LIFE

Origami Originals

Print out instructions to make your fave origami animals or shapes, and bring pretty paper with you to school. Then you can get creative on the way home, and make cute prezzies for all your pals. Just be sure to bring some extra paper, in case your bus mates get inspired and wanna make art, too.

Criss-Crossed

Keep your mind from being bored by doing crosswords, word searches and Sudoku. You can get a little book of puzzles, or you can download some puzzle apps.

Picture Perf

If you can safely bring your camera (or a camera phone) to school, you can amuse yourself and your besties by turning your bus seat into a photo booth. Just remember that your photos don’t have to be star quality. Get as silly as you want, or be as artsy as you want. Whatever it takes to make things interesting, right?

Read, Read, Read

The easiest way to amuse yourself on the bus is to read. Doesn’t matter if it’s the comics from this morning’s newspaper, a huge novel or a cookbook – just pack something that’ll transport your mind to somewhere other than that hot, noisy bus.

Hair Tricks

Grab the gal sitting next to you, and try out some braiding techniques on each other. Maybe you need to perfect your French braid, or you can teach her how to do a really cute bun. You’ll get home lookin’ nicer than when you left!

Get to Work

Not to sound like your mom or anything, but have you considered doing homework on the way to your house? That’s probably not your first pick right after a long day of classes, but since you’re stuck sittin’ around anyway, you might as well get something done. And then you can relax and have fun when you get home, instead of leaving that algebra hangin’ over your head.

Go Fish

If you’re lucky enough to be sittin’ with one or two of your pals on the bus, you can bring something to amuse everyone. Stick a pack of cards in your backpack, and on the way home, see how many card games you and your friends know. Maybe some other kids will join in, too – the more the merrier!

Rest Up

Your eyelids were super heavy during English class, but ya couldn’t miss going over notes for the test tomorrow. Well, bus rides are the perf time for you to catch up on your beauty sleep, chica. Just make sure you’ve got someone there to poke you when your stop comes up!

Not Just for Cars

All those car games that your fam plays on long trips can be just as fun on a bus. In fact, they might even be more interesting with some new perspectives from kids your own age. So see who’s up for a few rounds of the Alphabet Game or “I Spy” to pass the time.

Art For All Ages

Coloring books might seem like a babyish thing to do, but they can actually be really fun if you get one that you like. So throw a Disney coloring book and some crayons into your backpack, and see if you still remember how to stay in the lines! Too cool for kiddie books? Pack a sketch book and perfect your own doodles.

by Carrie Ruppert | 2/1/2016