Instead of buying your child another toy, challenge her to make one of her own! In this fun activity, your child will make her own school bus out of construction paper and assorted household materials. If she has a bus ride in her future, this toy can be used as a great tool to facilitate imaginary play and prepare her for the new experience ahead.
What You Need:
- Egg carton
- Yellow paint
- Paintbrush
- Construction paper
- Assorted recycled/household materials (bottle caps, pieces of fabric, etc.)
- Photograph of your child
- Scissors
- Glue
What You Do:
- Cut the lid off of an old egg carton. This will be the school bus. Have your little one paint the entire lid yellow.
- While the paint dries, talk about the different things she might encounter on the bus (i.e. kids, driver, backpacks, radio, steering wheel, etc.). Make a list as she mentions different items.
- Help her draw and cut out the people and items from the list. She can make some items from different household materials, such as a bottle cap for a steering wheel. Encourage her to think of what objects she would like to use for each item. This is a great chance for her to use her creativity!
- Have her glue the items on different spots around the inside of the bus.
- Don't let her forget to include herself! Help her cut out her own picture and glue it anywhere she wants on the bus.
- Now that the bus is all made, encourage her to play with it. It's an even more special toy because she made it herself!
Is your child going to be riding a real school bus soon? Use the toy to engage in imaginary play and help prepare her for the experience. Building familiarity through play will give her a sense of comfort and confidence for that first bus ride she takes!
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