Back to School Tip #4: Carpool

Our family lives far enough away from our school that we have to transport the kids to school, but not far enough to be on the school bus route. Luckily, we are blessed to have great families on our street and in our neighborhood so we are able to carpool.

If you would like to set-up a carpool for this school year, start the planning process now.

There are a lot of great benefits to taking part in a carpool.

• Saves gas
• Saves time
• Creates a feeling of helping
• Enviro-friendly
• Less vehicle congestion at the schools

If you would like to set up a car pool in your neighborhood, here are some simple steps to get you started:

1. Contact parents of families in your area that have similar schedules and ages of your children.


2. Arrange to meet by person (I think this is a good excuse to have some mom time) to get the details set.


3. Work out a schedule that works for everyone and make sure time is evenly shared. Print out weekly/monthly/quarterly schedules if that will help. Have the school calendar to plan for closings and early-release days.


4. Create a e-mail list and/or a phone tree (home and cell phone) of everyone participating.


5. Settle on guidelines on how the carpool will work and what is expected of everyone in the group (parents and kids).

• What children need to be in a car seat and how will that car seat be provided?
• What are the rules for the kids while in the car (music, food, respect)?
• Where are the pick-up and drop-off points?
• What are the pick-up times? Allow extra time to eliminate rushing and be respectful of everyone by being on time.
• ALWAYS make sure the children know who will be picking them up!