The girls are going to Kindergarten in the afternoon; just half days.

I will take them to school and the bus will drop them off.

But, now I'm thinking: Are they too little to be on the bus? Or, is it fun for them and they'll enjoy riding home together?

Do your schools do a dry run of a bus ride to get them used to riding?

Am I being too overprotective?

Lisa

They are pretty little for the bus.

But won't the kindergarteners be alone on the bus (i.e., just other kindergarteners)? And doesn't the bus drop them off right in front of each child's house? That's the way it works in our town, and that would be okay with me (after the first week or so). We still had an au pair then so she picked them up. If the ride is together with the rest of the school kids, I would pick them up - they do not need that kind of vocabulary yet.

No dry run for busses that I know of, but many parents are involved in the first week of riding the bus. That is not at all overprotective. There really are slip-ups and mix-ups and mistakes. And kids really do end up at the bus terminal. The teachers hang address cards around kids' necks and attach them to backpacks, so any help you can give would be useful, I imagine. I guess really I'd pick them up if possible for the first month or so. There is so much that is new at once. That way the bus ride home could be a new thing that starts in November once they've gotten the hang of the rest of the school day.

Nancy

mom to beautiful BBG triplets, born February 2002 at 33 wks, 4 days

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And kids really do end up at the bus terminal. The
>teachers hang address cards around kids' necks and attach them
>to backpacks, so any help you can give would be useful, I
>imagine.

I guess really I'd pick them up if possible for the
>first month or so. There is so much that is new at once. That
>way the bus ride home could be a new thing that starts in
>November once they've gotten the hang of the rest of the
>school day.
>

Ours had a hang tag around their necks that listed what bus they were to go on. The teachers are VERY good at making sure the children learn what to do. They rise to the expectation quite well.

Personally, I would NOT wait until November for the bus. It will be a new experience for EVERY kid on the K bus. The first few weeks is when the teachers are tuned in to helping them learn the ropes. By November all the other kids will be pros.

Also, people remember triplets. So it will be noticeable if they go the wrong direction. And you can train your kids to take inventory of each other on the bus and to tell the bus driver that "A" isn't on the bus yet.

Kids are more likely to get on the wrong bus of miss the bus in the upper grades, because the teachers don't walk them directly to the curb.

On arrival, they also phase in how far the kids go before seeing a teacher. The first week, the teacher is at the flag pole to meet them. By the 2nd week she's meeting them at the doors. By the end of the 2nd or 3rd week, they are walking independently all the way to the classroom.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

We do have an open house at the school that you can ride the bus to and from. I don't think they do the actual routes though...like you have to drive to one location where everyone gets on. Someone told me that we should have a car available to drive one way or the other so we don't have to wait around for the bus to go if we are ready.(isn't that just the American way?)

The only trouble is that it's the night before school starts. I wish it were a bit earlier so that there's a chance to talk to the kids more about it before they get on the bus for real.

Andi
g/b/g
triplets
starting
kindy in 29 days!

I have the same concerns. My ENTIRE family (including my mother-in-law) have told me that riding the bus is just something they are supposed to do. A right of passage type thing. The first day of school, I will drop them off at the school and walk them in. Then they will ride the bus to and from school after that.

Our town had a "touch a truck" event this summer and one of the things they had was a bus. We took them on it, talked to them about what to do, talked about no seatbelts and being big kids and staying in thier seats.

Our school has 2 bus routes. Onefor k-5 and the other for 6-10. That way they are not exposed to the high school kids. Also, they do not drop off k-2 at home if there is not an adult present. They take them back to the school and hand them off to the principal.

Dawn

Mom to Samantha, Jeremy, Paige and Christian

Born 12/12/03 @ 31w 2d



http://lovinglifewithquads.blogspot.com

I'm just hoping they are in the front of the bus or somehow sequestered from older kids. I have to think they have a system where the little kids are up front.

I need to ask some questions. I have to meet with the transportation office to show our proof of residence so I'm sure I'll get some answers.

On a side note, I'm a little surprised that I'm navigating the waters all on my own. I would think new parents of Kindergartners would be paired up with a veteran family to help with questions and policies. I just don't want to sit and read my school handbook; I want to chat with another Mom about all the questions I have.

