Have you ever wondered why school busses are yellow? Do kids in other countries ride school busses to get to school? To hear the answers to these questions and more fun facts about school busses, listen to the new episode of Cozy Rainbow Podcast!

Jingle Dress Dancing, A Gift From the Ojibwe Tribe – Cozy Rainbow Podcast

Discover the history and meaning behind Jingle Dress Dancing, a healing tradition gifted to the world by the Ojibwe Tribe. In this episode of the Cozy Rainbow Podcast, host Tammy Haddad talks with Mahala Sutherland, a professional jingle dress dancer from the Navajo Nation. Mahala shares how she was introduced to powwows, the story of the first jingle dress, and what makes each dress unique—right down to its hidden leap-year cone. We also learn about her historic win as the first Indigenous homecoming royalty at Southern Utah University and her work bringing Native American dance education to schools across the country. Episode originally published on August 14, 2022.Perfect for classrooms, cultural events, or anyone curious about Native American dance, powwows, and Indigenous traditions.Teachers Pay Teachers Store: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Sellers-Im-Following/Add/Cozyrainbow

“Skoolie” is a word for a school bus that some adventurous soul decided to turn into a home. That means, they ripped out all the seats and put furniture, a bed and maybe even a kitchen inside! While most kids just ride busses to school, some grow up to live inside of a school bus, just like Ms. Frizzle from Magic School Bus.

Fun Facts About School Busses:

• School busses are yellow because yellow is the most visible color for moving vehicles. The color yellow on a giant bus lets drivers know “there are kids here! Drive safe!”
• The person who holds the world record for longest career as a school bus driver is Carl Fischer, who drove for 66 years.
• In Australia, kids use regular public transportation to get to school.
• In Japan, there are very cute school busses for kindergarteners that are shaped as kids’ characters like Pikachu, Hello Kitty and Thomas the Tank Engine!

• The name for a school bus that has been converted into a living space is a “Skoolie.” People who live in skoolies generally love travelling and meet up at an event called Skooliepalooza!

• School busses use diesel fuel, although, 38 states (as of 2022) use electric school busses now!
• Skoolies can be eco-friendly too, because most people choose to put solar panels on top of their skoolies so they can live anywhere and still have power.

Creative Challenge

This week’s creative challenge is to draw and design a skoolie! AKA, a school bus to live in! Skoolies come in all shapes and colors, so be sure to let creativity shine in submissions. We will talk about our favorite submissions on our September 4th episode of Cozy Rainbow Podcast! To view submission information, visit the Creative Challenges for Kids page!