How early do you get to the school to pick up your kid?

[2poohbears]

there are people who line up an hour early for pick-up at our school. it's crazy...i have no idea how anyone has time to sit for an hour every day like that. the procedure for pick up allows 8 cars to load at one time (it's a semi circular drive, one-way), and you must put a sign in your window with the names of the children you are picking up. a teacher stands far enough out that she can read the names and call them out for the other teachers to line kids up for pickup. if i arrive too early, i just sit in line longer...so i quit doing it. if i arrive on time (3:45pm dismissal), i am only in line @ 15 minutes to pick them up.

they are in Kindy this year. Next year I think we'll be ready for them to ride the bus.

 

[wickywinn]

Last year I had ds7 as a walker. This year ds5 will be going to Kinder at the same school so they will both be walkers most days and I'll pick them up at the Kinder door. At our school they have a system that the older siblings always exit the youngest grade. I am super paranoid and don't want my children setting foot outside the school alone without me standing there. If it's raining though, I have to call the front office and tell them "B**** will be a rider today". And I usually try to be there 30-35 minutes early because, nothing I hate more, than being that car at the end of the drive stuck in limbo between the passing traffic and the other drive way for the other grades. I want to get there in plenty of time to clear the curb - especially the crosswalk. If you're behind the crosswalk, forget it!

 

[Traveliz]

It is crazy how early some parents arrive so I do 2 things. When it is nice he walks about 1 block away to the crossing guard and I am waiting on the street there so no congestion OR in the winter I wait until 5-8 minutes after they get out to show up and then drive right up and pick him up. If the traffic is getting crazy I wait 10 minutes, I can't deal with giving up 1 hour for school pick up.

This is exactly what I did years ago - parked one block up and she crossed with the crossing guard and I was on the next street corner parked. Worked great - and there were only about two other people that did it.

Otherwise time it so you are pulling in at the end of line and you don't have to wait either.

Liz

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Just out of curiosity -- and I don't mean to start anything, I'm just curious -- when people are in pick-up lines for long times, do they let the engines idle the whole time? At our neighborhood school, people get in line a full hour (or more!) before school lets out. If they're idling that whole time, it's ironic because their kids aren't allowed out in the playground on hot summer days (year round school) because of the bad ozone...caused by engines!

Again, I'm just wondering -- but then again, I'm a martyr and I'd probably be sweating into a puddle of melted jell-o rather than idle that long! Guess that makes me not to bright...

 

[mjkacmom]

Our elementary school is 100 years old, very limited parking, on a narrow one way street. There is a stop, drop, and go lane, where people park if a police officer isn't there (when he's there, he won't let anyone park). The kids are let out onto the lawn, except kindy, where you pick them up behind the building. I find it's much easier to park a couple blocks away, and walk. I just don't understand these parents who get there 1/2 hour early, just to not have to get out of the car.

 

[mjkacmom]

Her school doesn't have walkers so unfortunately that is not an option. I'm not really interested in her riding the bus. I don't mind the wait, I just didn't expect so many people to not mind the wait either. I'm just floored.

I assume she's with a teacher, and not waiting alone. Tell her you will be last - that's what I would tell my preschoolers, since there was very limited parking, and you had to go into the building. Once my kids get past kindy, they just walk home (5 blocks, crossing guard), and we don't have busses.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Just out of curiosity -- and I don't mean to start anything, I'm just curious -- when people are in pick-up lines for long times, do they let the engines idle the whole time? At our neighborhood school, people get in line a full hour (or more!) before school lets out. If they're idling that whole time, it's ironic because their kids aren't allowed out in the playground on hot summer days (year round school) because of the bad ozone...caused by engines!

Again, I'm just wondering -- but then again, I'm a martyr and I'd probably be sweating into a puddle of melted jell-o rather than idle that long! Guess that makes me not to bright...

Most people leave their engines running. When I arrive 30 minutes before school lets out, I'm usually at the end of the parking lot line just before it turns into a dangerous line of cars on the main road. I normally open all the windows and turn my engine off.
Luckily I don't have to pick the kids up after school very often otherwise I'd be going nuts.

 

[brymolmom]

How about going later....like 5 - 10 minutes after school lets out - MAYBE the line will be significantly reduced by then??

Just an idea.

 

[WantToGoNow]

My kids ride the bus but the little girl I babysit for has to be picked up. I get there about 5 minutes before school is out, park on the the next street and walk over to the school. Her school does not allow cars to pull up to the school.

 

[LuckyMamaInDE]

I've been dropping off/picking up at the same K-8 school since my rising hs junior was in kindergarten (I have a 4th grader). There is a LARGE parking lot in which all cars could fit before dismissal. No cars move through the lot until all kids are claimed next to the school-----the "late" kids wait with teachers.

