We chose to study school buses because preschoolers look forward to riding on them during field trips; we had easy access to buses, mechanic, and bus drivers; and children see them when we go to the playground.

On one of our playground excursions, a child asked how many buses there were in the bus yard. John ventured a guess of 19 to 100. This gave us a reason to count the big yellow buses, take a closer look, and begin a bus study with the children.

My goals during this long-term project were to give children the opportunity to:

• Develop skill representing details of what they see.
• Develop their ability to work together toward a goal.
• Problem solve together.
• Learn how to investigate, ask questions, and gain a greater understanding of their chosen part of the bus.
• Learn to act safety in and around school buses.

At our first class meeting, several children and the teacher related their personal experiences on school buses and city buses. Children listed anything they knew about buses, then represented their memories in clay, drawing, and stories.

We visited the bus yard several times, doing our own investigations, and consulting with Mr. Bonnes, the bus maintenance supervisor.

As our bus took shape, children encountered difficulties with each others' points of view and how to make their ideas work. They learned to problem solve together and contributed additional suggestions for improving the bus.

Please share this Memory Book with your child. The yellow pages are for adults; the white pages tell our school bus story for the children.