. Consider discussing some of the questions below with your child.

How did Arnold feel at the beginning of the episode about the changes happening at his school, like his new teacher? By the end of the episode, how did he feel about these changes, and why do you think that was? Do you remember a time that something in your life changed? What happened, and how did you feel? Do you think changes can be a good thing?

Do you remember when Arnold admitted to Ms. Frizzle that he had brought the plant to the Galapagos that took over the island? How do you think he felt when he had to admit that it had been him who had created this problem? Do you think it’s important to admit when you’ve done something wrong?

This episode covers the scientific concept of 

. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about ecosystems, and to continue their learning if they’re interested in the topic. You could:

Go on a walk around your neighborhood, at a nearby park, or on a local nature trail, and make a list of the living things you see including plants and animals. Ask your child how they think the plants and animals might be connected (i.e. what might eat what).

Check out Scholastic’s online videos on 

Kids looking for even more detail about ecosystems may enjoy Hank Green’s Crash Course Youtube videos on 

In “Frizzle of the Future,” Ms. Frizzle has earned her PhD and her younger sister Fiona Frizzle takes over as the class’s science teacher, leaving Arnold and the other students to adjust to some changes of the new school year. The episode covers the scientific concept of ecosystems and invasive species, in addition to exploring themes including 

Arnold and the rest of the students arrive to school after the summer to find that their teacher Ms. Frizzle is being replaced by her younger sister, Ms. Fiona Frizzle, because she received her PhD and is becoming a professor. Arnold doesn’t like change, and he becomes uneasy with all of the changes that are happening. He’s upset when the new Ms. Frizzle puts her plant in the same spot the old Ms. Frizzle used to put her mug, and he takes the plant and puts it in his bag.

The group takes a field trip to the Galapagos Islands and Galapagos Gil tells them about ecosystems and how living things within the ecosystem rely on each other for energy. He also explains invasive species, telling them how new species that come in could take over the ecosystem because the existing plants and animals don’t have defenses against it.

Before they leave the Galapagos, Arnold leaves behind the plant he took from Ms. Frizzle’s desk, and it starts growing rapidly in the ground after he walks away.

Arnold is concerned that the new Ms. Frizzle will be an invasive species in the class’s ecosystem, so the group travels to the future to see what will happen. 30 years into the future, the class’s ecosystem is fine, but they learn that there’s been a crisis in the Galapagos due to the plant that Arnold left acting as an invasive species there.

The new Ms. Frizzle is concerned that she accidentally brought the invasive plant to the island, and eventually Arnold confesses that it was actually him who brought it. The group goes back in time to the day he brought the plant to the island, and they wrestle the plant back in the pot before it has the chance to take over the island.

At the end of the episode, Arnold concludes that some change can be good, like the new teacher.

Professor Frizzle

The original Ms. Frizzle has earned her PhD, and leaves her younger sister Fiona to take over the science class while she jets off to explore the universe.

Ms. Frizzle

The original Ms. Frizzle’s younger sister, Fiona Frizzle takes over the science class with a similarly spunky and magical flare.

Galapagos Gil

The guide the class meets when they visit the Galapagos Islands who shows them around and explains how invasive species can throw off the ecosystem’s balance.

Arnold

One of the students in the class, Arnold is resistant to change and thinks at first that all changes are bad. During the episode, he learns that some changes - like the new teacher - can be good.

Join Ms. Frizzle and her class on magical adventures that teach scientific concepts in addition to social and emotional themes like working together and having a growth mindset.

Curiosity

Working Together

Growth Mindset

The Magic School Bus Rides Again

Season 1

Honesty

Adjusting to Change

Frizzle of the Future

 to play on the Celebrity Super Stumpers game show in front of his idol Nicki Ray. We encourage you to talk to your child about being brave and overcoming nerves, and you may choose to ask them some of the questions below.

Do you remember how Tim felt when he found out he was going to be on the game show? Why do you think he felt that way? How do you think he felt at the end after he solved the puzzle?

Have you ever felt nervous or afraid to do something? What happened, and how did you feel? What do you think you can do in the future if you feel nervous?

We encourage you to ask your child about what they learned in this episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they’re interested in learning more.

Try out some hands-on fossil activities featured 

Learn more about the types of fossils and how they’re formed in 

Learn more about Pangaea and plate tectonics in 

In “The Land Before Tim,” Ms. Frizzle takes the class on a journey through time to learn about fossils and the movement of the continents to prepare for their upcoming appearance on a game show. This episode explores themes including 

, and we encourage you to ask your child if they remember a time that they’ve been nervous like Tim was before his game show appearance.

Tim amazes the class when he completes a rubik's cube-esque puzzle in a matter of seconds while blindfolded and on a balance board. Ms. Frizzle has arranged for him to lead the class’s team on an upcoming episode of a puzzle game show called Celebrity Super Stumpers, but Tim is nervous that he won’t succeed in front of his idol and the host of the game show, Nicki Ray.

Ms. Frizzle announces that the theme of their game show episode will be fossils, and Tim panics that he doesn’t know anything about fossils. Ms. Frizzle brings the group on the magic school bus back in time the Triassic period to learn about fossils firsthand. As they look down at the Earth from their bus that’s flying high in the sky, they can see that all of the continents are merged into one land mass, Pangaea.

The students are all transformed into various animals, and Ms. Frizzle speeds up through time so they can experience the process of becoming fossils. As they progress through time, they also see how Pangaea breaks up and the plates of the Earth move around and carry fossils that were once right next to each other to different parts of the globe.

With their new knowledge of fossils, the class arrives for their episode of Celebrity Super Stumpers. Tim’s nerves become even more extreme when the theme of the episode is announced as maps - not fossils. In the end, though, Tim realizes that the map of Pangaea is the answer to the clue, and the fits together the puzzle pieces of the other continents to form it, bringing the team a victory.

A student in Ms. Frizzle’s class, Tim is an avid puzzle-solver, but becomes nervous before his appearance on a puzzle game show because he’s afraid he won’t do well. With the help of his classmates and Ms. Frizzle’s lesson, he successfully cracks the game show puzzle and leads his team to victory.

Ms. Frizzle encourages Tim when he becomes nervous, assuring him that he’ll do well on the game show. She brings the class on a field trip through time to prepare them for the competition.

Season 2

Overcoming Nerves

The Land Before Tim

In this episode, the class has to overcome communication problems of their own as they learn about the way that trees communicate with each other. We encourage you to use this an opportunity to discuss kind and effective communication with your child, and you may choose to use some of the questions below in your conversation.

Early in the episode, the class got in an argument about whether or not trees could talk and they ended up turning their backs on one another in silence. Do you remember why they got in the argument? Do you think there could’ve been another way for them to talk out their differences without fighting?

What did you think about Ralphie and Tim’s arguments about trees talking? Do you think they were being kind to one another?

Do you remember when Tim called Ralphie a “scaredy-tree”? How do you think this made Ralphie feel? Do you think it’s nice to call people names?

This episode also covers lessons around the way trees and other plants communicate with one another. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about trees in this episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they’re interested in learning more.

 from TED-ED to learn more about how plants communicate with one another

Watch some fascinating demonstrations of plant communication through electrical signals in 

In “Tim and the Talking Trees,” the class heads to the forest to settle an argument around whether or not trees can talk, and they learn about the signals trees and other plants use to communicate. A prominent theme in this episode is 

, and we encourage you to ask your child about how they think Tim and Ralphie each felt when they argued with one another.

Tim is telling the class a story about the baobab tree, which is also known as the talking tree. Ralphie claims that he doesn’t believe baobab trees can actually talk, and some other students also are skeptical about using the talking trees as their entry for the “Crazy but True” science fair award because it might not be true. Tim insists that everything in the forest communicates.

The students in the class end up getting in an argument about the issue and turning their backs on one another and refusing to talk it out. Ms. Frizzle comes in and reads their body language, explaining how she sees that their feelings have been hurt. She points out that a lot can be communicated without talking, like with body language.

Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the forest to find out whether trees really do talk. The students fly around in pods in pairs, and use translate buttons in their pods to listen and talk to animals. Tim and Carlos find a bear, and see that the bear knows where to go to find berries to eat on bushes. When they join back up with the group and watch the bear eating berries, Ms. Frizzle explains that the raspberry bushes send scent signals to bears that they’re ready to be eaten.

Ralphie remains skeptical that the plants are communicating, and he and Tim go in a pod together to look for other examples. This time, they use the translate button to interpret chemical signals that plants are sending out. They see grass that sends a signal when it gets eaten by an insect that makes the insect leave, and they see a flower that uses color and scent to entice a bee to come pollinate it.

Ralphie still insists that trees can’t talk, and he and Tim argue about it again. Ms. Frizzle gives the students devices to turn into whatever animal or plant they want, and Tim asks Ralphie to turn into a tree with him to settle their debate. When Ralphie says he doesn’t want to, Tim calls him a “scaredy-tree.” Appearing mad that he’s been called this name, Ralphie does end up turning himself into a tree, and Tim does too.

When Tim becomes a tree, he realizes that he can’t use words to talk to the other trees around him. He watches Ralphie in the distance as a swarm of bugs comes and starts attacking him, and he feels bad that he made them become trees.

As a swarm of bugs start eating him, Ralphie releases a chemical signal into their air that he’s being attacked by aphids. A swarm of bees, including his classmates Keesha and Wanda who have become bees, smells the signal and comes over, scaring away the aphids. Though the bees are gone, Ralphie’s energy is zapped, and Tim knows they need to help him.

Arnold has become a mushroom, and is sitting by Tim’s trunk. He can communicate with Tim through his root-like mycelia that are touching Tim’s roots, and he tells Tim that all of the trees in the forest are actually connected through these mycelia. Tim sends a message to the other trees that Ralphie needs help, and then Ms. Frizzle, who’s also a tree, sends signals for each of the trees to send Ralphie some of their resources through the mycelia network.

Ralphie gets his energy back, and the class realizes that the trees in the forest are all taking care of one another and communicating through their chemical signals and through the network in the ground. Though they don’t use words the way we do, trees do talk after all.

Tim argues with his classmate Ralphie in this episode over whether or not trees can talk, but he feels bad for fighting with Ralphie when he sees him get attacked by bugs after they turn themselves into trees.

Ralphie

When Tim tells the class about the talking baobab trees, Ralphie argues that he doesn’t believe trees can talk. He remains stubborn in this belief for much of the episode, but after becoming a tree he learns that they can communicate through chemical and underground signals.

The class’s science teacher, Ms. Frizzle helps members of the class communicate more effectively in this episode when they’re arguing, like by naming their emotions when they get upset with one another and stop talking.

Communication

Tim and the Talking Trees

In this episode, D.A. is at first distraught when she causes her Uncle Axel’s machine to explode, but she doesn’t give up. We encourage you to talk to your child about 

 when things don’t go the way you planned, and consider using some of the questions below as a starting point.

What happened when Uncle Axel’s brown gold machine exploded? How did D.A. respond, and how do you think she felt? Why do you think she decided not to give up? How did it go?

Can you remember a time when things didn’t go the way you planned? What happened, and what did you do? How did you feel?

This episode also taught the audience about the nutrient cycle. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned in this episode, and consider exploring the following resources if they’re interested in learning more.

Did you know that composting your food could create nutrient-rich soil for your own garden? Check out 

 from FullTimeKid to get started, then create a DIY composter for your own home.

Learn more about how the nutrient cycle relates to growing plants in 

In this musical episode, “Waste Not, Want Not,” the class learns about the nutrient cycle - and the role that waste plays in it - in their efforts to create “brown gold” to provide nutrients to D.A.’s flowers. One theme explored in this episode is 

The class is preparing for a musical with the theme “flower power,” and D.A. tells the class about the orchids she’s been growing. When they go to visit the orchids, though, they’re all drooping and dead. D.A. is confused because she’s given them the cleanest soil and water possible, so she doesn’t know why they aren’t growing well.

The class pays a visit to D.A.’s Uncle Axel, who tells D.A. that her plants need fertilizer to provide nutrients. He’s created a machine that can provide just what they need - “brown gold” - but he tells her that they need something to put into the machine to start. She promises that they’ll get him whatever the machine needs, but she appears understandably concerned when he tells her the material required is actually animal waste - aka poop.

D.A. appears embarrassed as she tries to tell the class what the raw material for the machine is, but Ms. Frizzle sings a song that encourages the class not to be disgusted or embarrassed by it - after all, every living thing does it.

Ms. Frizzle takes the class to the savannah where they shrink down to explore a pile of elephant waste. They see small organisms - from butterflies to fungi - eating and absorbing nutrients from it, and Ms. Frizzle explains the nutrient cycle through another lively song.

Curious about where their own waste goes when they flush it down the toilet, the class rides the bus through the sewer to a sewage treatment plant. After passing through a filtering screen and a whirlpool, they land in a pile of sludge that’s been separated from the water. They load a bunch of the sludge, made up of concentrated solid waste, onto the bus and head back to Uncle Axel.

D.A. is excited to make brown gold, but when she starts pumping the sludge into Uncle Axel’s machine it quickly becomes overloaded and bursts creating an explosion of waste. The machine is destroyed, and D.A. apologizes, stating that she’s ruined everything. Still, she doesn’t want to give up.

The sludge has already been somewhat broken down, but they still need bacteria to ferment it. With Uncle Axel’s machine ruined, they use the bus instead to turn the sludge into biosolid pellets. They use the pellets to give D.A,’s orchids the nutrients they need, and in the end they put on a successful flower power musical and sing a song about the nutrient cycle.

In this episode, Ms. Frizzle encourages the class not to be disgusted by animal waste, and she shows them how nutrients from waste are actually used to help other living things flourish in the nutrient cycle.

Dorothy Ann (D.A.)

When D.A.’s flowers aren’t growing she becomes enthusiastic about the potential of waste to create brown gold for them in her uncle’s machine. She becomes distraught when she accidentally overloads his machine and it breaks, and for a moment she fears that she’s ruined everything. She refuses to give up, though, and ultimately her flowers get the nutrients they need.

Uncle Axel

D.A.’s scientist and inventor uncle, Uncle Axel has spent years creating a machine that can create “brown gold” to give D.A.’s orchids the nutrients they need to grow, but the machine requires animal waste (aka poop) to use as the raw material.

Perseverance

Waste Not, Want Not

Some of the students don’t seem to like Janet because of her intense personality, but they find out that these traits are caused by nervousness that developed during her life. We encourage you to use this as an opportunity to discuss 

 with your child, and consider asking them some of the questions below.

Do you remember why Carlos didn’t want to lead the kindergartener’s story time with Janet? How do you think he felt about the way she was acting?

What do you think about Janet’s personality? Why do you think she acted that way? What would you do if you met someone who acted like that?

This episode also teaches the audience about DNA, genes, and heritable traits. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about DNA in this episode, and consider exploring these resources if they’re interested in learning more.

Learn more about DNA and genetic traits, and hear about the Human Genome Project, in 

Explore your own genetics with some of the kids’ genetics activities 

In “Janet’s Mystery Gene,” the class takes a field trip into Arnold’s cousin Janet’s body to learn about DNA and search for the gene causing her nervousness, but they learn that this part of her personality wasn’t caused by a gene after all. One theme in this episode is empathy, and we encourage you to ask your child whether they think Janet was misunderstood by the rest of the children.

Carlos enters the room appearing upset, and tells the class that he’s been paired with Arnold’s cousin, Janet, for his upcoming trip to read a story to a kindergarten class. The class knows Janet to be “bossy,” “sarcastic,” and “difficult,” but Arnold tries to tell them that she only acts that way to cover up her nervousness. Janet enters the classroom and tells Carlos she wants to read the kindergarteners a book about her own life.

Miss Frizzle brings the class on a field trip inside Janet so they can take a look at her heart. They see that her heart seems fine, so they need to dig deeper to see what’s behind her personality. Ms. Frizzle shrinks them down further so they can enter a cell and investigate her DNA.