At the beginning of the school year, the parking lot is CRAZY CROWDED because (1) all the new kindergarten parents aren't sure what to do (2) there are new carpools and (3) aftercare doesn't start until the second week of school so clueless grandparents are picking up that first week. Once everyone gets into a routine, pickup goes smoothly until days without aftercare (like the day before a holiday break).

Dismissal is at 2:55. Some people get there at 2pm! I do know a few are done at work at 2ish so drive directly to school and read mail etc, a few have arranged naps for their little ones to be in the car so they don't have to wake them up for school pickup, and some others to go a high school to pick up right after grade school dismissal. But I have no ideal why the rest get there so early!

I arrive at 2:45 after the first week of school. I walk up the hill from the parking lot, say hi to my friends, and get dd This year I'll be picking up my hs freshman from her school prior to grade school pickup so I might be one of the crazy early people THERE unless we can figure out a system quickly!

 

[allyphoe]

When MIL is home, DD rides the bus. School is between my work and our house, so if I'm the one with her after school, I pick her up on my way home, so there's no chance the bus would be early and she'd be stranded. (She's 6, so IMHO not old enough to be on her own if something happened to me on the way.)

The car line at DD's school is ridiculous, and the school hates it. Parents of older kids (3:40 release) fill up the line so that parents of pre-K kids (3:35 release) can't get in, even though the school says you can't do that. People park in the bus loading zone, which means bus riders have to wait until almost all the non-riders are gone before they can get on the bus, so it takes 35 minutes for my kid to get home - 10 of which are actual bus time. People park across the cross-walk, and in the no-parking zone on the access road.

The school also has a small parking lot, and if you get there ~10 minutes before the bell, you can get a spot. Won't do you any good, though, because the people who get there 5 minutes later will illegally park you in (as in, park in the lane behind you, then leave their cars there while they wait for their kids at the door).

I get there 2 minutes before the bell, and park at the middle school across the access road. (Middle school lets out a full hour earlier, and the elementary has arranged for the middle school lot to be available for overflow parking.) The 2 minutes is enough to walk over to the elementary just in time for the bell. Kindergartners and first graders are released individually as the teacher sees pickup people, so my DD is one of the first out. We're back across the street and getting into the car before the first cars from the car line have pulled forward, unless we dawdle for some reason.

 

[Bastiansmom]

Yesterday, my son started 1st grade at a new school. My husband went to pick him up and they couldn't find him!! School gets out at 3:15, so I called my husband at 3:20 to see how the first day went and he said they couldn't find our son. They do the "pull up with your child's name in your windshield" thing. And when he pulled up the told him they couldn't find DS. I told him to get out and find him!!! He went inside and they started asking him silly questions like, "Are you sure your wife didin't already pick him up? and Are you sure he didn't ride the bus?" Once he had them confinced that he really was lost, they started looking for him. They found him around 3:45. I tried to talk to DH & DS last night to find out what happened, but neither one of them was really sure. So I called the principal this morning to get the details.

The school only consists of 1st and 2nd grades. First grade gets picked up and dropped off at one end and 2nd grade at the other. Buses load in the front of the school (busier street). When they walked out of their classroom to leave yesterday my son saw his BF from Pre-K who is now in 2nd grade (my son did K twice). DS got in line with the 2nd graders and walked out with them. When the friend got picked up my son walked around to the front of the school and waited in the entry way. No one saw him waiting there for over 20 minutes.

I know DS was at fault because he got into the wrong line, but he hasn't see BF in over a year, and it probably didn't occur to him that they are in different grades now. However, I am shocked that neither the teachers on car duty nor on bus duty saw my son walking around the school by himself.
I'm so glad he knew to just stay where he was once he figured out he was lost.

While all of this was happening, I was at work 45 minutes away and all I knew was "they couldn't find my kid." Needless to say, not a great first day of school!

 

[rt2dz]

At one exit at the side of the school is where the busses drop off and load. At the front of the school is a line. It's a number system like the PP mentioned. There is spot that's covered next to the school where the kids who are car riders wait in grade level groups with several teachers watching out. One person at the beginning of school has a walkie talkie and calls out the numbers where another teacher by the kids calls out the kids and sends them to their spots. Each spot is a different colored cones (maybe 6?) where a teacher stands and loads kids. Then the next group of cars rolls up. In total it takes about 15-25 minutes, except the first two weeks of school where it takes 20-40 minutes. This isn't a small school either, 1200 students K-4.

You are absolutely not allowed to park your car and walk up to get your kid. It slows the whole process down.

I have found that lines are formed at about 1:45 for a 3:05 dismissal. The lines are really long by 2:30. I show up at about 3:15. I'm in line for about 5 minutes and get my kids marginally later. They prefer it anyhow because in the groups they get to hang out with their friends and play quiet games. If they're good they also earn tickets where they can go out for recess 5 minutes earlier (when they have final call for trash and make the tables be quiet for dismissal).

Walkers and car riders are released after the car line is emptied, in hopes that their will be less traffic through the neighborhood. They wait inside the school in the cafeteria.

