Preschool dropoff / pick up line questions

[Anonymous]

My child is new to preschool this year, and I am new to the drop off / pick up line world. So far it seems that one sits in the line for 20 minutes (idling in car, which makes me cringe) waiting to drop child off in the morning, and again for pickup in the afternoon. I'd prefer to just walk my child in and out but this has been discouraged both in the manual and in an email to parents, as the school says they want to prioritize the car line. I know there must be more efficient systems. I'm wondering how other preschools handle this in an effort to help improve what seems like a super inefficient system at our school.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, all I can say is my kids' school is the same way, and I hate it.

Usually they have to negotiate these things with the neighborhood the school is in (is the school near a residential neighborhood?) but why the nearby houses would prefer this system is beyond me.

[Anonymous]

Bump- can anyone else share how their preschool handles drop off and pickup?

[Anonymous]

We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

[Anonymous]

Ours does not have a drop off or pick up line. We park in the small parking lot and walk our 3 year old inside and sign her in. Same at pick up. However, we have an all day program and our DD is there from 7:15am until 4pm.

[Anonymous]

Ours has a parking lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

I assume the idea is that everyone gets there then, so either you get there at 8:40 and wait til 9, or you get there are 8:55 and you're the 40th car waiting and the kids need help getting out, so it's 20 mins either way. - not OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

I assume the idea is that everyone gets there then, so either you get there at 8:40 and wait til 9, or you get there are 8:55 and you're the 40th car waiting and the kids need help getting out, so it's 20 mins either way. - not OP

OP here. Yes, correct. If you get there at 8:55, you’ll be the 30th car in line.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, I don't even understand how this is a thing.

We park in the parking lot, I bring DCs inside, first the younger to his room, then the older to her room, for sign-in/food in fridge/hug-kiss/bye.

All told, I am in and out in 20 minutes for 2 kids so the equivalent amount of time. On the flip side, it is more relaxing waiting in the car than going through the process inside.

It seems like there is no alternative but to wait in line if your school does not allow you to walk in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

I teach at a part time preschool. Parents or caregivers walk in for drop off/pickup. I love that the parents get to see the artwork in the hallways, they get to peek into the classroom and see the plants we are growing. I love being able to briefly connect with them if their child was particularly helpful that day or had a difficult day. Sure kids are capable of going in by themselves, but I believe something would be missing for me as the teacher if that were the case. Plenty of other ways to foster independence.

[Anonymous]

We park in the parking lot and walk inside. I sort of wish we had a drop off line as I feel it'd be an easier separation for DS. There's a lot of time between parking and getting to the classroom for him to cry about going (he does stop within 10 min of being dropped off).

[Anonymous]

That sounds awful. Our preschool (full day) has a 4 car parking lot and some street parking. Parents are given a 4 minute limit in the parking lot, which is plenty of time to walk your child in, sign him/her in, exchange pleasantries with the teacher, and walk out. Most people really do adhere to the time limit - I've never had to wait more than a few minutes to get a spot. If we're in a HUGE hurry, I'll park on the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

I teach at a part time preschool. Parents or caregivers walk in for drop off/pickup. I love that the parents get to see the artwork in the hallways, they get to peek into the classroom and see the plants we are growing. I love being able to briefly connect with them if their child was particularly helpful that day or had a difficult day. Sure kids are capable of going in by themselves, but I believe something would be missing for me as the teacher if that were the case. Plenty of other ways to foster independence.

This is one of my favorite things about our preschool -- today when I picked her up, my 4 year old gave me a "tour" of her new classroom and showed me some of her artwork on the walls. I also have an opportunity to chat briefly with the teacher if there's not too many kids demanding her attention.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We Walk in. I refused all schools that had it. If they do not want you in school what do they have to hide.

At my son's montessori school, a major philosophy is "never do for a child what he can do himself". My son is capable of walking inside and finding his own classroom.

OP, why are you waiting 20 minutes? If drop off is at 9, why aren't you getting there at 8:55?

I teach at a part time preschool. Parents or caregivers walk in for drop off/pickup. I love that the parents get to see the artwork in the hallways, they get to peek into the classroom and see the plants we are growing. I love being able to briefly connect with them if their child was particularly helpful that day or had a difficult day. Sure kids are capable of going in by themselves, but I believe something would be missing for me as the teacher if that were the case. Plenty of other ways to foster independence.

+1. My child is only 21 months but I enjoy seeing her classroom, the pictures, the teachers and who are her little friends. I will not enroll her in a school where I have to wait in line to drop her off.