Miss Frizzle tells the class about DNA, the code that makes every living thing who they are. She explains that it influences physical characteristics in addition to some personality traits, like nervousness. Because Arnold and Janet are both nervous people, they think it might be caused by a gene, and they set out to find Janet’s nervous gene so they can change it.

Miss Frizzle turns the bus into a CRISPR train and they travel along the DNA strands, scanning it for various traits. They start going too fast, and the bus starts tearing apart the DNA causing it to reassemble itself. Meanwhile, the class can see Janet’s traits changing, and she starts turning into different animals. They see that different animals actually have a lot of DNA in common, but they differ in the pattern of some of their DNA bases.

The class uses Arnold as a template to repair Janet’s DNA, but when they finish they see that Janet has freckles even though she didn’t before. Miss Frizzle teaches the class about dominant and recessive traits to show them how Janet could have no freckles even though both of her parents have them. They find the dominant freckles gene in Janet’s DNA and replace it with the no freckles gene.

Janet is about to walk in to read to the kindergarteners, but her voice is suddenly far too deep. The class has to hurry to fix her DNA to help get her back to normal. Janet is now back to her normal self, but they never found the nervous gene.

Carlos joins Janet in the kindergarten class, and explains to Janet that they couldn’t find the nervous gene. Janet tells him that she didn’t start becoming nervous until a bad experience in her life, and it turns out that this part of her personality wasn’t due to her genetics after all. Carlos encourages her to be nice, and she shows him that she can be nice with the kindergarteners.

Carlos

A student in Ms. Frizzle’s class, Carlos is excited to read to the kindergarteners, but he’s upset when he gets paired with Janet who he thinks is “difficult.” He wants to change one of her genes to make her easier to work with, but he doesn’t understand what’s really causing that part of her personality until later in the episode.

Janet

A cousin of Miss Frizzle’s student Arnold, Janet has a reputation for being self-centered and bossy, but we learn that these characteristics are caused by her nervousness that arose from a bad event in her life.

The class’s science teacher, Miss Frizzle takes Carlos and the rest of the class on a field trip inside Janet’s body to learn about DNA and search for the gene responsible for Janet’s nervousness.

Empathy

Differences between People

Janet's Mystery Gene

A central theme in “Making Magic” is 

, and Arnold exhibits great courage when he goes into the core of the sun by himself. However, this also may be an opportunity to talk to your child about 

 Consider exploring some of the following questions in a discussion with your child.

What did you think when Arnold volunteered to take the pod into the center of the sun? How was this different than how he usually acts? What did you think about his courage?

Do you think a person can be both brave and careful? When do you think it’s important to be brave? When is it important to be careful?

Can you think of a time when you’ve had to be brave? What happened? How did you feel?

This episode also teaches the audience about the sun and the energy it provides to the Earth. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about the sun in this episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they’re interested in learning more.

Learn more about the sun and how its energy reaches us on Earth in 

Get introduced to food chains and how energy flows between living organisms in 

In “Making Magic,” the class takes a field trip to the center of the sun to recharge their bus’s magic device, but when things go wrong Arnold has to display tremendous bravery to save the day. We encourage you to discuss Arnold’s bravery with your child after this episode, and consider talking about the situations in which bravery like that is important. However, you may also choose to discuss the importance of avoiding some dangerous situations.

The bus’s magic device, or “magbag,” is low on power, and Ms. Frizzle announces to the class that they’ll take a field trip to the center of the sun where they can recharge it with solar power.

Before they can head out on their field trip, the class sees the principal, Mr. Rule, doing a safety inspection of their bus. Worried that he’ll discover its magic powers and cancel their field trips, they rush out to it and scramble to put things away while he inspects. They pass the safety inspection, but when Miss Frizzle tells him that they’re going on a field trip to the sun, he asks to come along.

Mr. Rhule is under the impression that their field trip is a virtual reality experience, and he marvels at how realistic it is on their way up to the sun. In an attempt to turn on the bus’s air conditioning when it starts getting hot, Arnold accidentally ejects Mr. Rhule from the bus and he launches toward the sun.

