And They're Off...

I just put the wee ones on the bus.  Today, it arrived at 8:25, and the thing I'm most excited about the fact that the bus looks like it will be coming 40 minutes later to pick them up this year than it did last year?  The fact that I get to sleep in longer.

But it hasn't exactly been a smooth journey to the bus.

Technically, Mister Man isn't supposed to be allowed to ride the bus, because we petitioned him into the school Little Miss attends as part of the Spanish immersion program she's in.  I'm supposed to have to drive him - anyone who petitions is.  However, there is a bus that stops in our driveway to pick up Little Miss.  And it has three students on it, including her.  Fortunately, I was able to negotiate with the district and bus company, and he's there with a fee.

On Thursday last week, this letter arrived.

Ok, so great.  We're supposed to go.  Oh.  Wait.  That part is blank.  It's ok, though.  We know the bus comes to our house because we're the only stop anywhere near us.  And the bus will pick us up at... oh.  Wait.  That part is blank, too.  Hmmm.

So of course I called the bus company.  The nice woman there told me that it would probably be about the same time as it was last year.  When I pointed out that sometimes the bus picked us up at 7:40 or 7:50 and sometimes at 8:10 and that one of the children who had ridden the bus previously was no longer at the school, which would probably affect the route since he lives ten minutes away.  She investigated and let me know that they were still working on those routes and that we'd get a call that afternoon.

Monday morning, I called again, still having heard nothing.  They were still working on the schedule.  I called later in the afternoon, and we finally learned that the bus would arrive between 8:10 and 8:15.  Phew.

A side note.  In the letter, you'll notice that it says that "if your child is starting kindergarten their (sic) route information will be delivered to you under separate cover at a later date."  So all kindergartners received this letter that tells them nothing.  And they'll get another letter printed later.  That's a waste of time (printing, stuffing) and money (postage).  As a taxpayer, that irks me.  Then I discovered that not only were the children in the Spanish immersion program receiving a blank letter, but every student in the district that doesn't ride a bus for whatever reason, including all others who petitioned to schools other than their home schools - and we have a lot of walkers for our neighborhood schools - received the same letter.  So now in addition to wasting time and money by sending useless letters, you also have very confused people calling the number listed, taking up time to answer questions that should never have been stirred up and annoying people.  Government at its best.  So when they talk budget cuts next year, I'm going to request that this be there, too.  It isn't a huge difference, but it's enough.

So back to our bus story.

Yesterday, we went outside a little before 8 so I could take the obligatory first day of school pictures.  Tell me they aren't adorable.

At 8:26, I called the bus company.  Eleven minutes past the later time the bus was supposed to pick them up?  If it wasn't close, I would need to drive them to ensure they get there on time.  The line was busy, not surprising.  After seventeen tries, I got through.  And they tracked down the bus, which was fortunately only two minutes away by that point.

The bus pulled into our driveway.  The bus driver introduced himself and confirmed that he was picking up Little Miss.  Ummm and Mister Man?  Nope, he wasn't on the list.  I sighed and explained that he should be, and the very nice bus driver wrote him down.  It isn't a huge issue on the way to school, but he can't get on the bus (and what bus route; no one would even know) if he isn't on the list for the after school bus.  So I called the contact at the district again.  And left her a message.

It wasn't the worst issue yesterday, as I was picking them up to get Mister Man to tae kwon do on time (which we were still late to, oops).  And today I'm picking them up, too.  Tomorrow, however, he needs to be on the route.  I'm still waiting for that call back.

So how has government been working for you lately?

When It's Your Child Acting Out On The Bus

The bus is a scary place for me.  I hear more horror stories from friends of mine about things that go on during the bus ride to and from school.  I have heard about the red marks on children from others hitting or punching them.  I've heard about the fifth graders initiating kindergartners and first graders into the realm of adulthood with information they quite simply shouldn't know.  And you don't want to know what I've just heard about what happens on the middle school bus.

The bus that goes to our neighborhood school is a big problem.  With 69 students on the route now, there are three to four students in every single seat, which helps to explain - but not excuse - some of the chaos.  It's part of the reason I'm so grateful that Little Miss attends another school and so rides a small bus with just a couple other children.

That bus ride hasn't always been smooth, as there is a child on the bus who picks on Little Miss by opening her backpack or taking our her ponytail or something similar.  It's annoying, but we're working with the school on it and giving Little Miss strategies to deal with it (we know the boy fairly well and know that he has many social issues and has an IEP for several reasons, so we're much more forgiving than were it someone who is simply malicious rather than not knowing yet how to interact appropriately with others).

Mister Man is now also riding her bus as of Monday, and that's another post entirely.  Needless to say, with Mister Man and Little Miss riding together now and interacting like the good friends they are, the other boy has been acting out more to get Little Miss's attention for himself.  He's been pinching Mister Man, getting other children to dump cardboard pieces over his head, and calling him names.  Again, we've been working with the school on this,  and it's starting to calm down.

While I find this frustrating, I understand where it's coming from to some degree.  It's the children who ride the bus who know better and yet still do the inappropriate things that drive me batty.  So this morning when the bus driver beckoned me towards her after the wee ones got on the bus, I sighed and asked her how things were going on the bus, figuring there were more issues with this boy.

I was wrong.  She actually wanted to talk to me about my children who yesterday on the bus were apparently talking and singing about inappropriate body parts, using the anatomically correct language.  I was mortified.  My children?  But.... but they don't talk like that.  They don't use that language.  Yet they did.  And I was appalled because my home training apparently hasn't sunk in.

I quickly pulled them off the bus and gave them a tongue lashing over what is and is not appropriate behavior not just on the bus but in general.  And the mention of consequences was mentioned, though aside from explaining that I would take away things they care about and privileges they treasure, I was too flabbergasted to come up with something specific.  Thinking now, they will be writing an apology letter to the bus driver this weekend. 

I've asked that she let me know immediately if there are any recurrences of this, but I'm still appalled.  My children know better - or should - but that already wasn't enough to stop them.  Do you face similar issues on the bus with your children?  How do you keep your children safe?  And what would you do were you to find that your children were part of the problem?

Little Miss Is Ummmm Growing Up?

We all know that our babies won't stay babies forever, much as we sometimes wish they would. Even our toddlers magically turn into big kids one day when we blink and those adorable little traits have been replaced by just as adorable but oh so different big kid stuff.

As they grow, we start to fear new things. It isn't about choking on grapes anymore or falling down the stairs - in general! - but now we worry about bullying at school, about sports and all sorts of peer pressure. In our heads, we have an idea of when some of these issues "should" rear their ugly heads. Granted, some take us by surprise, but for the most part we are at least aware of many of them.

Then there are those that jump up years before we think we have to worry about them. And those are the ones that probably freak us out the most. Read more about my new worry on The Chicago Moms here.

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