Back to Work - Altamont,UT

Yes, I have one sister that has an hour and a half commute. I myself have 25 minutes. Her kids are in elementary school with the youngest at 6 years. I have a 4 year old that goes to preschool and a babysitter. My sister has had to get someone to look after her children the way you need to. It's hard to find good ones. I just got lucky. My babysitter does it out of her home and he's been with her since 3 months old. A side step- my son recently switched school because my babysitter moved- so that's new too. I thought for sure he would have a problem but when his Grandma went with him, he got into the room and ignored her so she just left happy that he did so well. We as parents forget that our children are amazing little people that surprise you at every turn. Just find someone you can trust.

i worried that my kindergartener would get confused about different people picking him up from school at times, but he has been fine with it. if you know who will be driving ahead of time, you can give your kids a schedule to keep in their backpacks and a copy to give to the teacher. sometimes there is a schedule change and i don't know who will be picking my son up that day until after he is already at school. in those cases, i call the school to tell them and ask the teacher to tell my son so that he won't be confused. the other thing i thought of when reading your post is homework. i know every school is different, but my son's homework load is time consuming. it is difficult for me to fit in 20-30 minutes of homework every day with my son like they ask of me. we have to do it in larger blocks of time once or twice a week. one of my neighbors reserves several hours on saturday for homework. when they are older, homework will probably be done more independently, but kindergarteners need an adult's help a lot for homework. good luck!

Do you have a local day care that can help?

The day care we send our kids to has before and after care for kids in that situation. They drive kids to local schools and pick them up. I know it's not ideal, but it's a safe licensed place.

It's probably going to be hardest on you. I went from a flexible schedule where I could drop my kids off and pick them up everyday to a rigid 8-5. I don't get to do either drop-off or pick-up anymore, and it puts a huge burden on my husband. But, the kids will probably adjust very well.

HI R., that is going to give your kindergarteners a really long day. Maybe you could get someone to come to your house in the morning and then drop them off at school at 9 am. Does your school have an aftercare program? Maybe that would be a good afterschool option. Then you would be picking them up after school.

Are both students in the same class or do they have different teachers? There are pros and cons of both placements.
In terms of communication, many teachers use the interest and email and provide information to parents. Does your school use this system? Also, I think they still use daily folders in kindergarten that includes a daily stamp for behavior and their papers and notes on upcoming projects. Make sure the teacher has your cell phone number so she can reach you if needed. Also, find out when she has a planning period (kids may be at recess or music class) so you could reach her at non class times. Another way to communicate with the teacher is to volunteer to help with a at-home project. They may need laminated paper trimmed or certificates hand printed or computer printed for the class--ask the teacher what you might be able to do to help. She probably brings home a pile of things to do to make class go smoother.