My son will be starting kindergarten next year. Well we only have one car and i don't drive (the drivers here are insane lol) My husband takes the car to work at 6am anyways . Well I'm worried about him taking the bus. I know for at least the first 2 days i can probally have my husband go to work late so that we can drive him, but after that he will have to take the bus to and from home. I'll walk with him to the bus stop and i'll be there to pick him up but i'm worried that he won't be able to find him class or his bus when he is going to come home. I don't quite know how it works with kids so young that take the bus, so any advice or thoughts would be awesome. I'm trying to get this planned out now so i don't have to freak when the time comes. Thanks!
Thanks alot you have really eased my fears lol Mostly i was just nervous about him having to find his own bus and find his own way to the class, ect.. But it sounds like they don't have to do that lol If i can I will probaly end up driving him but i would have to (Gulp) drive.....eek lol I think he would be going to Caloosa Elementary. Is that the one by the hospital?
A.,
Don't worry. The schools go through this every year. At my daughter's school, they utilized the 5th graders as patrols. They would walk the kindergarteners to their classrooms and then pick them up again at the end of the day. She had this done for her and then when she was in 5th grade, she was the patrol. There will be teachers and para-professionals stationed all over the school in the mornings. Good luck!
K.
Hi A.. You can try to find out who the bus driver will be and see if they will let you ride with them on the first day. You may have to arrange for an alternative route home though. Most drivers wont mind this. as long as it's the first day only.
Good luck to you.
P.S. My son started kindergarten this year.
My son is in the ESE program (early speech therapy) in the Palm Beach County school system, and takes the bus twice a week to what will be his elementary school in a couple of years. He just turned 3 and I had the same worries that you do.
Believe the other parents, that it is more trying for you than it is for him.
I'm not positive if it is the same for Kindergarten, but for the Pre-K and ESE kids, I was told that the bus paperwork had to be turned in by the teacher after the child had actually been to school for the first day. This meant that I had to bring him to school for the first few days (the first day, for the paperwork to be turned in, and then for a couple of days afterwards until the transportation folks get his paperwork on the bus itself). A mistake and a brave little boy did a lot to ease my apprehension, and you may want to mimick what happened just to watch things at work.
On the 1st day of school, I went to my son's daycare to drive him to "the big school". He has a friend, Lilia, who is 4 and started the program last year, so we waited with her and watched her get on the bus, then followed it to the elementary school, where we waited out front. The teacher came out and collected the kids from the bus and brought them in to the class; I gave her the paperwork went to my office for the afternoon; then came back for the pickup. After school, the teacher marched the kids out, I collected Mattie, we watched Lilia get loaded onto the bus and then we followed the bus back to daycare (it's only a few blocks from the school, so is the last stop in the morning and the first on the trip home which makes things easier).
Anyway... the 2nd day, I showed up to bring Mattie to "big school" only to find out that he had already left. Apparently, the bus had just come; they were loading up Lilia, and my son had come running out of daycare with his backpack crying "Wait for me!". The bus driver, who we had met the previous day when walking him through the process, allowed him to get on the bus without his paperwork, knowing that it was in-process! So I went to the school (it was still a half hour before class started) and I got to watch as they waited for the teacher to come out (she was a bit shocked that they had taken him, and asked me to make sure that I was there to pick him up, since the afternoon bus-driver wasn't nearly so lax) and the kids were marched single file into the school.
After school, I pulled up, and Mattie's teacher was out front with all of the kids, but Mattie and his friend, Lilia were missing. On a whim, I used my cell to call his daycare and yes, the bus was there and Mattie and Lilia were just being brought in.
The next day I managed to be early for the bus both ways, but repeated, more-or-less, the preivious day's routine, following the bus to school and back to daycare in the afternoon, watching as the children were transferred from daycare to bus to teacher and back.
Never were they left alone. The system seems to be very fine tuned (aside from letting Mattie ride that first day with paperwork "in the pipe"). Mattie's now been going since school started for the year and loves the Pre-K class. It's almost heartbreaking. There wasn't even any separation anxiety :o(
Anyway... to sum up. I'd highly recommend repeating what happened to me by accident; putting him on the bus, following it to school and watching the process at work, and repeating it for the trip home. It did loads to ease my apprehension (and it's fun watching the little trooper going through the routine).
Good Luck!
When a kids goes off to school like that when they are young it is a little nerve rattling for the parents. But usually the teachers closely oversee the young ones. They are not left to find the bus alone. Inside the classroom they usually have a chart of how each child gets home. The teachers are assigned different stations, where it be at the bus area or car pick up, etc. They also have the 5th graders as safety patrols that help the younger kids get to where they are supposed to go. At our school the kindergarteners ususally get a bus route number on their name tag the first few weeks of school so that any teacher or saftey patrol at the bus pick up area knows what bus they are supposed to get on. When you take your son to school on the first couple of days, express your concerns to his teacher and ask her how their system works. I am sure they have one and your son will be a pro at riding the bus before you know it. God Bless you.
