Does your preschooler or kindergartener commute to school?

[Prajnamom]

I know this has been discussed before but I'm wondering if there is anyone out there whose preschool/kindergarten kids commute 45mins or more to school and if so what is it like for them?

My family and I live in a rural farming community and there are no montessori elementary schools here. My husband and I would like our son to go to a montessori elementary but the closest (K to grade 8) is 45 minutes away.

My husband could drop my son off in the morning and then I would pick him up in the afternoon. He would be starting in September, in a 5 day a week, half day preschool program. I would have to bring my one year old with me to pick him up, so that would mean an hour and a half on the road for my littlest guy everyday. We would eventually move closer to the school but that can't happen for a couple of years yet. Does anyone do this? Is it okay for your kids or is it too much time on the road. We're really not sure what to do. We love the school but it's so far to drive everyday. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Haley'sMom]

I travel 30 min each way to take my daugher to school. She is my only one right now and does fine with it.

[Prajnamom]

Thanks Haley's mom I'm glad to hear it's working out for your daughter Is it harder to get involved in school activities when you live farther away?

[Haley'sMom]

No not really. I am actualy going to her school today to help out with the easter egg hunt. There is a school montessori school closer to us but after I toured and observed I was not impressed at all. She has learned so much this year at her montessori school and we just love it. She loves giong to school.

[BCFD]

I guess I wouldn't call my drive a commute, but we did pass on a closer school (1 1/2 miles away) and went a little further out because we were WAY more impressed with a school that was a little farther away (8 miles away). We go about 15 minutes each way (as opposed to closer schools that would take about 5 minutes).

Personally, I think if there is no other option and I felt deeply that this was the right school, I'd make the commute. If your husband can take him and you can pick him up, I think that would be the perfect scenario.

[Prajnamom]

Thanks for your input. We really do love this school and if we lived closer we wouldn't even think about sending him to another school.

[wednesday]

We live about 25 minutes from our son's Montessori pre-school. There is not a single pre-school in our town that offers an aftercare option (we both work fulltime) and is not religious-themed. So for us, there really is not an acceptable alternative.

I will say the downside besides the commute is the difficulty in participating in the school community. I wish my son had little friends who live near us but none of his classmates live close at all, they all live in the vicinity of the school or farther in the other direction. Also for a while there were a lot of birthday parties going on, these were all far away as well. So after driving 25 minutes each way all week for school, we'd go 40 minutes each way on Saturday for a party. That's been kind of a drag. We're nearing the end of our third and final year there, I am very relieved that the commute is coming to an end.

[wrzos]

We don't count as commuters as we are less than 6 miles from our school, but did want to comment on the distance thing as it related to participation. I've found that our school is drawing from several surrounding communities, so despite our relative nearness to the school, we do end up driving long distances to things like b-day parties, playdates, etc. Something to be aware of...

[Prajnamom]

Driving to school events and things like birthday parties is something I've considered. I've also wondered if other kids would come to DS's b-day given that we would probably live farther away than anyone else. DH says that we could rent a venue near the school for his birthday but he still probably wouldn't have any playmates near home.

Having said that we don't have any neighbors, so the only other kids DS gets to play with are the little boy we have a standing playdate with each week or whoever we happen to meet at the park. We would only be commuting to school for a couple of years max. as we are planning to have relocated to the community his school is in by the time he starts the elementary program.

[wednesday]

Just speaking to the birthday thing, I worried about this too -- but we held DS' birthday at a kids' museum near our house anyway. DS really wanted it there, and I figured we had driven to so many parties that people could come to us for once. And they did -- just about everyone came, and they had a good time, and it was actually cool that it wasn't a venue they'd been to for ten other parties already.

[Keeping up]

I use to drive my three kiddos to daycare - about 30 minutes in the morning and closer to an hour at night (traffic - very urban).

I think it was great because it was defined time to talk to the my children. WE also started listening to CDs (story CDs) - and the kiddos loved them. (My children can now pick-out bits and pieces of all classical music artists.) We covered off all the days activities before we ever made it through the front door. I always felt very connected to them with the commute.

My biggest concern will be the time for the baby - kind of boring for them. (I had the same issue in my life.)

[Sparkle*Mama]

My dd is 3 and she commutes about 1 1/2 hours(each way) to her preschool 2 times a week. Both full days, 8-4.

[Prajnamom]

It's nice to know that my son won't be the only kid out there commuting to preschool and that it's doable. Thanks mamas! DS really wants to go to preschool and I think the school we've chosen will be worth the drive.

[mamamelia]

My husband could drop my son off in the morning and then I would pick him up in the afternoon. He would be starting in September, in a 5 day a week, half day preschool program. I would have to bring my one year old with me to pick him up, so that would mean an hour and a half on the road for my littlest guy everyday.

this is us exactly. my husband drops my daughter off at school in the morning (they get up at 6:30am and leave at 7am to make it in time for 8:30am) and then i pick her up at 11:45am with my 15 month old in tow. we travel 1.5 hours each way too, so three hours of travel *every day* in the trains and buses for me and dd2. it is a bit of a drag, i won't lie... but if you can keep yourself entertained for that long then it's not so bad. towards the end of the commute my 15mo always gets a little antsy, and so i like to finish it off with a treat of some kind... a trip to the park for a couple of hours where she can just run around like crazy and release all that pent up energy from sitting down for so long, a long and very soapy & splashy bath, body painting in the backyard etc etc... sometimes we'll also pass by my daughters fav chocolate shop and pick up something nice.

we're planning on moving up there in the next few months, but until then, lots of the singing and stories on the way, plenty of finger foods to keep busy and a very fun treat afterwards.

good luck!!!

[MattBronsil]

I was avoiding this thread until I remembered that I commuted about 20-25 minutes for my 3-6 classroom.

I was fine. I don't know how much different that is from 45 minutes. I say take it as an opportunity to get to know your child more. Too often, we do not take that time because we are too busy thinking about work, our friends, etc.

[Prajnamom]

Mammamellia-Your schedule really is almost what ours will be in September. I'll be driving to pick up DS and it's 45 minutes each way but we're pretty well doing the same amount of travelling. I like your idea of stopping at a park along the way. I'll probably arrive a little early so DS#2 can play for a while before we have to get back in the car.

Matt-thanks for your input. It's nice to hear that the drive wasn't hard on you as a kid. I worry about my son going to school so far away for a lot of reasons. I'm glad to hear you commuted to school and it was okay.