Hop does DC get to and from school?

[ilfaith]

How do your kids get to and from school?

[egoldber]

Last year older DD was in before and after care at the local elementary. We drove her every day. We live in walking distance, so occasionally we walked, but mainly I picked her up on the way home from work and DH dropped off on the way to take younger DD to daycare.

Right now we are trying to decide what to do for this year. She is going to a new school and currently is enrolled in the before and after care there. But we may switch her to a before and after care program that is at younger DD's daycare. There is a school bus that goes there, so we would not have to pay for transport and the cost is equivalent.

[gatorsmom]

I said other because we use the bus and drive. This year and last, Cha Cha, who's in preschool, started school 30 minutes after Gator. They go to the same school but the bus service isn't for preschoolers, only K-8th. So, DH drops off Gator and Cha Cha at school on his way to work. Cha Cha does 30 minutes of before care and then goes to preschool. Last year I'd pick him up after preschool was out at 11am. Then Gator took the bus home. This year, the morning will be the same, but I'll pick the boys up 3 afternoons per week. Cha cha gets out of school 30 minutes after Gator and can't take the bus (because he's still in preschool) so I will pick them both up. Next year, Cha cha will be in Kindergarten and they can both take the bus in the morning AND the afternoon, unless one of them is in an afterschool activity. :boogie:

[caleymama]

Both DDs take the bus to elementary school. The bus stop is probably 75 yards from the end of our driveway - about a 1 minute walk.

[elliput]

DD will ride the bus. As a special education student, she gets door to door service. :)

[Gena]

DD will ride the bus. As a special education student, she gets door to door service. :)

Same for DS. The bus picks up/ drops off at the bottom of our driveway. DS loves it.

[Corie]

There is a bus that comes to our neighborhood and picks up the kids at a
central location. (Our neighborhood is only 11 homes so it's very small.)
The pick-up and drop-off location happens to be our neighbor's driveway.

I will probably pick up my daughter after school this year. Her bus ride
home is going to be almost an hour and that is too long.

[KHF]

DD will be in before and after care at our current daycare center. They will take her and pick her up in their van.

[BillK]

Our elementary school is one block from our house so we'll be walkers when Zach starts kindergarten this Fall. It's k thru 4th grade and the school I went to as a kid.

[citymama]

You need a "we take public transit" option!

[maestramommy]

I drop them off and pick them up. I could ask about them taking the bus, but then they'd have to be ready even earlier, and I'm not sure they can be.

[g-mama]

My kids take the bus that picks up at a central stop. It used to be right in front of our house. Right in front of it! Last year, they moved the bus stop so we went from being the closest family to the bus stop to being the farthest family from the bus stop. It is now about a 7-8 minute walk. Most days, we drive. We just never get it together in time in the morning to have enough time to walk, and I had to wake my youngest ds from his nap every single day and put him in the car and to go pick up his brothers, so I couldn't make him walk when he was half asleep. I am still grieving the loss of our front-door bus stop. :(

[billysmommy]

Our elementary school is right behind our house so we either walk through the woods or ride bikes around the corner to school.

[essnce629]

DBF drives DS1 to school and I drive to pick him up. We are close enough that we can walk (about a 10 minute walk) but I'm always running late since DS2 is napping up till his pick-up time or we're out shopping so I usually just drive to pick him up.

Last year when we lived in VA, DBF would drive DS to school (otherwise he'd have to get up super early to catch the bus) but then he'd take the bus home.

The school DS is at now doesn't have any buses (well actually they have 2 I think but I don't know who uses them-- special ed maybe?)

[WatchingThemGrow]

Last year, I drove b/c a friend came to the house with her DD to stay with DS1 and DS2 while I dropped DD off across the highway at preschool. We're going to try walking this year, but it is still a touch scary going across the highway.

[klwa]

Well, I picked ride bus from communal location, although DS doesn't start riding it until next year. Our daycare has a bus stop where all the kids there get on & off, so he'll be riding that bus. However, if we were doing the "direct from home" option, the bus would pick him up at our house. No communal stops, since we live on a major NC route, with no sidewalks.

[ilfaith]

I realize I didn't answer my own question.

