School is back in session, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to stop! Here are our favorite back to school themed activities.
Arts & Crafts Activities
Construction Paper Bus: Cut shapes for the bus out of construction paper or white paper or cardboard (color with crayons or markers). Discuss what the shapes represent and where they might fit on the yellow bus. Sing “Wheels on the Bus” song. Talk about big vs. little circles. Write the name of your child’s school on the side of the bus. Put his/her photo in the window. Talk about riding the bus to school. Discuss feelings your child may have about going to school.
Torn Paper Apples: Cut an apple shape out of paper or cardboard. Help your child to tear red and green paper into smaller pieces and use a glue stick to attach the paper to the apple. Add a green worm. Discuss the shape and colors of the apple. Have several apples handy to feel and taste. Are they smooth, bumpy, cold, warm, crunchy, sweet, tart, juicy, big, little, heavy, light? Cook the apple and make applesauce. Add cinnamon or red hots candy to your applesauce if you like.
Snack Time
Butterfly Snack: Provide a few pinch clothespins and let your child decorate the outside with puffy paint, crayons, markers, glitter or whatever you have. Put some googly eyes on the butterflies and then let them dry completely. Cut a pipe cleaner and make it look like an antennae and you’re done. Fill a snack bag with whatever cereal and dried fruit your child likes. Pinch the bag and antennae and then clip with the clothespin. Pack in lunch box or save for snack time.
Apple Smile Snack: Cut two thin slices of apple, nectarine or peach. Spread with peanut butter and place mini marshmallows into the mouth for teeth.
Songs & Poems
The wheels on the bus go round & round, round and round, round and round.
The wheels on the bus go round & round, all through the town.
The people on the bus go up and down…
The horn on bus goes beep, beep, beep
The wipers on the bus go swish, swish…
The signals on the bus goes blink, blink, blink goes
The motor on the bus goes zoom zoom zoom
The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah…
The parents on the bus go shhh, shhh, shhh…
The mommies on bus says I love you
Way up high in the apple tree,
Two little apples smiled at me.
I shook that tree as hard as I could.
Down came the apples.
Mmm, mmm good!
Book Suggestions
How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?