youngest starts tomorrow morning (9).
Oldest starts in another week (12).

because they are now in different schools, they have different start times.. One is 8am and the other is 9am.. Getting out of school is all effed up also..

Granted my wife can cover it for the most part, I wonder about those single parents.. How the eff did you pull that off?
Wife might be headed to CO for 4-6 weeks to finish out some work and Im wondering if that happens how Im gonna pull that off and do my job. I work an easy hour away form the schools and house..

Isnt it all yore fault ?
I got one left and she can to and from high school

I don't really know how I made it this far. 8th grade, 5'10", taller than me and testing every corner. Clothes, school supplies, "mom I need headphones" "why David?" "Because I need a spare pair" "Really? I don't thinks so." "Mom I need a new chain for my bike." "Why?" "Because I had to oil it and it's only good for 4 months" Me to him "I think it can wait!!!!" A child is an unconditional love that no matter what he says or does, I am so proud of him and I look forward to the day that he has a family. I have a mental list going. I will my dirty socks all over his living room, not push my chair in, throw orange bungee cords into the tree, the list goes on.

Have you looked at their vacations to? I never understood, why if they are in the same district, do they have different days off?

Chum...you just make it work.

You threaten the older one that if they screw it up, she's the one that pays for it. So...the older one then threatens the younger one and the younger one listens. While you might not see it this way, the younger one looks up to the older one more than you and is more scared of older one so a threat from her means more. Think of it as a Chain of Command...

If not, do you have any neighbors or friends that can help cover the gap? Does the school have a YMCA program you can get into temporarily?

Look at some day cares, for my youngest one I could drop her off early to day care, they had a program where they would bring to and pick up the kids from school. Worked out great especially when I had to work a little late.

Thank GOD the oldest one can drive now, she gets to at least pick up the youngest one.

Flex hours Chummin, I don't have kids (well that go to school) Most parents here flex their hours and work from home part of the day in the afternoon. It makes for a long work day having to log back in after you get the girls home, are there any after school programs for them?

car pooling, local family that can help, change work hours, before or after school day care at the school, walking, ride a bike.....
It's not just single parents, both parents working makes it a strain as well.

its not easy, it takes planning and communication. we just enrolled our 9 year old in a public charter school after 5 years of private Montissori schooling. wow what a differenence in their operations.

anyways ours works out to where my wife drops the little one off and i get out of work early enough i can pick her up when she gets out of school at 3. on the days i have to work late we use grandma or great grandma for emergencies.

its not easy watching them grow up and be independent for sure.

Never really thought about it. You just make it happen captain.

Just Do It.

I think a lot of the single parents do the before/after school Tutor Time or Kingercare program (whatever the equivalent is in CA), basically the day care takes your kids to school and picks them up and then you get them from the daycare any time before 6 PM.

They even allow drop ins for emergencies, so it's not like you have to use their service all the time (like in your situation, just use them for a week or two). Costs like $100 or $150 a week I think. I had to do this a few times when my dad was travelling and my mom had something she had to be doing at the time when I got out of school.

Otherwise, like others have said, if you live in a good community or have friends at the same school, enlist their help. That would be my first choice.

I have three kids, all different schools for the first time, one HS, the other Middle, and the other Elementary........................Car pool is our friend. You must reach out to save money and time. Really no other options...........

Hey Chummin, call the school, a lot of them have programs that are designed for this kind of problem (at least in Oklahoma), ours has a 1 hour early drop off, breakfast, and reading, along with a 1 hour delayed pickup, in the afternoon, both sessions are supervised and productive. Tim

Our kids both start August 29th! Our son will be in 3rd grade and our daughter enters kindergarten at the same school. They will get out of school at different times but we pay for the after school program. We've been very happy with the lady in charge of it. They start by having the kids do their homework, have a snack, then go outside and play, weather permitting.

I can honestly say that I have been very fortunate. I relied on family when the kids were younger. When my oldest was in middle school she had to ride the bus to and from school (till her attitude got her kicked off the bus permanently LOL) and would walk from the bus stop to my mom's house where my Nana watched all three of them till I got home. The two little ones (yikes they so aren't' little now) walked the 1/2 block between the house and school. I'm more challenged these days as my son is in 11th grade (goes to the school I work at so that's easy - there's times he rides his bike to school and puts it in my office) and the second born is attending the Jr College (second year). My challenge is she doesn't have her drivers license (long story there) so I get the luxury of running home to get her and drop her off, then picking her up after classes. Often times her classes are afternoon so I tend to use up my lunch running. This semester it's going to be more interesting, she's got her learners permit and has been driving us around this summer. But her schedule is all over the place this year. I need a personal assiant to help me remember.

Simply I just do what I gotta do, I am very fortunate that I live a whopping 4 miles from work and the college is 5 miles from home (2 miles from work - giant rectangle LOL).

Look into this. The schools here have one. When I was doing it I could drop them off @6:30 in the morning and get them @ 6 pm. It was in the school and they'd take them to class and get them from class. Really helpful.

where is CO is your wife going to?

We have been driving kids to school for the past 19 years.... and still going. the last two are in 8th grade and a junor in high school.
My wife has been a stay at home mom. Its all a blur to me...

Ahhh good times....


Last year was a senior in HS (walking distance) and a jr high and 5th grader that caught the bus. This year fresh(girl)man in HS within walking distance, and the boy is 6th grade. Threaten them with death if they miss the bus. It was hilarious last week when Stephan was saying how "irresponsible" it was for the bus to be running late and they should of "figured it out" before school started.

In CA there should be a 6-6 program. You can drop them off as early as 6 and pick them up at 6. At my school it is funded by a grant so they have to be there a minimum number of hours per week to qualify, but it's free if they do. They get breakfast and fun time in the AM, and they have HW time, club time, and then Play time in the PM.

It is funded differently at different sites, so just ask.

Ya know Chumster, I had the exact same issue when my kids were in school. I lived and worked in Riverside and the kids went to school in Corona. School started at 9am. I had to be to work at 8am. I had to pay the daycare provider 100.00 per kid each week. So I literally paid out 800.00 a month in childcare. When the kids were out of school, I could see paying that. But when they were there only one hour before and after school, paying 800.00 a month pretty much held their spot for the entire school year. I am soooo glad they are grown.
Now I have to worry about my 17 year old driving on the 15 frwy everyday to school. Dont know which is worse.

We live 2 miles from the high school, a good walk but can be done. I offered to buy my 15 year old a Segway, thought it would be cool to ride to school on one. Daughter wasn't having it, thought she would be the laughing stock of the whole school. Only 9 months until she can get her license, until then we have to do the driving.

....all joking aside.

My Wife and I work FT and have a commute. We pay for before and after Daycare onsite program run by the District, my kids love it. The program is fun for them and they get to hangout with a bunch of other kids.

Thank GOD they are all in Grade school now.....although it is still over $400 a week.



I wish I had the extra room or a guest house...I'd hire an Au Pair / Nanny in a heartbeat.

And that is one of the reasons why I took a new job, what school are they going to? Mine goes to lakeview, don't start until 9 and early release on Wednesdays, not to mention a ton of holidays and half days for "staff development", yeah right.

uh hu!