would YOU do this?

so my MIL is a bus driver, she works for a school district during the school year, but can only drive for them every 2 years in the summer. so on her off years she drives for a summer camp. Ivy League it is called. It is an amazing looking camp. And very pricey from what Ive heard. Heres where I need a little advice. My mother in law asked, if next summer i would take her bus route to hold her spot at the camp. her boss has no problem with it. It is about a total of 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. i can either take both my kids on the buss with me and get paid about $260 weekly or I can work for free and my ds who will be 4 next July can go to the camp all summer free of charge, and i can take ds2 on the bus, he is too young to go to camp.

right now i work 1 day a week for a family business. Saturdays, for 9 hours. we really dont "need" the money but it would most def help. I just feel like it would be a great experience for my ds, one that i could never afford to give him. As for the buss route, i would have 6 hrs a day free in between runs.

would you do it, and if so, take the pay, or camp for free?

would YOU do this?

I think I would definitely do it. I don't see a down side! I can't really judge yet how I would feel when my son is 4 (he's only 2.5), but I think I would go with sending him to camp for free, as long as he was into the idea. If he wasn't, I'd go with the other option.

would YOU do this?

I worked as a teacher at a camp and many other people worked for free so their kids could go there. They had to pay the tax though. I think it's a great situation.

would YOU do this?

its also going to be a huge transition for me, i am with him all day every day. except sat. i will miss him, lol. i also am terrified of driving a bus, its a mini bus, i did drive it once. it really was no different than my suv.

would YOU do this?

double post

Message edited 8/13/2012 8:44:17 PM.

Re: would YOU do this?

For free camp - yes!!

Re: would YOU do this?

I could never be responsible for driving other people's children, so I personally wouldn't.

If you feel comfortable driving, you should and Save tons of $$$$$

Re: would YOU do this?

Ivy League charges waaaay more than $260 per week for camp. If you're OK with the driving it sounds like a great deal.

Re: would YOU do this?

Ivy League is a great camp! I worked for their travel division and LOVED it. Your kids will have a great summer.

Do you have your CDL license? When I was a counselor there, they requested that I have it to drive a bus. Not sure if the requirements are the same.

Re: would YOU do this?

i would work for free and send him to camp. thats a great deal in my opinion. we sent DH's 2 boys to camp this summer for the first time and they loved it and want to know if they are going again next year. i think it will be a good experience and its only 3 hours a day for you

Re: would YOU do this?

I'd do it!!

Re: would YOU do this?

I wouldnt do it. I like to have free days, 5 days a week wouldnt work for me.

Re: would YOU do this?

I would definitely do it!

Re: would YOU do this?

Not me - b/c I couldn't drive a bus full of kids around .........I couldn't drive a bus at all! I can barely handle my SUV !!

Re: would YOU do this?

Re: would YOU do this?

I wouldn't do it, five days a week cuts into Summer fun. But I personally don't like to be committed to much in the Summer, so we can do what we want, when we want.

I wouldn't work JUST so they could go to a camp that they don't really need to go to.

Re: would YOU do this?

Re: would YOU do this?

Re: would YOU do this?

I drove a bus and worked as a counselor for Ivy League. The bus route was cake. I had like 3-4 kids and I actually switched to a minivan because I had so few kids. They will give you a route that is close to where you live. I am totally contemplating doing it again when my youngest is old enough for camp.

The only negative I can think of was the one time when I was dropping them off after camp, one parent wasn't home and I had to drive the kid all the way back to the camp.

ETA: The buses are mini buses. They are pretty easy to drive. You do have to take a test though to drive it.

Message edited 8/14/2012 2:04:54 PM.

Re: would YOU do this?

I know 2 moms who do this and then bring the bus to their jobs, then do it in the afternoon. That is at Park Shore and I believe that it is for a discount, not free tuition. One thing to remember is that you will get tips as a busdriver.

I was a counselor & I always had the option to drive a bus or be a bus counselor but I never wanted to. I did not want to be responsible for driving kids especially if the weather was bad. I felt that if I got sick for a day I would be hanging people up.

There was one summer when the owner did not want to send a bus to Centerport for just one kid so I drive him in my car. The camp actually insured my car for it. That situation worked out great. I never did have to miss camp that summer so that concern was not an issue.

I'm looking at camps now and I am leaning toward one that uses drivers from a bus company b/c parent drivers are almost all so new at it.

Message edited 8/14/2012 11:10:17 PM.