Bus Learning Activities

April 18, 2023 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Here’s another fun holiday you’ve never heard of: April 25 is school bus driver day. It’s as good a day as any to celebrate the drivers who get our kiddos wherever they need to go, but it’s also a fun time to bring out some activities related to buses. These are also great for back to school time.

I’m sure you’ve sung the “Wheels on the Bus” song a million times in your career as a parent or teacher. These printables make it easier and even more fun for little ones to learn and sing along. Print out the pictures and mount them on sticks and the whole classroom (or busload of kids) can see exactly where you are in the song. These come from Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds.

If your kiddos need some reminders about bus safety, check out these ideas (accompanying printables are available from Teachers Pay Teachers) from Teach with Me.

This bus-themed measurement activity from 123 Homeschool 4 Me is a great way to show kids that you don’t always have to measure with a ruler. It uses cubes to measure buses of different sizes, but you could use other units of measure you have handy as well.

Or use your counting bears to count out how many bears go on the bus with these printables from ABCs of Literacy.

Match upper and lower case letters on the front and back of a bus with the cute printables from Preschool Play and Learn. Work on recognition of a few letters at a time or match the whole alphabet for older kids.

Practice color identification by matching kids with the same color shirt to the bus with that colors stripe with these printables from Tot Schooling.

And if you’re looking for some school bus crafts, check out this roundup from A Little Pinch of Perfect. Or grab some of these activities (some are crafts, some not) from Sea of Knowledge.

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Fall Sensory Ideas for Kids

A few years ago I shared some pumpkin themed sensory activities for kids, but I wanted to get a little more general and do some fall sensory ideas that can take you from Halloween al the way to Thanksgiving.

Playdough is a classic sensory activity, especially if kids can help make it, too. These playdough recipes from The Montessori Twin Mama are fall colored and scented with cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and apple pie spice (I honestly don’t know what the difference is!). Or try this fun maple playdough from Happy Toddler Playtime.

Throw together some cookie cutters, googly eyes and other fun things to make an easy fall playdough tray (similar to what I did on this Halloween playdough activity).

How about some fall themed slime? Natural Beach Living gave a basic slime recipe a fall twist with food coloring and glitter. Leaf shaped sequins make it even more fun. Little Bins for Little Hands also has a cinnamon slime, which is great for fall but can also carry you all the way through Christmas.

Raising Wild Things Sensory has some great easy to make fall themed sensory bottles, which you can add fall things to, or pompoms or whatever kind of I spy items you might want to include. They also have a fun apple moon sand sensory bin that has me wondering if you could add something scented to moon sand (I always hated the smell!).

And of course there are all kinds of sensory bins you can make for fall. I like this apple picking one from Happy Toddler Playtime that uses fake leaves and little apple toys. It has the added challenge of trying to pick the apples up through a mesh of branches — kind of like a low-tech game of Operation!

You can also do a short-lived sensory bin with real leaves, or use any kind of beans, brown rice, oats or lentils to make your base. Some more great ideas can be found at Fab Everyday. Their post includes some specific Halloween and Thanksgiving themed sensory bins, too.

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