 

[JoshChristineplus3]

In the morning I get there about 740 for the doors opening at 745. We have a drive thru parking lot and so about 6 cars line up along the side walk attached to the front door, then the rest of the cars park three across in the parking lot and then keep doing that one behind the other 3 in each row. As the first 6 cars move, the next 6 go in order to the sidewalk and let their kids out. There are teachers and the principal to assist in getting the kiddos out and into the front door. At pick up we have a carpool number. As we line up the same way, at 325 the music teacher comes out and writes down the numbers in the order they will pull up to the sidewalk and they call the kids over the PA system and line them up in the order on the card she writes the numbers on and as their number comes up they send them to the color of hulahoop set up at the curb ( 6 slots ) where their parents car will pull up to. It doesn't take that long to unload but a littlle longer to load up when the smaller kids are getting in and buckling up but its pretty efficient! I get there about 320 now and am normally about 10 cars back so about 15 mins wait because they are released at 330.

 

[sbpebbles]

Last Year when DD was in Kindergarten we lived in what i considered a fairly small town..i'm always the kind of person to be early for things so i figured if they said school was out at 3 I could easily show up at 2:45, park on the street, walk in and wait for her (all the kindergarten's in our area require the teachers see the child leave with whoever is assigned to pick them up)..I must have been behind about 20 cars..from then on I learned to show up about 2:20ish, so i could park right in the front, run in and grab her and leave before it got too crazy..I had a baby during the school year and we would just plan his nap around the time I would have to be at the school waiting to pick DD up, I would leave the car run until I knew he was fully asleep or if it was especially cold as we had a terrible winter last year...In the meantime I would either read a magazine, read the mail, or just enjoy some peace and quiet lol which is nice with 2 kids around...This year we're in a different school due to moving and since she's in first grade i will probably arrive about 10-15 min early since this school has both middle and elementary in one school so the middle school lets out before elementary so that will eliminate a lot of vehicles...

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Just out of curiosity -- and I don't mean to start anything, I'm just curious -- when people are in pick-up lines for long times, do they let the engines idle the whole time? At our neighborhood school, people get in line a full hour (or more!) before school lets out. If they're idling that whole time, it's ironic because their kids aren't allowed out in the playground on hot summer days (year round school) because of the bad ozone...caused by engines!

Again, I'm just wondering -- but then again, I'm a martyr and I'd probably be sweating into a puddle of melted jell-o rather than idle that long! Guess that makes me not to bright...

I've been wondering this same thing! I am not very environmental so I have been trying to get better. Not idling is what I am working on now. I have a friend who will not idle at all. She drops my DD off, turns off her car, we chat for a minute, she turns it back on and drives away.

Anyhow, I only parent pick-up once a week, but at our school we have to park and walk in to get them. It is a pain when I have a sleeping little one, but I guess it is less frustrating than a long line.

 

[BABY_EINSTEIN'S_MOM]

I arrive at the elementary school right about time for the bell to ring (about 2:40). I am rather far back in line, but at least the line is already moving! Then I drive next door to the middle school and am usually headed home by about 3:00-3:05. After many years of doing the line thing, I have realized it's much quicker just to wait until many parents have already picked up their kids. Then we zoom right on through most of the time.

I agree with another post about the napping though. When my youngest was a baby, I did go earlier and he could catch a short nap and I could read a magazine. But now that he's 4 , he doesn't want to sit in a line all day!

I have read on this thread about kids being let out to walk or come to the car. I didn't know any school still did that. Of course that's the way it was when I was a kid! I remember running across the street to the parent parking lot. We live in a small, safe rural Kentucky town and our kids (even middle school) have assiged numbers to put in the dashboard and only people on their "list" can even pick them up. It is interesting how places differ!

 

[james'mommy]

My DS doesn't like the car lane. He prefers that I stand outside and get him that way. I make sure to get there a half hour in advance so that I can get a parking spot.

 

[Kion10]

Well we got there 1.5 hours early today and we were second in line! But not for long... By the time DD got out, there were over 100 cars in line. Its absolutely insane! DH and I played Yahtzee. DS watched a movie. It was pleasant.

 

[Manda]

Wow - I had no idea this type of madness occurred at schools! I'm feeling very grateful for my neighborhood school right now, LOL!

Our school, the bells ring and children just pour from every available door. Most parents are just sitting on the playground hanging out and waiting. Kindergartners/1st graders are walked out a specific door with their teachers. If I'm picking him up, I leave my house about 10 minutes before school gets out and get there about a minute before the bell rings. Some parents get there earlier, but that's mostly parents with littler ones who want to play on the playground while they wait for their older siblings to get out of school. Not many people drive, but if you do... the side streets on either side become one ways and one is for parking and pick-up and one is for just rolling by and dropping off or picking up without parking. There's no numbers or system or anything other than that.