School Bus Activity – Free Name Printable

This school bus activity is an excellent lesson for the start of the school year or anytime you want to practice name writing.  You can download this free printable at the bottom of the post.  It is a great school activity for a fine motor station!

​THIS SCHOOL BUS ACTIVITY WORKS ON MANY SKILLS

School crafts like this one helps kids work on the following skills:

• Fine motor skills
• Handwriting
• Visual perceptual skills
• Letter recognition
• Name recognition 

HOW DO YOU COMPLETE THIS ACTIVITY?

This is a fun way to practice name writing and talk about school buses. Here are the directions:

1. Write the student’s name in the boxes putting one letter per box. Our cute bus has the “seating capacity” for a 13-letter name.
2. The student can cut out the boxes and paste the letters in the school bus windows.
3. Another option is for the student to practice writing their name in the boxes and repeating it all on the bus windows.

This is a great way to start a conversation about school bus safety, the wearing of seat belts, and school bus rules when the children complete the worksheet.

HOW TO GET ACCESS TO THE FREE PRINTABLE

All you need to do is follow these three steps to access the printable page for preschoolers, kindergarten students, elementary and homeschool students:

1. Sign up to receive the emails from Your Therapy Source. If you already get our emails, you can enter your email in the box. You will not be subscribed twice.
2. You will be redirected to download the PDF format file of the printable activity.
3. Print the activity.

OTHER WAYS TO COMPLETE THE SCHOOL BUS ACTIVITY

Here are a few options to modify or differentiate this activity:

• Print on cardstock paper and laminate it.  Use wipe-off markers to write on the free printable.
• Make it easier by: pre-cutting the letter boxes out.  The students can just snip each letter from the strip.
• Make it more difficult by: do not provide the model name for the student.  They need to complete all the steps themselves.
• Add it as a collaborative project to your lesson plans for large groups: When everyone is done sing a school bus song (Of course you could use the classic song – The Wheels on the Bus) and bring your completed bus to hang it up on a school bulletin board.
• Add in physical activity by: cutting out all the small boxes to start.  Write everyone’s names with one letter in each box.  Place the small letters around the room.  The students have to move around the room to find all the letters in their name.  Paste it on the school bus window. 

WHY ARE THESE SKILLS IMPORTANT FOR THE CHILDREN TO PRACTICE WITH THIS FREE PRINTABLE?

Here are more details about this free printable and why the skills are important to practice.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS

Fine motor skills refer to the ability to control small muscles in the hands and fingers. For example in this activity, the children have to: use scissors to cut out the letters and use glue to paste the letters to complete this easy school bus craft.

Fine motor skills develop throughout childhood and continue to improve into adulthood. They are important for activities such as writing, typing,  cooking, and using other tools. There are many ways to improve fine motor skills, including occupational therapy, targeted exercises, and adaptive devices. Get more fine motor activity ideas.

VISUAL MOTOR SKILLS

Visual motor skills are the ability to use information from our visual system to guide our motor system. This can include skills such as catching a ball, writing, drawing, and cutting with scissors. Visual motor skills involve the coordination of both large and small muscles.

For example, in this activity the children have to: write the letters in their names, place the letters in the correct boxes and in the correct order.

Additionally, visual motor skills develop over time – infants and toddlers typically have poorer visual motor skills than school-aged children or adults.There are many ways to improve visual motor skills, such as by playing sports, engaging in crafts, or participating in other activities that require coordination and fine motor skills. Anyone can benefit from improving their visual motor skills! Get more visual motor activity ideas.

HANDWRITING

Handwriting is still an important skill especially important for young children, who are still developing their ability to form letters and fine motor skills. Handwriting can also help to boost memory and concentration. It is a wonderful form of self-expression. 

In the activity, the children are working on the following aspects of handwriting: write the letters in their name.

Whether you are writing a letter to a friend, filling out a job application, or keeping a journal, your handwriting says something about who you are. Check out all these handwriting resources.

WHEN IS A GOOD TIME TO USE THIS SCHOOL BUS ACTIVITY?

The free printable is great to use for:

• Fine Motor stations
• School bus art project
• Beginning of the Year lesson plan
• Occupational Therapy Session
• Physical Therapy Session
• Carry over activities at home
• Anytime kids need some extra motor skill practice!

MORE FREE SCHOOL BUS ACTIVITIES

You can download more fun printables for the beginning of the school year or anytime! Check out more easy school bus crafts:

School Bus Craft Free Printable

School Bus Worksheet