I drive the boys to and from school every day. Well once in a great while DH will drive them, but I pretty much have to be on my deathbed for him to do it. It is about a 20 minute drive each way. This year with DS1 in first grade and DS2 (until 3:45) in pre-K (until noon) I'll be making the trip twice a day. I am sending DS2 to the after care program at the school two days a week so I can pick them up together, which I guess will save us a bit on gas, and I won't be spending 3.5 hours in the car (factoring in carpool line wait time) with poor DS3 every single day.

And of course I ought to have included public transportation as an option...considering the first four years of my education were in NYC you would think I'd have remembered.

[kdeunc]

We either walk or drop off in the morning and the boys will ride the bus home in the afternoon. The bus stops in front of our house and we live about 2/10 of a mile from the school.

[o_mom]

DS1&2 ride the bus except for DS2 on his half day where I drive one-way and he takes the bus the other. It is a 'central' stop, but happens to be at the end of our driveway this year. Last year it was about 5 houses down. Preschool I drive both ways.

[Fairy]

For Kindergarten, he will be picked up and dropped off at a driveway two houses down. Then at 11:30, he gets right in the car with a snack waiting for him, and I drive him to Extended day + Aftercare where he will eat lunch, then pick him up five hours later while worrying about being away from my desk. This will be my life for another year. If I don't drop before that.

[SunCB]

DH drives to school and I pick up. I am thinking bus might be the route though since it seems to get here (live on a corner) only a few mins after I get home unless I go sit in the pick up line for 20+ mins then I get home 15 mins before it does. Have other LOs to consider too as I have had to try not to wake up to put in vehicle which never works and sometimes they do not finish napping so crankiness happens a little later.

[Meatball Mommie]

Our boys' grandfather takes them to and from school every day. It's a 15 minute drive and he takes my nieces at the same time. There are no busing options, so if he didn't drive them, I would have to. They would also need to be in before and after care at an additional cost bc. I work and FIL watches them for a bit in the mornings/afternoons for us too.

[MelissaTC]

DH usually drives him in the morning and I pick up in the afternoon. Our private school does not offer bus transportation. It is about a 12 minute drive.

[bubbaray]

Voted other -- bus to and from daycare. Not a "bus" in a US sense (we don't really have bussing here, except for special needs kids, private schools and kids in the Francophone school system), but a private bus.

[kijip]

We drove T. The bus takes too darn long and I was not interested in adding about 2 hours to his day total, especially when the drive was faaaaaaar less than 15 minutes.

[fauve01]

I am so happy that we live close enough to walk every day. :boogie:

edited to say DD is going into first, so i walk her to and from the classroom door.

Anne + dd 10-03

[catpagmo]

I am so happy that we live close enough to walk every day. :boogie:

:yeahthat: Us, too.

[Twoboos]

I voted bus at central location, which is the end of our street (5 houses only) and we will be the only people at that location! So... not exactly our house but not exactly central with a bunch of other people.

This is the first year they will take the bus (entering K and 1). In the past 4 years, it was me driving.

However, DH thinks I should still be driving them. Um, no thanks. They can and will take the bus!

[DebbieJ]

I voted WALK because we are close enough to be walkers and walk when we can. But sometimes we get lazy and drive. And you won't find us walking when it's raining or snowing. A lot of times I pick up DS from school so we can go straight to the grocery store or some other errand afterwards.

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

We live exactly 1 mile by the street and a bit closer for walking, but we drive every day.

I would like to bike, but I think I would neet a trail a bike for that as I don't want to leave DS's bike there (since I pick him up on the way home from work). Going to ask DH about this right now!

No busing option, doesn't really make sense anyways.

[alexsmommy]

We're within walking distance, so we walk on days I'm home and I drop him off on my way to work on work days. There are some days that are so cold that I drive him as well.

[KpbS]

DH usually drives him in the morning and I pick up in the afternoon. Our private school does not offer bus transportation. It is about a 12 minute drive.

This will be us too except it is more of a 15-17 min. drive.

[rlu]

We're within walking distance, so we walk on days I'm home and I drop him off on my way to work on work days. There are some days that are so cold that I drive him as well.

This exactly (cold is relative in CA so we do walk cold days, but not rainy days).

[hellokitty]

Combo of bus and me driving. On the days that DS2 has preschool (at the same building as DS1's school), I drive all of the kids. On days we don't have preschool, DS1 takes the bus. I can't wait until they can take the bus all of the time. I really hate doing the pick up and drop off at school, it's a zoo.