School Bus Pretend Play and Activities

Young children learn by imagining and doing. Imaginative play is an important component to the normal development of a child. The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas. When children engage in pretend (or dramatic) play, they learn through cooperative play to take turns and to problem solve in creative ways. It also provides opportunities to develop language, storytelling, social development, and self-regulation skills.

MOVEMEMT:
With tape create a street outline on the floor inside or outside. Define a school house area. Give one child a paper plate to use as a steering wheel. Spread out children along the bus route. Encourage the bus driver to drive the bus to each child/stop, picking up the passengers. Have the passengers hold onto each other’s shoulders and follow the bus driver to the next stop. Continue until all children have been picked up.

VARIATION:
Give each child a name tag or a label with a number or a letter. Call out a name/letter/number and have the bus driver drive to that child with that label to pick the child up.

THE WHEELS ON THE SCHOOL BUS SONG AND GAME:

Line up the chairs in your classroom so that they resemble a bus, with rows and an aisle. Let a child be the driver and let him/her sit at the front with a "steering wheel" (paper plate, etc.). Hand out a small bell for the driver to ring at each bus stop for children to enter or leave the bus.

Sing and act out the song “The Wheels on the Bus” with your students while sitting in the "bus."

The Wheels on the School Bus
(Children perform movements and sounds suggested by the words.)

The wheels on the school bus go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the school bus go round and round
All through the town.

The driver on the school bus says, "Move on back!
Move on back! Move on back!"
The driver on the school bus says, "Move on back!"
All through the town.

The children on the school bus go up and down,
Up and down, up and down.
The children on the school bus go up and down
All through the town.

More:
The horn on the school bus goes beep, beep, beep,
The wipers on the school bus go swish, swish, swish,
(Child's name) on the school bus says "Let me off!"

FREE Wheels on the School Bus Felt Story pictures and other school bus printables: