The Wheels on the Bus...

In our conversations about cities, Abe and Joseph mentioned they had traveled on a bus. Abe told us about coming to school by bus and Joseph takes the bus to see his grandma. 
To prompt more conversation and to add to our knowledge, we looked at two books, Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena and Christian Robinson  and The Ultimate Book of Vehicles. 

We noticed that the characters in Last Stop on Market Street were waiting out of the rain at the bus stop. This made us think about the bus shelter where our parents wait at dismissal time. In The Ultimate Book of Vehicles, the children saw several different buses, including a red double decker from London. 

Sebastian's Double Decker Bus

Using these books and a toy school bus as source material, the children chose a bus to draw. These drawings practice our new skills of drawing straight lines and rectangles. 

Each child noticed different details on the bus. Henry tried to read all the letters on the side of the school bus so he could add them to his drawing. Noah pondered, "I don't know what that light on top is for. It tells us it's stopping?"

Once the bus was drawn, some children chose to add color. A school bus is yellow with a red stop sign. A double decker bus is red. Did you know old double decker buses have a doorway at the back of the bus?

I asked the children if they had traveled on a bus. 

"We went to New York City." -Harper

"In Disney World." -Sebastian

"Going to Charlie Brown with my mom and sister." -Henry

"When the door closed I went to New York City with all my family to see Santa." -Kennedy

Lizzie's School Bus

Talking about the different parts of the bus led to an impromptu rendition of 'The Wheels on the Bus' when we spotted the windshield wipers/swishers.