Bus-y indoor family fun

Fun things to do around the house

Looking for some indoor family fun to keep yourself and the kids entertained this half term? Running out of ideas for things to do at home? We’re here to help!

Our team has put together a list of 5 fun activities to do indoors. Spark your little ones imagination with our indoor crafts and games below and share your pictures with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

1. Playdough fun!

Design your own bus using playdough and our bus activity mat. Simply print it off onto some paper and away you go. You can use playdough, slime, or any other  figures/toys you already have at home.

Quick tips -

• If you don’t have playdough at home, learn how to make your own here.
• Cling film over the top of the mat to make it reusable - the mat can then be used over and over again!
  

Download the bus playdough mat

2. Bus role play pack

Spark your little ones imagination with our bus role play pack. Use the tickets, timetables and playing cards to help you create a stimulating, creative and educational bus activity. 

Bus role play - scenarios: 

• Asking questions like ‘How much is a ticket?’, ‘Where is XXX?’
• Role play at being a bus driver or a passenger.
• Practice waving to signal to a driver that you want the bus to stop. What do you do when you get on board the bus?
• What do you do when you get off the bus?  (Ring the bell, thank the driver, wait at a suitable location)

Download the bus role play pack

3. Get creative using a cardboard box!

There are so many things you can do with a simple cardboard box. Make a bus, car, shop or let your imagination run wild and create a castle that needs defending from a dragon. The possibilities are endless!

This activity will not cost a penny - just your creative inspiration and time. If the box is really big you can even climb inside! 

You will need: 

• Any size cardboard box

Instructions:
Simply use pens or paints to make your cardboard box into a bus, car, shop or anything else you can come up with.

4. Create a family bus adventure

Use our activity sheet to draw your family and friends then seat them on the bus. Create your faces and stick them on board our bus picture, then colour it all in. Who will you pick to get the top deck front row seat?

Quick tip - This also doubles up as a perfect homemade lockdown gift for socially distanced family members too!

Download the colour your own bus and passengers sheet

5. Make a bus jar light

To keep spirits up with little ones during lockdown, keep the magic alive and try making a bus jar light ! It’s super fun to make, and they look amazing once you’ve made them. 

You will need: 

• Empty jar
• Tea light
• Marker pens

Instructions:

Use markers to draw a bus front on the jar - if it is a large jar, try drawing the back of the bus too! You will need to colour in the bus but leave the headlights on the bus clear, this is so that light can shine through them when you have finished.

When you are happy with the colour and design of your bus, place a tea light in the jar and get an adult to light the tea light. You now have your very own bus jar light!

Bus-tastic tip 

• Always be careful when using tea lights or candles.  Please make sure an adult is present and never leave them unattended. 
• Personalise the blinds on the bus with your name, favourite place or something personal.

Once you’ve had a go at some of our indoor family activities pop them into your front window to brighten up someone's day when they walk or drive past - we love to see bus art!

If that all seems like too much effort for a rainy day or indoor half term activity then why not plan a movie night in instead? Day out with kids! have compiled a list of over 50 movies for you to choose from. Simply grab the snacks and the family then gather in front of the tv for some much needed quality together time. 

If you have any more suggestions, or have had a go at an activity off our bus-y list, we would love to hear about it! Share your pictures on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.