S.
Vero Beach, FL
A.,
I sometimes think that the school jitters are worse for us as parents then it is for the kids, lol. I understand and sympathize with your concern. Im sure you will be attending the open house near the beginning of the school year, this would be a great chance for you to express your concerns. The way we did it with my daughter was to walk her to class a couple days from the bus ramp, that way she was familiar with the route. In the afternoon, her teacher or the teacher's assistant made sure that all bus riders were put on the right bus. I would make sure that this is done as well. I hope this helped a little, although I know it will not ease the nerves any! Be calm, this is just one of many many school worries to come. :)
When school is getting ready to start they have a getting to know the school and you get to find out who his teacher will be. They Usually ask you if they will be riding the bus or parent pick up, at which time you can tell them that he will be riding the bus. They will give you the bus number and times, and the usually pin a piece of paper to their shirts the first few days of school to aviod in confussion, and to make sure that every child is on the right bus. it's not that bad hoestly and as a mom of 2 in school the best piece of advice i can give you is to let him ride the bus the first day of school and you can meet him their that way he knows how everything will work from that day on, and you will still be there to see him go to class for the very first time. I took my oldest daughter the first of kindergarten and well she was confussed the 2nd day i tried changing htigns with my second daughter and it worked out a lot better. good luck and don't stress he will be fine think of all of the other millions of kids who have been riding hte bus for years haha, i turned out pretty good ha-ha!! i wish you all the best!
Relax. :) Most schools have people assigned at the school to help the younger kids get to their classroom.
My son is in a special PLACE Program in Fort Lauderdale. This is his 2nd year and he won't start kindergarten until NEXT year (His birthday is in October - past the cut-off point).
He loves the bus and gets very upset if we're late and I have to drive him to school. The bus driver and her helper are very kind and caring.
A.
To ease your fears.....The kindergarten students are walked from their classrooms (in a line) by a teacher to their awaited
buses and the teacher helps them aboard. To make you feel even
better call the school and ask what their system is. I am sure it is the same as my son's school (Croissant Park Elementary).
L.
Have you considered home schooling??? For so many reasons!!! If you can even think about it for a sec you might want to do some research in your area and talk to some other Mom's who do homeschool!
You shouldn't worry. With children so young, they are usually met at the bus by a teacher, teachers aid or some sort of administrator to direct them to where they need to go. And on the way home the teachers normally stay with the children and help them locate the right bus and make sure they get on.
They usually give the kids a sticker or wrist band that tells the staff and bus drivers which bus they belong on. It is good to go the first couple of days, although they do have staff in the hallways to help the kids get to their classrooms. He'll get the routine down in no time.
Your son will be fine. Promise. Elementary school is set up so that children are able to get to and fro classes/buses without much trouble. There is constant supervision and often times a grouping method. Kindergarteners get special priority. Safety is key! Don't worry, Joey will be fine!
My son is in Kindergarten now. I know that when he started the first few days of school they ask that a parent take him to his class in the morning. When you drop him off to his class they will ask you if he is a bus or car rider. Since he is a bus rider the teacher makes sure the kids get to the right place the school know what number bus he will be on. At my son's school they wrote the kids name and bus number on a piece of paper and then saftey pinned it to their shirts. He will be alright. I know it is scarey for the parents having your oldest start school. Its new for us as well as them. I hope I have been helpful. Good luck.
The school that I'm trying to get my daughter into next year (Berkely Elementary, it's a charter school) lets the pre-k and kindergarten classes out 10 minutes before the rest of the school, so that they can be helped to and from the bus without dealing with all the older children running around. They do this all year, not just the first few days. Maybe your school does this?
Everyone worries about their 'baby' getting on the school bus and getting lost. Trust me though - your school is not going to lose your son.
Our school has colors & shapes for their buses along with the bus numbers and for the first few weeks of school the children wear their color/shape around their neck & the teacher's name is on the back (the teacher gives it to them at the end of each day).
To alleviate your fears, go to the school to drop off and pick up your son for the first few days and watch how the children get to & from the bus/classrooms.
Good luck and take care! :)
A. MY DAUGHTER WENT TO KINDERGARDEN LAST YEAR AND TOOK THE BUS TO AND FROM SCHOOL AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT SHE HAD A GOOD TIME ON THE BUS. SHE ACTUALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO GETTING ON THE BUS AND ALSO COMING HOME. IT WAS THE NICEST THING TO MEET HER AT THE BUS STOP AND HAVE THE TIME WALKING HOME TALKING ABOUT WHAT WENT ON DURING THE DAY AND IF SHE HAD HOMEWORK AND I CAN SAY THAT WE EVEN SKIPPED A COUPLE STEPS. SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT . EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE. LET ME KNOW HOW EVERYTHING GOES..
