Students tend to get bored while travelling for a whole hour in the school bus, to school or back to home. It is true that interesting school bus games may help them to have fun inside the bus.
While entertaining themselves, the students do not realize that they are putting school bus safety at stake. If you are a teacher, a senior student or a school bus driver, why not urge the students to play few school bus games to keep themselves occupied?
Here is a list of 15 cool school bus games to keep even the naughtiest student at bay.
1. I spy
Any number of students can play this game, though a minimum of two players is required. Students can take turns in spotting something inside or outside the bus. They can then give clues so that others can guess what they spotted.
For example, a student can say, “I spy something beginning with c.” The clue can be vague so that the student can keep other students from guessing. To play fair, the student has to mention the object they spy to another student. This can prevent them from changing the object later. The person who guesses it right can be the “spy” next.
2. Trivia
You can play trivia games with students that are related to travel or general knowledge. Students can raise their hands to answer the questions. This can also be played in teams. Two students can sit together to form a team and answer the questions. Every team that answers right will be rewarded with points.
Write down phrases or words on pieces of paper and put them in a bag. Each student can take turns to select a piece of paper from the bag. They can then give verbal clues to other students so that they can guess the word or phrase.
Students can try to complete whole alphabet in order by locating words outside the bus that starts with the letter. The word can be on a billboard, another vehicle, road signs or shops. When the second player locates the next letter, they can shout the word they see. This can be a group effort or you can make it a competition if you want.
5. 10 fingers
Each student can begin a sentence with “Never have I ever” and end it with something they have never done. Others in the group who have done the action can then put a finger down. The first person who runs out of fingers loses.
For example: a student can say, “Never have I ever eaten an apple.” Everyone who has eaten an apple can put their fingers down.
6. Name game
This is another interesting game which starts with a student choosing a name that starts with the letter “A.” The next person repeats the “A” name and adds a name that starts with “B.” The third player repeats the “A” and “B” games and adds another name that starts with “C.”
For example, by the time it is the fourth player’s turn, the name will be “AbbyBobChrisDon.” If a student misses a name in between, they are out of the game. The game continues until only one player survives.
This is a very simple game. Students can note the licence plate numbers of nearby vehicles and guess which state the vehicles belong to. While playing this game, be careful that you do not put your head and arms outside the window.
8. Tic Tac Toe
This may be a bit tough to play in a moving bus. But, it is an option when there is nothing left to play. All you need are two players, a piece of paper and a pencil. The first player can place an “X” in the grid and player two can place an “O.” The players can take turns until one player has three across.
9. Hangman
This is another interesting game where a student leaves underscores instead of writing out a word, name of a person or a place, a title of a book or a movie etc.
The second player has to guess one letter at a time. For every incorrect guess, the first player draws parts such as head, limbs and body on the hangman scaffold. The second player loses when the dead body is complete.
10. Antakshari
This is a popular Indian game. The word “Antakshari” means the last letter in Hindi. Players can divide themselves into two groups. A player in a group can sing the first four lines of a song. Now, the second group has to sing a song starting with the first letter of the last word of the song that the other team sang.
Also Read: 15 Best Bus Parking Games 2020
11. Scavenger Hunt
This game requires some preparation, planning, and organisation. One student should give the other students, a list of items. These items should be near or around the school bus. The student who first locates all items in the list wins the game.
12. The Puzzle Game
Students can play puzzle games on the school bus. One student can distribute puzzles to others and the student who solves puzzles in minimum time becomes the winner of this game.
13. Famous People
One of the students in the group should say the name of a singer, actor, or any other celebrity. If someone tells ‘Sachin Tendulkar’, the next name should start with the ending letter, that is, ‘R’. Each name cannot be repeated, which makes the game far more complicated in the next round.
Similarly to make it more difficult, you can limit the field by deciding to use live celebrities, dead celebrities, or celebrities from a particular area.
14. 20 Questions
A student can think of something and other students should guess what that is. Around 20 simple questions can be asked by other students to guess the answer. This game is usually played by a small group of students.
This will be a great game to pass time. Every student should say three things- out of this, two of them will be truths and the other one will be a lie. The other students should identify which of them are truths and which one is a lie.
16) Would you rather
A fun-filled school bus games!
These school bus games needs at least two persons. You can play this with your friend or other bus members. This game helps to break the ice between two people.
One of the partners needs to ask a series of questions considering two different scenarios.
For example,” Would you rather eat a spicy chilly or take a hot bath under the sun?
Not answering is not an option in this game.
This game is sure to have a lot of fun among students.
17) Say your ABC’s
Start with the letter” A”, Lookout of the window and search for a thing, building, sign or landmark that begins with this letter. Finish the game until the letter “Z” is reached. This way lets you enjoy the scenery and it also improves your memory skills.
These school bus games can be played with any number of students who can also form groups.
Also Read: 20 Smart Brain Games For Kids
Rocking out your favorite tune is always interesting during a bus trip. You can start humming the tune of your favorite song and let your friends identify the song. You can make this more interesting and appealing by giving some clues.
Your friends can also dance to the tunes to make the game funny.
19) Frame a story
Form groups of four or five friends. One of you can start a story with four words; the next one can add four more words to the story, then the next person after that.
Add some pressure to the game by setting a time limit, a theme, a place of action, during a specific time, etc.
Don’t be shy to come up with your ideas and imaginations. See how long does the story moves, before someone gets bumped.
20) I’m going on a …
This game is best for preschoolers for memorizing alphabets. The first player can say “I am going for a picnic bringing …”, name anything that starts with letter ‘A’, like (apples), the next one can say something with ‘B’, thus the game continues until players cannot name something that starts with the next letter.
The game can also be played with -” I am going to school”, “I am going to work” or I am going on vacation”.
21) Chain Game
An oldie but a goodie.
You can play this game with your friends. First choose some interesting topics like TV shows, celebrities, artists, brands, etc.
Then, select any one category, for example, if you have chosen TV shows, you might say Game of Thrones, so the second player should say a TV show starting with ‘T’. Game continues until players are eliminated when they can’t answer.
22) Can You Guess Who I Interviewed?
Students can interview their seatmates and write four sentences about them on a piece of paper. Don’t write the name or physical appearance. All papers should be hand over to the team leader. He/she should read each student’s interview paper aloud and other students should find who it is about.
23) Kiss the kids
Let all the kids be seated. An elder one/teacher can ask funny or GK questions. If anyone knows the correct answer they should raise hands. The one who answers correctly will receive a Hershey’s Kisses.
24) Candy Game
Distribute different types of candies among students so that each one can have five candies.
Here is the hard part- they can’t eat it yet!
Next, hold up a board discussing what students must share to eat each candy.
For example-To eat Snickers, they should tell about their summer memories.
To keep the game simple, distribute M&M’s or Skittles so that each color can have a topic to speak about.
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