Homework and travelling

[KB]

Agree with Chelmsford mum - DCs need to be self-motivated to make the necessary sacrifices. Doesn't mean they wont still need pulling out of bed in the morning or that you wont get moans about the long journey

If your local choice is really unacceptable to you & you are pushing them to take the GS option (not for one minute saying this would be unreasonable - as in the case CM outlined above) then I think there is more of a responsibility to alieviate the long day/ distance issue wherever you can.

[zorro]

Agree with all Igglepiggle's points.
My DS gets on school coach at 07.25 and gets home at 18.20 every day except Fri when it's 17.30. Coach definitely a social time, it is so noisy, homework would be impossible!!
But he is at an indie so he gets very long holidays.
Motivation to go to the school is very important as is our commitment to get them up on time etc!
Homework does increase, DS now coming to end of Y8 and can organise himself and doesn't moan about it at all .
Very difficult at first but they soon adapt and it becomes a way of life. Good luck!

[Tolstoy]

DS1 leaves the house at 7.20 and gets home around 4.30 ish. He hasn't had any problems with the journey and has always been an early riser anyway. Homework varies and he doesn't get any more than friends at the local comprehensive. It was not really his decision to go to Grammar but mine and DH, he actually wanted to join his friend at the local school. This has made no difference to his attitude to the travel. His attitude to homework is ad-hoc and would be the same if he had a five minute walk to school.

Another boy who does the same journey is finding it difficult however. Only you know your DD and the school may have a policy on the maximum amount of time that should be spent on homework. This might be worth checking out if you think your daughter will struggle.

[mad?]

It's also worth factoring the mode of transport inot your decision. DD1 hates almost instantly feels sick on a bus (especially on the top deck where the 'cool' kids go) and also doesn't really like the feeling of not really knowing where she is. She is quite happy however on the tube, which happens to be quicker, albeit that thanks to Boris it now costs us 65p each way grrr.

[Amber]

It's also worth factoring the mode of transport inot your decision. DD1 hates almost instantly feels sick on a bus (especially on the top deck where the 'cool' kids go) and also doesn't really like the feeling of not really knowing where she is. She is quite happy however on the tube, which happens to be quicker, albeit that thanks to Boris it now costs us 65p each way grrr.

Interesting that she prefers the Tube when she 'doesn't like the feeling of not really knowing where she is'. The Tube freaks me out for that very reason - buried underground somewhere, and no idea where. That and the assortment of odd-bods I always manage to sit next to. I expect they say the same about me though.

[mad?]

Interesting that she prefers the Tube when she 'doesn't like the feeling of not really knowing where she is'. The Tube freaks me out for that very reason - buried underground somewhere, and no idea where. That and the assortment of odd-bods I always manage to sit next to. I expect they say the same about me though.

I guess it is what she is used to but also, her reasoning is that on the tube she can always see on the map roughly where she is (5 stops to go etc) and that if an 'oddbod' sits next to her and it goes as far as having to get off the tube,she is at a manned tube station with LT police or staff available to help. On the bus she is just lost until they announce the name of her stop and if 'forced off' by similar oddbod scenario is 'on the streets' somewhere with no 'authority' figure to go to for help or support and no idea where she is. Hadn't occurred to me until we did a dummy run (or should I say expedition since it took us so long) of a journey to a grammar we were considering. We had to get off the bus for her to be sick and once she had recovered herself neither of us had a clue where we were, nor where the bus stop going the other way was once we had decided the whole trip was flogging a dead horse.

[Amber]

We had to get off the bus for her to be sick and once she had recovered herself neither of us had a clue where we were, nor where the bus stop going the other way was once we had decided the whole trip was flogging a dead horse.

Oh dear, yes, familiar scenario. Mine is always the one on school trips with the travel sickness tablets in hot little hand, sitting nowhere near wheels or rear of bus, and looking a puce shade of green within 10 minutes. Our best one was on a windy road in Spain, just after we had been stopped by Police for a 'routine check'. Cue vomming, and suddenly the officer decided he had more pressing business elsewhere.

Good job you did the dummy run though - imagine if she had had to feel like that every single day on the way to school

[mad?]

[quote="Amber]
Good job you did the dummy run though([/quote]

Indeed, although we'd be rich (well less poor) if we hadn't

[Amber]

[quote="Amber]
Good job you did the dummy run though(

Indeed, although we'd be rich (well less poor) if we hadn't [/quote][/quote]

Your laundry bills would have been higher though.

[mad?]

[quote="Amber]
Good job you did the dummy run though(

Indeed, although we'd be rich (well less poor) if we hadn't

[/quote]

Your laundry bills would have been higher though.[/quote][/quote][/quote]

She's at an indie so that's an enormous amount of washng!!