It was ‘all aboard’ for learning and fun when little ones at Chilton Primary in Ramsgate took a trip on the Naughty Bus.
Children in Reception were amazed when they arrived at school to find their classroom had been ‘trashed’ by the Naughty Bus that left their classroom in a mega-muddle.
This was the perfect opportunity for them to climb on board the story of a young boy who receives a toy bus as a present and has great fun exploring the world with his new toy which turns out to be quite a naughty bus – or is it the boy being naughty?
The next part of their journey was to make up their own adventures for their own Naughty Bus to enjoy, which generated lots of interesting and fun ideas.
As part of the topic, they have also learnt about transport from the past, designed and made their own vehicles and made pictograms from information they gathered about how people travel to school.
And to reinforce their learning, the girls and boys then took their own bus trip to Ramsgate harbour – it was the first outing for them in the Chilton minibus and was a real adventure.
Assistant Headteacher Hannah Cheshire explained: “They conducted a transport survey; looked at all the different types of boats in the harbour and did some observational drawings.
“The children were so very excited to go on their first school trip, their faces were an absolute picture when they returned.
“It is so important to give them these first-hand experiences to support their learning – it was clear from their enthusiasm for their own trip and how it all tied in with their transport learning and the tale of the mischievous Naughty Bus that it was a great success.
“The story of Naughty Bus really encouraged our young readers to get really immersed in a book. Our ongoing aim at Chilton is to foster a love of reading and interpreting and understanding text from an early age.”
Naughty Bus by Jan and Jerry Oke is an unusual picture book with a story told through close-up photography and is mainly narrated by the toy bus. It cleverly inspires children’s imaginative play and is a springboard for their own play ideas.