When we started putting the bus together, JDaniel couldn’t help singing the Wheels on the Bus song. Kids both young and old love the song and the actions that go with it. This STEM activity invites kids to decorate an old cereal box so it looks like a bus. Then they will be asked to test a collection of household objects to find the ones that will allow the bus to move.
Wheels the Bus Activity
The first thing your children will need to do is create the school bus. We happened to have a lot of bus creation materials left over from Wheels on the Bus fine motor craft I created for Pre-K Pages. You may have odds and ends in at your house or in your classroom you can use. Below you will find a list of the items we use.
Supplies
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- Foam Sheets (We used white and black sheets.)
- Black Grosgrain Ribbon
- Acrylic Paint, Yellow
- Red Metallic Foam Sheet
- Scissors
- Paint Brush
Putting the Wheels on the Bus Together
Painting
You will need to trace half of a lid twice at the bottom of the box. This will need to be done on the front and back of the bus. Then you will need to cut the half circles out to create the slots for the wheels.
Next, you will need to paint the top, front and sides of the box yellow. Your children may need to wait for the paint to dry on one side before they paint the other. Oh! You may want to glue the flaps on the box closed before painting!
Decorating the Bus
Then it is time to start decorating the bus. You can show your child the bus we made or they can totally create their own version of the bus.
We started by adding the black stripe to the bus.
Then windows, a stop sign, and wheel well accents were added to the bus.
Finding Wheels that Move
We tried using a number of different objects as the wheels for the bus. Some of them are pictured above. Here are all the objects I have thought of that you can use.
Items to Try as Wheels
- Cleaning Supply Cylinders
- Peanut Containers
- Pool Noodles
- Empty Cans
- Chip Containers
- Plastic Tubes (Thick)
Your children will have fun trying out each of the items above in pairs. They can also try one of one object and one of the other. The goal of the activity is to get the bus to move smoothly when you push it.
More Back to School Activities
Building a Bridge with Markers and Rubber Bands – Your children will create a bridge using markers, rubber bands, a yardstick, and an egg carton. One way to create the bridge is shared. I bet they will come up with others.
STEM Activities with #2 Pencils– Your children can use #2 pencils to create towers, shapes, and so much more. The best thing about building with pencils is that they don’t roll.
Moving Balls Down a Yardstick Road – Your children will use erasers, binder clips, and yardsticks to create a road. They will then explore various ways to get a variety of balls down the road.
