Congrats!

 

The boys started yesterday.  One of my children farted in front of his classmates on the first day. 

School is from 7:30 am to 2:45 here, so a longer stretch.  In Hawaii it was from like 8:05 to 2:15 M,T,TH,F and only til 1:15 on Wednesdays.  I think Kindergarten is all day here?  I know it was in HI. 

The best thing, very best thing, about our house is that it's right down the street from the school.  The boys walk to and from and even though we are a 1 vehicle family, I can be at the school in a matter of minutes if I am needed.

I don't like the 1 hour on the bus thing, either.  I think I would worry a lot about that.  I don't like the idea of having my kids on a bus anyway.  Especially not a little guy.  Long, boring, scary. 

Orian's teacher has asked that the kids bring themselves a little "healthy" snack to eat at a certain time in class.  I wonder if Gavin could be allowed to snack on the bus?  Poor guy.  My boys are always starving when they get home from school no matter what.

Around here, each level of school goes and gets out at different times. That is so they can re-use the school busses. This county, the elementary goes first, and the high goes last (and of course the middle is in the middle). The thinking is that teens are not alert that early. Across the river, it is the opposite - with the thinking being Teens got jobs! Whatever, they have been doing it since my youngest - and that was 20 years ago. Elementary gets out at 2, Middle at 3, and High at 3:30. (except across the river where it is the opposite). My son went back a week ago. And hates it! Hope yours have more fun.

Yeah, ain't that a rip off?  The poor kids don't even get in and get settled and school's over.

Yeah I am tempted to drive him to school and let him ride the bus home.  He is one of the first kids off on the way home.  But then he is riding with kids up to the 5th grade...not too keen on that either.

The problem with driving him is the drop off for the school (as parents) is the same as the buses....so parents have to bring the kids in before the first bus arrives..once the buses start pulling in its too late, they block it to everyone else, and you have to wait until they are all done.

They do it because they tell us upfront they don't want the kids to be brought in any way but by bus.  I guess they get so much subsidy from the feds for each child they transport.  And with gas so high they need every child they can get filling seats.

Plus if I take him it means Gavin would be late everyday while we wait for the very last bus to arrive.  And I don't want that.  And to get there early, before the first bus arrives, well that puts us back in the same sort of situation except instead of an hour on the bus, he'll be standing in a hall for half an hour with me trying to keep him quiet.

I can get him up earlier than 0800.  Maybe 0730, let him eat breakfast, over by 0800, and then feed him a lunch at 10.  This is probably what I will do.  Push back bedtime and make him get up, well 0700 will probably have to be it (which is no hardship to him.)

I will ask the bus driver if he can bring a snack and drink.  He likes nuts and they are filling.  We are usually good to the bus driver, gifts on holidays and such, so they tend to treat our kids well.

 

Here the oldest kids go to school last and get out of school last.  This kinda pisses me off on behalf of families who are forced to try and juggle a schedule with mom and dad working, or just for my single parent friends. 

This means a 16 year old with an 8 year old sibling can't in any way help mom or dad out by babysitting the 8 year old after school.  So in single parent families its especially hard because they're paying for childcare when letting hs kids out first would save so much money.

I know schools aren't supposed to care about that, but round here all they talk about is "working families."  Families in which both parents work.  For instance, we have 5 elementarys in our town.  If I want my son to go to one he's not assigned to by address, then I have to submit a request.

If I request it because the teachers work better with speech delays at the other school and therefore he will get a better EDUCATION, they reject the request.  BUT if I say my "babysitter" lives in that school's area, he is approved no questions asked.

So they cater to working families in one way, but in another (making hs kids get out so late they can't help out) they make it more difficult.  Not to mention, the hs kids here have to choose between work and an extra-curricular activity.  They don't have time for both because they are the last ones home.  It's 3:30 and Hunter is not home yet...but he left the house at 0725 this morning.  He's just in middle school, but rides the same bus as the hs kids.

