“Awareness is the greatest agent for change.”

Ekhart Tolle

It has come to College that some of our children are requiring support while travelling by bus to limit and reduce the need to bring ‘treasures’ from home.

While we encourage the children to find tasks to occupy themselves on these somewhat long journeys, we are hoping to bridge the gap between us all by providing the children with some other ideas other than ‘trading’. With reference to trading we refer to the use particularly of ‘Pokemon’ cards, which at times present images and drawings not in line with our pedagogy, but also entirely unsuitable for our youngest and most impressionable 3 and 4 year olds who use the bus.

For our younger children it is difficult for them to developmentally understand the concept of a ‘trade’. They may not quite be ready to ‘let something go’ and hardly able to comprehend that if they give something away, it may never come back! It is important that we allow space for our older children on the bus to support our younger ones, they are good at, and together I am sure we can find alternative ways to create a positive and healthy bus culture.

As a parent myself, with a child who regularly uses the bus (and also loves trading and ‘pokemon’ cards!) I understand the challenges that we face each morning, when at times we are just in a whirlwind of getting the children out the door and to the bus in time, having been fed and watered!

I hope that the following ideas can support us all in strengthening the bridge between home an school, allowing us to continue to work together as a school community.

What else can our children do on the bus?

• Read and buddy read (reading to a non-reader or a younger child)
• Finger knit or craft. Hand knitting is a suitable task for an older child.
• Make a ‘bus buddy’ for a younger child to play with on the bus. This can be a simple as a little doll made out of a peg, who can watch out of the window.
• A small notebook and pencil
• A ‘can you spot?’ challenge. Bird counts, tree counts, car spot.
• Hangman, word scramble, word search. I have made these for my own son for his bus travels and they still continue today.
• Rubix cubes
• Journal time. (For older children, travelling by bus is a great time to reflect and write)
• Mindful colouring

If you feel you need any help with supporting your child in reducing the need to ‘trade’ or bring trading cards on the bus, please do not hesitate to approach myself or your class teacher for further support.

With love and light

Sally Upchurch

On behalf of the College of Teachers and the Communications working group