There are alternatives to the tradional car-pool that you may want to consider as well. Not everything has to be about driving. You might consider a…

Walking-pool – where parents set days to walk a group of kids to and from school or other activities.

Bike-pool – same as walking, but of course on bikes (or scooters).

Long-term pools – a long term pool might be that one or two parents handle transport for a week at a stretch. Then new parents take over the following week. If you have a large group of parents this can work well, because everyone gets weeks at a time off from all transport duties.

What other pooling ideas do you have? 

Post from: Blisstree

Car-Pool Alternatives

Information to discuss: All parents need to know the following about the other parents; someone should keep notes and then make up a chart for the other parents.

• Full name of parent driving
• Home, work, & cell number
• Address – home and work
• Available days and times to car-pool
• Number of kids in family who will be included in the car-pool.
• Size of car – i.e how many kids will safely fit in their car.

This info above should be made into a list of sorts that each parent can carry with them. If there’s a crash, contact info for kids parents should be easy to locate – think glove box or purse.

Safety rules: Parents need to create a list of basic safety rules – so that all parents feel confident about their children being with other drivers. You can make up any rules you like, but here are some ideas…

• All cars must be insured.
• First aid kits in all cars.
• No talking on cell while driving.
• Make sure each parent knows about any health concerns of all kids participating.
• Car seats – if kids are young.
• Age of kids allowed in the front – no one under 12 is the general rule.
• Everyone must be buckled up
• Kids are not allowed to eat while in the car – this is negotiable. In a car-pool situation, eating might mean too many distractions, or it could keep kids busy, you’ll have to decide.

You get the gist – make rules that work for your specific car-pool group, but be sure to cover basics safety as well.

Other issues to discuss:

• How many times a parent can be late or absent before loosing their car-pool spot.
• How soon in advance to schedule planned absences – like vacations.
• Alternates – who will drive if someone can’t make it.
• Sick kid rule – do you want a parent to drive if their child is sick and must come along?
• Rules for kids – rules kids must follow while in another parent’s car. You should set clear consequences too, such as when a child has gone too far and can’t participate in the car-pool any longer.
• Rules for drop-off – say parents must watch to be sure kids enter their destination, and what to do if no parent is home when the child is dropped off.

What other car-pool rules do you think are good to implement?

Post from: Blisstree

Create Car-Pool Rules

If you’re considering organizing a car-pool, here are some tips:

Plan for diligent or casual: A diligent car-pool means parents pick up or drop off kids no matter what; even if their own kids are sick. Usually someone in this car-pool group has an official list created with dates and times. A casual car-pool is, well, casual. In casual car-pool groups I’ve seen, parents sometimes put planning off until the last minute.

You need to choose which car-pool group you’d like to organize, because folks interested in a casual car-pool don’t tend to mingle well with the diligent folks; people will only get frustrated.

Find other parents: You can gather a group of parents you already know, or hang a flyer up at your child’s school. If you hang a flyer, make sure you put location info on it. People need to know the areas they’ll be expected to drive in. If you’re feeling lazy about organizing, you can always look for an existing car-pool group and ask to join.

Make rules: Every car-pool group needs rules, even the casual groups. Hold a meeting one evening and have all parents attend. You’ll need to discuss sick days, safety rules, rules surrounding kid behavior while with another parent, and consequences for being late or absent. If you don’t make rules right off the bat, you’ll need to make them up as you go – which is a much harder task.

Next up; we’ll look at some rules your car-pool group might want to implement.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Blisstree

Organize A Car-Pool

Concentrate Fruit Friendly Lunch Box from John Lewis – holds fruit safely! Very cool.

Lunch & Go Lunchbox from Aladdin.

Double Lunch Box (with name added) from Letterbox.

Find more… (including many eco-choices)

Modern Kids Lunch Tote

Metal Lunch Boxes

Pack Your Kids An Eco-Lunch

Simple Organic Cotton Lunch Bags

Earth friendly lunch boxes

Make Your Own Oilcloth Bags

Post from: Blisstree

Last Minute Lunch Boxes

This way the kids can start (and maybe even finish) their homework on the drive home, which of course saves time for family time, chores, dinner, and more once at home. Bonus, you’re right there to answer questions – just don’t get too distracted with math problems – sometimes math and driving don’t mix.

Post from: Blisstree

Save Time During the School Day Commute

This lunch tote is not available in orange anymore (sadness) but it is available in a spiffy green color. What I love is that it’s got cool storage features – like mesh pockets to hold food, and that cool clear pocket on the front. The clear pocket comes with a postcard of an artwork from MoMA’s collection, which is slick in itself, but I was thinking your child could also use it to stick in need-to-read notes from school. Then you see the notes.

Learn more about this lunch tote.

[lunch tote image via MoMA Store]

Post from: Blisstree

Modern Kids Lunch Tote

In any case when it comes to back to school days, lagging is the last thing a busy family needs. To cut back on whining, feet dragging, and a general laze about attitude try the following:

• Have them complete least favorite tasks first: If little Billy likes to eat first and then drag around finding school clothes, have him get dressed then eat.
• If your little one is having issues with even finding something suitable for the day to wear, try picking out clothes the night before. In the case of super little ones, try this method.
• Create a designated school bag area: Hunting for bags, books, hats, shoes and more takes up years of your life (or so it seems). Create a little area where all that stuff can land, and stay, unless in use. Make it a rule that after homework, books return to the area. This doesn’t need to be all fancy like what you see in some home magazines – the hall closet or a bookshelf will work fine.
• Try out one of the many doorknob reminders available. For younger kids, you can draw them picture reminders.
• Don’t lag yourself. I remember when my mom would say, “Time to go” then mess around. It always made me think, “Hey, I can so mess around if she is.” If you say it’s time to go then get a move on.
• Rewards? Ok, I’m not the biggest fan of rewarding people for things they should do anyhow, but some kids (and adults) are just plain slow – that’s them love em, or leave em. A simple, “We can all go out for ice cream on Friday – if we get to school on time five days this week” may help.

What do you do to speed up lagging kiddos? 

Post from: Blisstree

Back To School: Get Kids Moving

Grab a box, and fill it up with basics – pencils, pens, a box of colored pencils, dividers, a few notebooks, some filler paper, and whatever other school-necessary items you can think of. This way if your kid forgets something, and you’re halfway to school, you can dive into the box instead of driving home. With school supplies on sale right now, this is the perfect time to stock up for a car school station box.

Post from: Blisstree

Back To School Quick Tip: Car School Station