Thanks for your input.

Lisa

Emily

Aunt to K, G and E 07/2004 ~ 33.2 wks

Mom to M 11/2000 and P 01/2003

Our bus has everyone on it,from k-12.This was a new concept to me,all the busses I ever rode were just for that school,k-5,6-8,9-12. I was concerned,until I met the driver.On our bus he layers them,K in front and older kids towards the back.Our driver is very strict..the kids are not allowed to talk at all,not even to the person they sit with.I think that is overkill,but he says that he doesn't want the little kids to get their sex ed on the bus and that is the only way he can make sure it doesn't happen.Now I have to say that I know all the bus drivers in our district don't do this.I do think that they will be fine or all the other parents wouldn't have their kids on the bus.
Becky
Realtor in Ohio and Indiana
Emma,Amber,Ian 8/18/99
Olivia 9/29/00

The bus is the MAJOR reason Kindies want to go to school. It's something they've seen all the neighborhood "big kids" do since they were 2.

Ours rode one bus with ALL kids to school and a Kindie bus home. We also had 1/2 day. Kids in the walker zone got to school with parents walking or driving, but rode the bus home. For PM kids, it was the office. Our district policy is that ALL K get bussed at midday- even the ones that live across the street from the school.

The bus full of kids was well organized. Younger kids in front, 5th graders in back. They had assigned seats. The bus coming home was only K kids, so it was less rambunctious.

As far as safety (not using car seats) is concerned, busses are designed differently than cars. The tall cushioned seats create "compartmentalization" which pretty much keeps the kids in their own compartment. Doesn't do so much in a rollover, but those types of accidents are quite rare.

I say let them have the fun and experience of being big kids on the bus. Mine would sometimes get upset if I happened to be at the school and decided to drive them home. "But Mah-um, we want to ride the BUS!"

This year, for my 1st graders, the HUGE big kid milestone is eating lunch in the cafeteria. They've been talking about what I can put in their lunches since April.

MonsterMom6
10 year old ^b^ b twins @ 30w5d (1 survivor) and
8 year old gggg quads @ 32w0d

our school did a dry run of the bus on an orientation day before school started. it was fun for teh kids.

i think so much depends on personalities of your kids. my kids rode a kindy bus TO school, but the 'regular' bus on the way home with kids from k-5 on the bus. it was crowded, LOUD, and crazy. they did make the kindy kids sit in the front of the bus, but sometimes my kids got shuffled more toward th emiddle.

anyway, my kids were generally fine on the bus coming home. we never had problems on the bus going to school since it was only kindy kids. anyway, but once an older kid took my daughters necklace and threw it--we filed a complaint, the kid's dad was totally apologetic, they bought her a new one, etc. but one of my boys got home after that 10 minute ride totally overstimulated, stressed out, and very out of control. it was hard on all my kids i think, but he showed it the most. so i started picking them up from school and immediately our afternoons were better, especially for one of my boys. i just think in that 10 minutes they were too wound up from being in such a huge, LOUD, crowded bus. it made me tense just seeing them file off teh bus.

so, i think see how it goes and then if you don't like how any of it is going you can always drive them.

but in general, kids LOVE the bus!!

Well, since my second graders got off the bus at the wrong bus stop the first day of school last year I would recommend waiting. I ended up having to call the police because the bus driver had NO IDEA where they were let off and our neighborhood is HUGE. Thankfully, a nice woman found them walking down the street crying and she drove them home with my dd giving directions once she realized where they were. The person in charge of the buses pretty much blamed my just turned 7-year-olds who had never ridden on a bus before for the mistake. The bus driver was not held accountable and I was told it wasn't their job to make sure kids get off on the right stop.

From then on, I let them ride the bus to school (no mistaking where to get off) but I always picked them up.

If you decide to try it, make sure you tell your kids not to get off the bus unless they see you at the bus stop. Also, teach them what other kids at the bus stop look like so they can see familiar faces getting off as well. These were lessons I learned the hard way. You can't trust the bus driver to get them home safely.

T

The bus picks up early for pm K, so I did as you are saying, drop them off and then have the bus bring them home. I actually did that for first grade and will continue. I drop them off at school and the bus home. Then they get to experience the bus some.

Denise
and her trio