Meanwhile the elementary kids have been home for over an hour.

I don't get it.

My youngest started the first day of his senior year yesterday. Wow!

Ugh.

I am just so glad we're not doing the bus thing.  I think I would be a nervous wreck all day. 

 

Well I REALLY struggled with this last year.  He rode the bus home, but I drove him to preschool.  It was a diff school and the buses came round back so no waiting.  One of my aunts drove a school bus for almost three decades here in Ohio, she thinks I am being over protective.  She says kids like the bus and the bus drivers watch out for the little ones, making sure they sit up front.  When I mentioned maybe driving him, she said, "Tonya when are you gonna let that kid grow up?  Good grief.  What will be your excuse to coddle him next year?"

She's not mean, just blunt and I do kinda agree with her, tho I think things have changed in the ten years or so since she retired...buses are more crowded etc.

There aren't any sidewalks here, so walking for kids even a block away isn't an option. (tho we are considerably further than that).  Everyone either rides the bus or is drove to school and no one is allowed to ride bicycles either.  Safety issue with the no sidewalks and lots of traffic.

Wowza.  Can't wait till we're there!  School isn't any more fun this time round than it was the first. 

 

 

I rode the bus in JR High and I think that is what freaks me out about buses.  I remember how things went down, LOL.  I am sure it's not the case everywhere, but there was no control at all.  It was overcrowded, dangerous, and just not a good place for a young kid.

When I think about a little guy being on a bus like that, YIKES.

Not that it's likely that Gavin's bus is ANYTHING like that, LOL, but I am paranoid. I am sure it is good for their independence to do things like ride the bus, it just scares me. 

Why no sidewalks?

 

 

I guess because our suburb grew really fast back when Dayton was booming.  It broke away from Dayton (lots of given reasons but  basically the snobbish people here didn't want to be associated with Dayton who started struggling with unemployment and inner city problems) without any money, with old schools, and no real infrastructure about 25 years ago, and its still growing with almost no limits.  Which all explains why we pay some of the highest property taxes in the state but don't have sidewalks, gas in most subdivisions, well water for most residents, and like I said, our schools are literally falling down.

Dayton was in the Forbes top ten fastest dying cities a couple weeks ago.  (People round here freaked, especially the newspaper.)  Since our suburb and those around us broke away from Dayton, well Dayton made the list.  But if we were all still part of it, Dayton wouldn't even be close to making the list.  Wright Patterson is growing fast, absorbing several other base closures and downsizing alone.  Not to mention all the industry building along the 75 and 675 corridors.

Like you wanted to know.

On the way to school it will just be him and ten other kids on a full size bus...on the way home tho....the bus is full so it will probably be just like that.  We'll see.  Gavin won't hesitate to tell the bus driver if he feels things are out of control, then he'll tell me he spoke to her about it. 

 

That is a good question but can't ask it here...we have seatbelts on the buses.  And for kids who weigh less than a certain weight (whatever the law is) they have booster seats on the bus too.

But I know what you mean.  I think lots of school districts still have buses without them.

 

Hunter came home from school today about 4ish.  I was outside so don't know exactly what time.

He was a completely different kid.  He was HAPPY!  Said he lucked out and got good teachers this year.  Good, defined by Hunt is when the teacher says...We don't believe in lots of homework for one very simple reason.  We don't know if it's yours.  We do most of our work in class.  That way we can ensure you are understanding/grasping/getting it without the help of mom or dad, or a tutor, older sibling, whatever.

So he is excited about the school year.

I would be too since for the last two years straight he's endured a minimum of 3 hours of homework a night.

Maybe the kid cut a break.

Woo Hoo.

Now I hope Gavin's teacher, her name is HORNEY...not kidding..is just as practical. 

Nice!lol!  Finally some more free time!lol!  I hope he has a good school year. Don't worry your new kindergartener will love it, eventually!LOL!  [I better get up from this computer now and get my first grader and high schooler up for the day!]