Don't Let Your Kids Take the School Bus on the First Day of School

Emma and Matthew really wanted to take the bus on the first day of school (a new experience for them). We arrived at the bus stop 10 minutes early. We waited and waited. Finally when the bus was 20 minutes late we walked home in order to drive to school. Just as we pulled out of the driveway we saw the bus and the kids still really wanted to ride it. So they got on the bus and I followed it to the school to make sure they made it in alright. They were really late! That wasn't even the end of our bus troubles.

At the end of the day I waited for Emma and Matthew to arrive at the bus stop. Finally the bus arrived and they didn't get off the bus. I asked the bus driver where they were and she casually said they got off at a different stop! I ran to the car and started driving around the neighborhood. I knew that they would not be able to find their way home on their own (being so new to the area) and that they were probably worried. I drove all around the neighborhood and I couldn't find them. But I found the school bus again. I walked up to the bus driver and told her I couldn't find my kids and asked if she had seen them. She hadn't.

So I continued to drive around, stopping and asking people outside if they had seen my children. A few minutes later I found myself behind the bus again and a little boy who had just gotten off was staring intently at me. I asked him if he had seen Emma and Matthew. He said the bus driver picked them up again and they were on the bus. Relieved, I went to the bus and brought them back to the car. They looked flushed from the heat and from all of the walking (there are a lot of hills here).

We didn't take the bus the following morning because we had to take Ben to school about the same time, but when we saw the bus driver this morning she said, "Thanks for giving me another chance!"

Lesson learned here: Wait a few days for the system to get the kinks worked out before you put your children on the school bus.

Jacob's first day of 8th grade.

Emma started 5th grade.

Matthew started 1st grade. He was very excited!

Benjamin stayed in his PJ's the first day of school, but attends preschool 2 half days a week.