-school is too long of a day for a 5yr old. Some kids can handle it, some can't.

Or is that too inconvenient financially?

Does she have any friends from school that she could go home with? If you only need coverage two days a week maybe you could make a deal with two other Moms. Every Tues she could play at Jane's house and every Thursday at Sarah's house. These playdates might be less stressful and more restful than the crowded after school program. Plus, even if you paid each woman a little, the total would probably be less than the program.

Comment on commonsense dad...I didn't realize that financial hardship is an inconvenience. Last I checked I had to pay my bills and put food on the table and leaving at 1 pm to pick up my child from school didn't fit into full time salary and benefits. Sure it would be nice to do but what about those of us that do not really have a choice in the matter?
I agree that it is a long day for a 5 year old. That being said, my daughter loves her after school program, she has a snack, a drink , outside play and inside activities as well., I also pick up at various times so I can 'check in' so to speak on what is really happening.

#4..."inconvenient financially???"
Please tell me you were trying to find a nice way of saying "if you are broke" and not intimating that she's selfishly not willing to quit working and be home with her kid. You know, the old, obnoxious, argument that if she drove a smaller car or had a smaller house and stopped being so spendy then she could be a (proper) stay at home mom?
I don't care if she sitting at home eating bon-bons those afternoons. It's her life, her priorities and we do not know enough about her to judge. All we know is that she has deemed it best for the kid to go to the ASP and wants help making it work.

I agree that her day should be scaled back. I know that at my dd's school, anything after 6:00, which would be very late for me anyway, is absolute chaos. I'm pretty sure they design it that way so parents aren't comfy enough to allow themselves any extra time after school officially ends. I know here in FL, there are programs (i.e. dance, gymnastics, karate, etc.) that transport kids from school to the activity so theya re doing a structured physical activity.

I wonder if your daughter goes to the same after school as mine! She's been in day care her whole life so long days are not new, but she dreads the after-school. I found the after school teacher to be unengaging and just not friendly or helpful at all, plus the kids are of all ages which is intimidating to a K-er. I can't change the teacher or the fact she has to go (I work, too!!) so I can only work on her attitude by finding the one or two positive things she might mention and work with that. And Barbara is right, pinpointing exactly what may be troublesome and talking about it has helped us. My experience is that time makes all the difference.

Check the bathrooms. If they don't get cleaned enough and are disgusting to the child, that is enough to make them miserable. At least that is what happened to us. We complained, they cleaned. Now all is well.

CommonsenseDad is right. A lot of the time - NOT ALL OF THE TIME - it is financial inconvenience that sends Moms out to work 40+ hour weeks, not true need.

I worked in an after school program for a few years. Children aren't nearly as complex as adults, especially in Kindergarten. Although it's definately a long day for someone that young I'd bet that there is a specific issue at hand. I'd talk to your child to see if you can figure out what's bothering her. If you can't get anything specific observing is a great idea, or speak to the teachers. Keep in mind the "teachers" may just be high school or college kids with no specific background or training. If this is the case I'd speak with the director of the program.

MAYBE THE CHILD IS TIRED AND WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A QUIET SNOOZE FOR 20 MINUTES. I feel sorry for these little kids who are going from seven the morning till after six. In the olden days when my kids were in school , kindergarden was half days and if you came home tired you could lie down.
Five year old children were not meant to have such long days.

Wow, I remember the after school program at my school (when I was 6!) and I HATED it. So much so that when we moved to a new town, I refused to go to that town's program. I preferred to be latchkey with my brother than to go to a program and have other kids to play with there. Maybe some kids just don't like it. And yes, it feels nice to be home after a long day and have more one-on-one attention from a sitter, perhaps (if it's financially doable).

You may be able to get your daughter to be more specific if you ask the right way. I once asked my kindergartner if he could be principal for a day what is the one thing he would change about kindergarten. He said he would add naptime. I adjusted his bedtime. Maybe asking your daughter what is the one thing she would change if she could be the after school teacher for a day would elicit a specific complaint.

I taught elementary school for 34 years and there was an after school program in our building. It was often loud and overwhelming for a young child. There were some children who enjoyed the program but I can see that a quiet, younger child, exhausted by a long day of kindergarten, would be unhappy. The idea of dropping by unexpectedly is a good one. Please be certain your child is not feeling or being threatened by an older child or two. My own grandchildren are picked up at the end of their school day by a babysitter, the same one they had in the summer. They may go home or to a playdate but it is more comforting and familiar than an extended day at school. Think how you feel if you have to work late!

I am lucky that the aftercare at my daughter's school is both affordable and well run. They have structured time for snack, homework, outdoor play, computers, art, music, etc. There are activities she attends like chorus and math club. There are also outside groups that come in and run (for an extra fee) soccer, baseball, basketball and hiphop dance. The kindergartener's are separated from the big kids and have "down time" at the beginning of aftercare. Sounds to me like your daughter may be tired. Maybe you can talk to the administrator of the program about "down time" for her age group.

My son hated the afterschool program too, even though it is very well structured, had really neat activities and most of our friends kids who went loved it. We do send him to a sitter after school now and he is much happier, but transportation was difficult to negotiate at first. One thing they did at the ASP that I was greatful for was they assigned a 4th grader to be his "big buddy" and basically just make sure he could open his snack, have someone to sit with one-on-one when he was coloring and hang out a bit. That helped.

I have two kids in the afterschool program. We started it last year when my son was in kindergarten. I agree it's a long day, but my kids LOVE it. I think it all depends on the school they attend. We did try to have a sitter but she turned to be very unreliable and we went to afterschool care. When you break down the cost by hour it's not that much more. The kids are well taken care of and have a blast. They only attend 3x a week but they want to do more.

I work at an organization that has a before-school and after-school program for children, mainly low-income children. Watching the program, it's no wonder some of these kids are behavior problems and have trouble in school! I come in early in the morning, before school (their program starts at 7), and see the kids running around in the gym, playing kickball, basketball, jumprope. Then they go sit through a 6 hour day of school, and come back to run around, go swimming, and do more games. If elementary school children need 10 hours of sleep, and these kids spend 11 hours a day at school or running around doing physical activity, they must be exhausted with no downtime!

And to add to it, the program isn't very organized. It's mostly kids running around helter-skelter, screaming, bullying and arguing, even in the most structured part of the day. I can see how that would be overwhelming to a kindergartener! There are plenty of places that run afterschool programs, even places that accept federal vouchers, so perhaps you should look into finding a different program that better suits your child's needs. Remember, in a group setting, teachers do what's convenient for them, and not what's best for the children!

Wow! I am an After School Child Care Provider based in an Oregon Charter School.I ran my own program based in 5 elementary schools for twelve years. It was a very successful program. The problem I have now is, kids don't want to go to school! They want to head directly to aftercare! It could be that your daughter is being ignored or even bullied by other kids. It could be that there isnt anything to do. Aftercare program staff should be very willing to help your daughter find something to do after school that makes her feel comfortable, engaged or whatever it is she needs.