DD will be starting kindergarten in the fall! Hooray! She will be taking the bus which is both exciting and terrifying (for me). I'm looking for ideas to help DD prep. We've been reading books, and play "riding the bus" and the school will have a bus orientation. Any other ideas?? Am I being concerned for no reason? I envision having a clinging sobbing kid who refuses to set foot on the bus without me...
(bonus question: how do you deal with a clinging, sobbing kid who refuses to set foot on the bus without you?)
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The bus goes by our house so we just talk about it every day! I've also figured out which kids from his current school will be on the bus with him next year, so he's excited about that. Who knows how it go in practice, though!
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@merriment: when you talk about it is she excited or scared?
My DD was sooo excited! At K orientation she hopped right on the bus so we knew she would be fine on day 1 -
See if there are any youtube videos on bus safety and kids riding the bus to watch her. Most kids are super excited to ride the school bus I find.
If she freaks out then I'm not sure what you'll be able to do, hopefully find a buddy for them. I know our school buddies up older kids with younger ones in the seat so they have a friend, but that takes a bit of time for them to get organized.
Does she seem nervous at all? Just try to make it seem normal unless she's excited, and then you can amp up the excitement for her. Perhaps have a treat/stuffed animal/sticker or something special for her ready to go in case the bus is a tricky thing for her in the first couple of days. I'm sure the bus driver will be used to child freakouts and may have tips for you also.
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Are parents able to ride the bus the first day? At my son's school, the day before school starts is K orientation and the kids and parents ride the bus together.
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Good thread. I'd like to get my daughter used to / interested in riding the bus. Right now she tells us she absolutely does not want to ride the bus. I'm okay with that since we planned on dropping her off anyways but I'm sure riding the bus would be easier...
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@merriment: One thing we did that helped was telling her that we'd meet her at school on the first day after putting her on the bus. I also had to walk her onto the bus, just up the steps for the first week or so and after that she was fine. Riding the bus at kindergarten orientation did help her get excited.
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I was also super worried about this but my 5yo got on and never looked back! I would just recommend getting to the bus stop early enough for her to meet and chat with the other kids. I emphasized that we would not be getting on with him as we had done for daycare field trips. Our school gives kindergarteners little colored tags you pin on them the first week corresponding to their classroom and buses, which gave me some peace of mind. Good luck!
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