After teaching several years, and having tried all sorts of badges or lanyard type bus tags, I finally have a method of ordering kids for buses! And, tho it isn’t fail safe, it works pretty well most of the time. In our district, parents will either pick up, or have their children to ride home, or to an after care location. And…most of the time things go off without a hitch. It is a challenge to get parents to call before the afternoon deadline if they have a change in where their child will go after school, so we have to be diligent about looking at our door jamb for new last minute notes from the office. Even with all of the safeguards in place, a child may get on the wrong bus. Thank goodness for drivers who take care of them and bring them safely back to school.
I will never forget about one of my little guys, who for whatever reason ended up getting on the bus, then was dropped off at home with no one there (there were very close neighbors at home). My hubby and I drove out to look for him, and found him near his tiny 4-wheeler near his back door. When he saw me, he hopped on that 4-wheeler and the race was on! After a few near misses, I caught him and waited with him until a babysitter could arrive. When asked why he rode the bus when he was supposed to be picked up he said, “I wanted to come home and ride my 4-wheeler!” He was the cutest little fella, and the whole experience (tho it could have been serious) ended well, and the 4-wheeler racing about was hilarious. That was many years ago, and I still smile when I see that grown up man. We stress over and over, the importance of notifying school of changes in plans. This year I will begin with a temporary bus tag that is laminated and attached with a small zip tie to the loop of each backpack. The zip tie is my new, most favorite way of keeping up with tags. I have tried yarn lanyards, stick on name badges, clip on name badges, and notes, but all were lost too easily, or left at home. This method of attaching to the loop holds up well, and if the tag comes off, you just re-punch it and zip tie on the loop again.
After bus and going home routines are established, I will switch to a tag that is more specific to where they go.
Here is the temporary tag that will help us get started. Just click on the pic to download.
Transporting Kids Safely…is such a huge concern for teachers! Bus tag FREEBIE
The way I do my line up is to have each group with the same tag to stand together so they can be dismissed together. This really helps in the first few weeks since we have helpers who assist in getting kids to where they are supposed to go. I take the bus group to each bus myself so I know each child is on the bus they are supposed to be on.
Have a great year!
Leave a Reply