Song Of The Month: The Wheels On The Bus

The Wheels on the Bus, Song of the Month

I use familiar action songs in my therapy/special instruction all the time. There is just so much you can do with one song! I like to do a song of the month, so just around the time I may be getting sick of the song, I can change it.

Warm up

For little ones, take their hands and do the motions with them while you sing softly to gently stretch.

Use movement: big or small.

For added energy and movement, I like to position the child in my lap, bouncing them on my knees to create an opportunity for them to observe my mouth while I sing. Wiggly kiddos like it when I make it extra bumpy. Nervous babies prefer a smooth ride.

Adjust your vocal style to match your child’s needs.

Sing in soft tones to elicit eye contact in children with sensory sensitivity issues.

Sing in a strong voice with clapping or stomping for sensory seeking children.

I get as silly as I have to in order to keep an active 2-year old’s attention.

Imitate gestures: big and small

The most common skills I look for when I sing this song is imitation of movement and imitation of sounds. Read more about imitation of silly sounds here.

These movements, or gestures, can be as basic or as complicated as you want to make them. The classic “round and round” motion is quite challenging for a toddler so sometimes it gets modified to look more like a steering wheel rather than a roll of the arms.

“The people on the bus go up and down,” which is a great opportunity to reach up high with arms and then reach down to touch the ground.

Model opening arms as wide as possible for “Open and shut” to stretch the chest.

“Open and shut” could also be small like a clap.

Leave out a word…and wait

Once gestural imitation is mastered, the next step is usually to ask the child to imitate a sound. A strategy I use for this is to leave out a single word and then wait. “The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the… (dramatic 5-10 second pause)… town!”

At hanen.org Toby Stephan and Tamara Stein explain the value of waiting in the article, “The Waiting Game: An Essential Skill for Parents of Children with Language Delay.” (accessed April 2024)

Add Animal Sounds to keep it fresh

Sometimes, I say animals are on the bus so we can have an excuse to use animal sounds like “the dog on the bus goes woof woof woof” to mix it up.

Pass the Bus Back and Forth and Build the Anticipation

If you have a toy bus to play with, consider rolling it back and forth to each other to build circles of communication and turn taking. You can alter the song to build anticipation.

“The wheels on the bus…. (get ready to push…)…GO!” (push bus) “Round and round” (as it rolls away)

“Now its your turn, pass it to me and say “GO!!!”

In Conclusion

There are so many more fun and challenging things you can do with this song. Each child has their own set of challenges and preferences. With some creativity, one song can be adapted to meet each of these needs.

How do you play with this song? Let me know in the comments.