The Magic School Bus

After a glorious summer by the beach in Westport and in the countryside in France, it's back to school. Part of me felt very homesick for NYC , our friends, our school. But truth be told, getting everyone ready for the first day didn't really leave me much time to be sad.

Going back to school in the burbs is pretty much the same as in the city. But the one major difference of course is the mode of transportation the kids use to get to school. In the city it's walking, subway, bus or cab...out here it's the school bus. It seems quaint and sweet on the outside but it's anything but!

My youngest son started Kindergarten this year. That's a stressful experience unto itself but add the school bus to the mix and you're looking at possible therapy!

First of all the school does not tell you what bus your child is on, you find out on the general education website or in the local newspaper the week before. Less than ideal if you ask me. Then they only list the morning times, you have to estimate the arrival time in the afternoon based on dismissal time. 

So here's a summary of our first week. I'm warning you it's not pretty. 

On Mondays and Fridays my kindergartener has a short day. That means in the morning he takes the #21 school bus with the rest of the kids on the street. That hasn't been a huge success. The idea of getting on a bus with a stranger as his driver and not being a 100% sure he'll make it to school, and doubting that even if he does make it to school he'll find his classroom, has made this a daily challenge. That's the morning.  In the afternoon he has to get on the Green bus (while the rest of the street kids get on the Red bus, no one can tell me why they split up our street and why my son is the only one on other bus) without his friends or his brother. 

Summary of the first day bus experience.

He doesn't get on the morning bus because he's too scared.

In the afternoon I wasn't at the right bus stop because I had checked with my neighbors and had assumed he would be on their bus. So the bus arrive, the rest of the kids get off but not my kid. I ask the bus driver who informs me that he isn't on the bus and he has no other information. I dash home with my 2 year old in my arm to call the school. They don't know either.... a few minutes later I get a phone call from a bus monitor who tells me she has Theo, that he's very upset because no one was at the bus stop to pick him up!!! She kindly agrees to bring him back a the end of the route instead of bringing him back to school like she's supposed to!!!! He gets off the bus and his sister and I hug him like we haven't seen him in 6 months! 

On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday afternoons he takes the #21 bus home with his brother and his buddies. That would be great if I didn't have to wait 45 minutes at the bus stop because they still can't tell us exactly when the kids will get there!

So yes the schools in CT are great but the quaint yellow school bus I could do without!