Did you have your kindergartener ride the school bus on the 1st day of school??

[Anonymous]

My DC is VERY excited about riding the school bus. He doesnt have difficulties separating and tends to adapt well to new situations. We have no problem in letting him ride the bus, in fact, the plan is for him to do this on a regular basis. However, I do have the option to drive him to school on the first day, but I'm wondering if I should? Is there any benefit in doing so, in terms of helping him find his classroom, teachers etc? What did you do?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Better to let him ride the bus. Day 1 is set up as one big learning experience. Where to get on, where to sit, where to go when you exit, how to find your teacher. He will have one less day of bus learning time if you drive him.

[Anonymous]

My son will be taking the bus this year. He's in PreK. I wondered the same thing, but decided it will be better to just start the bus routine on the first day. Waiting a day or more might give him the idea that we parents are nervous about it and just create more drama.

[Anonymous]

Yes. It's important to set up the routine. The teachers/aides/administrators may be waiting to meet the bus and greet the kids and it's part of the first day experience. He will not be allowed to wander looking for his classroom.

[Anonymous]

Bus.

[Anonymous]

You might consider having him take the bus but driving seperately to school and helping him find his classroom. That way he get to try the regular routine with a bit of guidance in case he can't remember where his classroom is. My ES sort of helps the Kers of the first day but it can be chaotic. If things seem very organized you can always watch from a distance.

[Anonymous]

Have him ride the bus, but if at all possible, drive the route in advance with him.

I say this because my soon to be HS freshman DD still talks about how frightened she was on the first day home from kindergarten to have the bus PASS our neighborhood. She was so scared that she missed her stop. Turns out, the bus had to pass our neighborhood, drop off some students further down the road, then loop back to our stop.

I wish I would have known to tell her this to give some reassurance, or at the very least, discussed that the bus driver WILL get her back home.

The mom guilt! bahhhhhh

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have him ride the bus, but if at all possible, drive the route in advance with him.

I say this because my soon to be HS freshman DD still talks about how frightened she was on the first day home from kindergarten to have the bus PASS our neighborhood. She was so scared that she missed her stop. Turns out, the bus had to pass our neighborhood, drop off some students further down the road, then loop back to our stop.

I wish I would have known to tell her this to give some reassurance, or at the very least, discussed that the bus driver WILL get her back home.

The mom guilt! bahhhhhh

This is GREAT advice! I'm also putting my incoming kindergartner on the bus, and she's super excited. The other reason you might not want to go up to school on that first day is that there will be a whole bunch of other parents up there, and that's a crowded, emotional situation that I'm sure teachers would like to avoid. If your kiddo is excited and confident, take this person's advice and drive the route so that they are a little familiar with where their bus goes, then let them ride the bus!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider having him take the bus but driving seperately to school and helping him find his classroom. That way he get to try the regular routine with a bit of guidance in case he can't remember where his classroom is. My ES sort of helps the Kers of the first day but it can be chaotic. If things seem very organized you can always watch from a distance.

At our school, they absolutely do not want parents coming and helping their children find the classroom.

[Anonymous]

I find "begin as you mean to go on" is often helpful advice, but esp. here when there will be a lot of attention the first day to getting routines established.

[Anonymous]

My soon-to-be kindergartener sounds a lot like yours. We're planning on putting her on the bus from day one. Our school asked that we send our kids in with a name tag that also has the name of their classroom and teacher to help with the chaos.
I love the pp's suggestion of driving the bus route together beforehand! Thanks for that!

[Anonymous]

I'm going to try to put mine on the bus the first day. However, she will not routinely ride it because she will probably be going to before care sometimes (our school starts at 9:15 which is on the late side for me to get to work). I don't know if my child will actually get on the bus though.... We shall see.

I'd frankly be more worried about my kid getting home on the bus at the end of the day. I know several people whose kid ended up on the wrong bus the first week of Kinder. What a nightmare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might consider having him take the bus but driving seperately to school and helping him find his classroom. That way he get to try the regular routine with a bit of guidance in case he can't remember where his classroom is. My ES sort of helps the Kers of the first day but it can be chaotic. If things seem very organized you can always watch from a distance.

At our school, they absolutely do not want parents coming and helping their children find the classroom.

Our school is fine with parents coming the first day, but we don't "help" find the classroom. On the first day, all the K students congregate in the cafeteria, and when everyone is accounted for, they walk them back together as a class. It is a lot of fun to go the first day, take pics, and meet some other parents.

[Anonymous]

Bus.

[Anonymous]

I avoid buses.
I drive mine to school and always have, even though we are eligible for bussing.