Taking a Bus Trip

A city Bus Ride helps youngsters as they watch older children go to school and are sad to be left behind, or sometimes caregivers just need to get outside for daily activities, even in cold winter months. A city bus ride is inexpensive, makes children feel special, and can teach many skills.

Materials Needed:

 Bus schedule, city map, and change

What to do:

  In advance, call the bus station for the schedule, closest bus stop, cost, and rules for snacks. Many cities have all the information on-line. Public transportation is  a cheap way to explore.  Buses will often go by museums and other community stops, but you can ride just for the fun of it. Keep the trip short and give children the fare to pay themselves. Teach good bus safety habits like sitting and using a soft voice.

  Because objects might be zooming by, keep the activities simple.  Depending upon the children’s ages, search for objects of a certain color, count the number of white trucks, stop signs, traffic lights, or gas stations. Look for different shapes like squares, rectangles, rhombuses (diamonds), trapezoids, circles, octagons (stop signs) and triangles. You could also look for the alphabet.

   Teach simple economics by pointing out delivery trucks bringing goods to stores and people unloading boxes. Explain that it takes trucks, many people, and hard work to get food and merchandise in stores.

   Look for police cars, city workers, mail carriers, emergency vehicles, school buses, package delivery trucks, and explain what they are doing and that it takes many people working together to make a community.

  You can teach a little geography, too. Point out hills, rivers, highways, turns in the road, intersections, bridges, and other features. Use a route map to show children where you are and track your progress.

How will this help my child?

Children need carefree conversations that are more than directions to get dressed, eat their vegetables, brush their teeth, etc. These conversations with adults help build vocabulary to use in reading and writing.

  Conversation with young children takes a little practice, but it is absolutely essential for success in school. If adults ask children to look for things, listen for sounds, and describe what is going on, children will start asking questions and the conversation will flow.

What Other Activities Can We Do?

  Occasionally take the bus with young children to visit other places in your city like libraries, the credit union, bank, post office, museums, recycling center, public buildings, markets, religious buildings, and sport centers.

Illustration by: Mark Nowicki

For more winter activities to help your children succeed in school and have a life time of learning see the authors’ book Learning Through the Seasons in museums, bookstores, and in E-book form atSmashwords.com.