The Wheels on the Bus is a wonderful song for parents to show preschoolers. Parents can teach motor skills development when singing along to “The Wheels on the Bus.” They can make rolling gestures with their hands. Another motion is to pretend the parent is the bus driver and with the hands pretend to be driving a bus. With one hand and a thumb extended , the parent can say ” The bus driver says move on back.” The parent can squat a little and then stand up. ” The people on the bus go up and down.” For “The wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish,” simply make side motions with the hands. With a down motion of the hand, one can imitate a bus horn.” The horn on the bus goes beep, beep, beep.” Mom or Dad can gesture holding and rocking a baby or trying to dry the eyes. “The baby on the bus goes wah, wah, wah all through the town.” The parent can place a finger to the lips, “The mommy on the bus goes shh, shh, shh.”
Togetherness
It is a good song for kids. When the toddler learns to speak, he can sing along and repeat the hand motions. The song is easy to learn because some of the lyrics are repetitive. The lyrics can teach a kid what it is like to ride on a bus. Many children will be riding the public bus with their mommy and daddy and taking the school bus to school very shortly. Phonics is strong because the repetitiveness emphasizes the words to the song.
Variations
There are song variations that include the clink of the change going into the coin slot and doors opening and closing. There are different versions that have a spooky feel to it or an alphabet type. Another version of the song includes the dog on the bus going bow wow wow. That version has the driver, passenger, and wheels going all day long instead of all through the town. Just when you think you can’t come up with another variation, someone creates a video with numbers. Your child can name the numbers and their colors. One version includes wild animal sounds, so you can teach your child about wild animals and the sounds they make. Can you come up with original ways to present the song?
Reinforcements
In this era, the song can be emphasized through videos that bring the song to life, showing the wheels, the driver, and the passengers. There are also plenty of engaging books. One parent can hold the book while the other does the motions. When the child is able to recognize words, there will be quizzes and flash cards. There are pictures to match up to the words of the song. Some of the video variations below are a great start!
Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round Song