Our school system does not have a school bus option, so parents have to find a way to get their children to and from school daily. We have two children who are four years apart, so they’re always in different schools. If you’re in the same situation, or you have a school bus option but prefer to drive your kids to school, and you’re the designated picker-upper in your family (or your multi-family carpool), this blog might be helpful for you. 

Our morning drive from school to school is generally a breeze. It takes, at most, 2-3 minutes to get in and out of each school line. It’s the afternoon carpool, where I struggle. 

The driving. 

The waiting. 

More driving and more waiting. 

The sad car rider who has to sit and wait with me.

So, I took the liberty of organizing my thoughts and processes into a haphazard list of tips.

Preparation

Gather info to plan your trip

What are the rules of the schools’ car lines? (where to line up, where the lane goes, etc.)

What time are your car rider lines? 

How much time does it take to get from one school to the other? 

What are the rules of the respective line? 

How long does it take for the line to move?

These are very important first questions to answer in order to adequately prepare for your “journey.” And for us, it’s always a journey. There is a 30-minute difference between the start of our two car rider lines–2:30 and 3PM. It takes 15 minutes to get from one to the other. BUT then you wait another 10 minutes. We don’t have school buses (did I mention that?). Anyway, plan to arrive at your first line (2:30 dismissal) in enough time to get your second (3:00 dismissal) for minimal waiting. For example: I generally arrive at 2:10 for the 2:30 dismissal. This way, I arrive at the other school by at least 2:55.

What’s in Your Vehicle?

Bring Entertainment

You, and possibly a child, will be sitting at some point; a child who does not wan to sit in a car. What can you bring that would entertain you both/all for the extended period of time in the car? For me, my phone serves as a type of entertainment–Instagram, Facebook, blah, blah. But I also bring a kindle to at least keep my brain functioning instead of falling down a social media rabbit hole. Bring entertainment for the child who will be sitting in the second carpool line asking “How long have we been sitting here?” Maybe they’ll fall asleep. Maybe they’ll have homework, or maybe not. Bring a book or two just in case. Either way, you  can be prepared. 

Bring Snacks

For the sitting/waiting kid who is 99.9% likely to be hungry (because what kid isn’t hungry after school), bring snacks. And bring some for yourself! I pack anything from water, oranges, goldfish, cookies, or anything else he might eat.

DON’T FALL ASLEEP!

Sometimes I bring coffee for myself–my snack–for this reason. My biggest fear is falling asleep in carpool, holding up the line and then being featured on the "What's Happening in *your city* Facebook page. I’ve closed my eyes for 20 seconds before and thought it was 20 minutes. I’ve seen it happen to parents. I don’t want to be that parent. But if you get there early (if you prepared for this!!), set a timer on your phone for your nap. I HAVE done that. It works, and I haven’t been responsible for holding up the line.

Be Patient

I’ll be honest. I’m not very patient here. I often sit there and say loudly, “I want to go home!” to which my younger child responds, “Momma, stop raging.” I realize “it is what it is.” Raging does not change the rules. Carpool procedures are created to make sure kids are safely and efficiently dismissed to their cars, and occasionally they are tweaked for efficiency. 

I’ve come to the sad and shocking realization that the carpool system will likely not be overhauled into something different any time soon. I want it to be easier, and I don’t even know what that would be. But this is probably as good as it’s going to get for now. So, I focus on what I can do–my established routine that gets me through the car rider line daily. 

The silver lining? Time with my boys. While I won’t ever miss the daily car line “journey,”  I know I will miss time with just us. 

Photo: "Happy playful kids travelling by car" by Imgorthand