Preschool Lessons: School Bus Safety for Kids

As preschool children are just becoming confident with their jumping, hopping and skipping for the beginning of school, they also are learning to maneuver their way through the aisle and up and down the big steps of a school bus. For some it may be fun and for other children it may be scary. Help ease the fears and anxieties of the children by presenting some of these ideas to your class.

National School Bus Safety Week is an annual event held during the third week of October. It's a time when parents, bus drivers, school administrators, teachers, and students join forces to teach and address the importance of safety on or around school busses.

Set Up a Bus Orientation

Prior to school (if possible) or during the first week of school, familiarize the children with the bus, the drivers, and rules of the road. Hold a bus orientation with the children and their parents, inviting them to meet the bus drivers and view the school bus. This is the time to explain the rules and regulations that are to be followed at your school. Have demonstrations showing the proper bus behavior and manners. Practice what to do at bus stops and demonstrate emergency exiting. If possible, have a practice ride in the neighborhood.

Make Bus Tags

Create school bus tags together so children do not forget their bus number. Cut bus shapes from yellow construction paper. Let the children decorate the tags with crayons and markers. The teacher (or adult helper) can write the child's full name, address, and bus number on each tag with a permanent black marker. These tags can be pinned on the child's shirt at dismissal and ask the parents to return the tags each morning in the child's school bag.

Classroom Bulletin Board

Draw several large bus shapes that will correspond to the busses the children ride daily. Write the number or identification on the bus. Attach these to the bulletin board. Give each child a small circle shape and ask them to draw their face on it with crayons. When finished, mount the faces on the window areas of the bus they ride.

School Bus Art

Invite the children to make their own school bus our of a folded piece of construction paper. Have the kids draw, color, and cut out the bus (but do not cut through the fold of the paper). Very young children may need your help with this task. Challenge the children to add their specific bus number to the front of the bus shape and draw faces in each window. Stand the buses up on a table.

Bus Riding Songs

Teach the children some songs that will help them feel good about riding the bus. One of the favorites is the traditional song, "The Wheels on the Bus." Try changing the words to this song to suit that of a school bus. Here are a few examples, however the children may think of some new ones.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

Round and round, round and round.

The wheels on the bus go round and round,

All the way to school.

The doors on the bus open and close...

The driver on the bus says "Good morning to you"...

The flashers on the bus go on and off...

The children on the bus giggle and laugh...

School bus safety for kids is so important, not only during the beginning of the school year, but all year round. Download the Illinois School Bus Safety Program for Pre-K and grades K-8 for safety rules, lesson plans and coloring sheets. You may also want to check out the website for The National Association for Pupil Transportation.

Source:
First Teacher Magazine - September/October Vol.13 No. 5