If your DC is starting kindy in the fall, will they ride the bus?

Sunflower777

We just registered DS for kindergarten this week! Exciting and a little nerve-wracking at the same time. One thing I can't decide about is riding the bus. He's so little and shy, I feel like it's a big step to send him off on the bus on his own. Right now he says he wants to ride the bus, but I'm not sure how he'll actually feel on that first day. The district does do a "test" bus ride prior to the first day of school, so he'll get to try that. But for some reason, sending him off on the bus is what makes me the most emotional, thinking about my baby starting kindergarten. I'm mostly excited for him, but this is the thing that trips me up! 

Anyway, will your kindergartener ride the bus? Thoughts?  

shopgirl78

I have KG this year.  Next year I will have prek3 and 1st grade at our public elementary.   Luckily, its less than a block away and we walk DD.  ETA:  they ride a bus to their afterschool program.  

jettagurl

B will be in Kindy in the fall. We plan for him to ride the bus.  Pick up for the street is in front of our house, and I'm fairly certain the bus goes just in our neighborhood (huge!) and the elementary is just outside of the neighborhood.  He's pretty excited about riding.

The thing that may change that is that N will probably be in preschool 2x/week, so on those days I may have to drive him, depending on bus times vs. preschool start times.

 

Jamaica_Bride

Owen's in K now and the bus ride is the best part of his day! I was a nervous wreck about it but SO glad I put him on the bus!

melmax

Yes. I had a hard time with this decision as well, but the way I look at it, is it's a wonderful part of growing up and starting school.

My dd is also rather reserved in new situations, but instead of fearing placing her in this new situation, I choose to look at it as a great arena for learning and for her to grow and mature in.  Plus, I know my DD-- if I bring her to Kindy the first year, she'll expect to be brought to school every year! 

ridesbuttons

Yes.  He will be just over 4 years old when he starts JK.  He will get on the bus with all of the other kids.  It's part of the school experience IMO.

#6

Landon is in Kindy now and LOVES riding the bus. K&K start in the fall and cant to ride the big bus. We live about 5 blocks away so they are just going around our neighborhood. They all are used to riding a bus to pre school though. It is beside t hhe elementary school too.

Ebeth_in_ATL

My son will be starting (I register him this week!).  He will ride the bus home but DH will drop him off in the morning.  The bus would pick him up so insanely early and the school is just a mile up the road from us. 

 He started in January going 2 days a week to the special needs preK at another public elementary school in our area.  He rides the bus home one day a week now and LOVES IT.

 I think we'll try for him to be on the "regular" bus in the fall and see how that goes.  If not, we're lucky to have the option of the "short bus."

Angela814

Annalise is riding the bus to 4K right now. She gets on the bus at daycare and gets dropped back off there.

I'm not sure what we"ll do for 5K bc our daycare is on the bus route for a different elementary school in our district. We might be doing before and after school care through the Y at her school instead. If the bus would pick her up early enough in the morning, I would send her on the bus to school.

DandelionMom

No, I prefer driving.  I've met some of my best mom friends at drop-off and pick-up. 

belle204

No. I'm paranoid so I will drop her off and my mom or sisters will pick her up. Maybe when she's older.

Kapalua

yep...he will.  It's the biggest thing he's looking forward to next year!!

Alexandra*sMom

We only live about a mile.  I will drive DD.

Glendi2.0

we'll walk or drive. That's one of my favorite things about our neighborhood- watching all the kids walking to school.

Emiliana7

My DD won't start school until 2013, but I won't let her ride the bus- actually I won't have her (or DS) ride the bus at any age! I grew up riding the bus, in different areas: bothe 'burbs and city, and after my expereinces I refuse to subject my kids to that! Plus knowing its probably worse now then it was then.

knmommy

Nope, I have to take all of my kids to school.  We are exactly 1 mile to the school, to take the bus we have to be 1.5 miles.

They have all taken the bus to preschool.  They loved it, they each probably made more friends on the bus than they actually did on their classes.  My girls are both extremley shy.

Sunflower777

Emiliana7:

My DD won't start school until 2013, but I won't let her ride the bus- actually I won't have her (or DS) ride the bus at any age! I grew up riding the bus, in different areas: bothe 'burbs and city, and after my expereinces I refuse to subject my kids to that! Plus knowing its probably worse now then it was then.

If you don't mind my asking, what were your bad experiences? And why do you think it's worse now?  

zigby

He!! no...our neighborhood bus is terrible and even the little girls next door stopped riding it (and they are troopers)...if he was going to school in the area I went to school than I wouldn't think twice about him riding it...totally depends on your area and comfort level...Also, even though school is a couple minutes away, he'll be on the bus for over an hour on the way home! (too long for me)

Lisa102304

DD goes to school at the school I teach at, so kinda moot point.

We have half day kinder, so she will come with me in the morning and her daycare bus will pick her up. She will spend teh afternoon at daycare, then I go get her. Her daycare bus has seatbelts, so I feel fine with that.

A regular school bus? Not a chance. Luckily, I will not have to deal with that issue, since she will always attend the school I work at.

Emiliana7

Sunflower777:

Emiliana7:

My DD won't start school until 2013, but I won't let her ride the bus- actually I won't have her (or DS) ride the bus at any age! I grew up riding the bus, in different areas: bothe 'burbs and city, and after my expereinces I refuse to subject my kids to that! Plus knowing its probably worse now then it was then.

If you don't mind my asking, what were your bad experiences? And why do you think it's worse now?  

Bullying was the 'kindest' of the bad on the bus. I got made fun of for the usual things: my hair, glasses, the way I spoke, my clothes- things like that. But also I saw drugs get traded and done (mostly pills from parents' rxs), was sexually harassed, saw plenty of making out and as far as 3rd base (this was upper elementary grades/middle school.

That was when we lived in the suburbs.

When we lived in the city- I saw tons of violence- lots of fights- like knock down fist fights- kids lost teeth, broke bones, etc type of fights. Again with the drugs (although I had no clue it was drugs really at the time, but as I look back that's what it had to be). Also some sexual stuff, but not as much as later in the 'burbs- but mainly because the bus driver was nice enough and paid attention enough to notice that some older kids were messing with me and intervened before it got too far. We had assigned seats and she moved me to the seat right behind her (thankfully). This was lower elementary grades.

My mom drove me and a friend of mine to/from school starting half way through 8th grade due to the events happening on bus. Lasty through 9th and 10th and I started driving myself in 11th grade.

And as for it being worse nowadays, I assume this because everything of those natures just seem so much worse now as opposed to 20+ years ago.