The School Bus

Marie-Hélène supervises the young kids on Odette's bus

Bonnie and Odette both go to school on the school bus. "Elles prennent le car". We have to walk down to the Mairie (like the shire office), which is probably not even 300 metres away from our house, and it is all downhill. We have to cross the main road to get to the Mairie, but there are traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing. In the morning one of the shire men stands there and directs the children safely across the road, waiting for the little red light man to turn into a little green light man. When it is safe to cross he says "allez!"
For the pre-school children there is a supervisor on the bus to make sure they are sitting down and that they have their seatbelts on, and also to make sure that there is someone to pick them up when they get off in the afternoon. I think with this system no children would accidentally be locked in the bus all day as happened to our Bonnie when she was in pre-school...
Bonnie catches the bus at about 8:20am, and after the bus has dropped Bonnie at school it comes back to pick up Odette and take her to school, at about 8:45am. In the meantime Sophie has walked to her school at 8:30.

Hugh with his "copains" Noah and Gaspar

Hugh likes to "ride" his bike down to the bus stop. We have to make sure we are holding the handle tightly on the way down, because I would hate to think what would happen if he was let free on the hill.