Arnold projects his voice out of the bus to narrate the journey through the sun to Mr. Rhule, who still thinks he’s in VR. Chasing after him, the bus passes through the sun’s layers - experiencing the solar winds on the surface, then the convective zone, the radiative zone, and finally the core.

In the sun’s core, they see nuclear fusion happening around them and producing all of the energy that supports life on Earth. They catch up to the principal, but before they can grab him he gets launched out on a rush of gamma rays, and they have to chase him back out of the sun.

They catch the principal and bring him back into the bus, but the magbag is almost completely out of power because they didn’t have time to recharge it. The bus can’t make the journey back into the sun, but it also doesn’t have enough energy to get home. They only have energy to launch a single escape pod.

Arnold, a typically nervous boy, exhibits great bravery and takes the pod to the center of the sun to recharge the magbag by himself. The class realizes that the second ingredient to charging the magbag was bravery, and Miss Frizzle also explains that having the courage to try new things and fail is an essential part of science.

Arnold recharges the magbag in the suns core, but using up his pod’s energy to send the magbag back to the bus leaves him stuck at the sun’s core. When the magbag reaches the bus, it repowers and the class rescues Arnold.

The class returns to the school by traveling as light waves, and they discuss how light provides energy for everything on Earth. The principal - still convinced he was in VR - tells the group they can continue having their field trips.

Arnold is typically the nervous student in Miss Frizzle’s class, often stating that he wishes he’d stayed home that day whenever the class finds themselves in risky situations. However, in this episode, he exhibits great bravery to save the class when he ventures into the core of the sun on his own. In the end, he’s excited - not scared - for more adventures with the class.

Mr. Rhule

The principal of the school, Mr. Rhule loves safety, and the class is concerned when he decides to come along on their field trip to the sun. He ends up enjoying the trip, and he’s convinced throughout it that it’s all a VR experience.

The class’s quirky science teacher, Ms. Frizzle takes the group on a field trip to learn about the sun. She also encourages them to be brave, and reminds them that having the courage to fail is an important part of science.

Making Safe Choices

Bravery

Making Magic

. We encourage you to explore some of the following questions in discussion with your child:

How did the group of students feel when their first tower fell down in the wind? How did Ms. Frizzle view the situation? Why was Ms. Frizzle excited about the tower falling down, even when it seemed like a failure to the students? Can you think of a time that something went wrong for you but you learned from it? Do you think it can be a good thing when things don’t go as planned?

How did the other students feel when Keesha didn’t listen to their ideas while they were building? Do you think it’s a good idea to listen to other people’s ideas? Why?

This episode also covered scientific concepts related to how wind moves and how buildings can be constructed to withstand it. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about wind from the episode, and consider exploring some of the following resources if they’re interested in the topic:

Learn more about where wind comes from in 

this Youtube video from It’s AumSum Time

Learn more about how bridges are built strong enough to withstand wind in 

Consider trying out some of the hands-on wind energy activities listed 

In “Pigs in the Wind,” the class learns about building wind-resistant structures in their attempt to build a strong tower for their upcoming Three Little Pigs performance. This episode explores themes including 

. We encourage you to ask your child about why Ms. Frizzle got excited when the class’s towers fell, and whether they think good can come from making mistakes.

The class is rehearsing for their upcoming play, a sequel to The Three Little Pigs where the wolf will return for revenge. As they practice, another child, Janet, approaches and criticizes their set for using fake bricks to build the pigs’ wind-resistant tower. Concerned that Janet, who is also a theater critic, will write their play a bad review, they decide to build a stronger tower out of real brick, and set off on a field trip.

Ms. Frizzle brings the group to Mount Washington, and Keesha directs the group as they build a tower outside using bricks produced by the bus. After they build it, Ms. Frizzle suggests they test it, like real engineers do. They use the bus’s fans to test the structure against the wind, but it falls down.

Keesha and the other students are disappointed by the apparent failure of the tower, but Ms. Frizzle is enthusiastic that it’s actually a wonderful thing because they can learn from it. They rebuild the tower, this time using mortar to hold bricks together and adding a roof, but it falls apart again when the roof flies off in the wind.

Throughout their building, Keesha has not been willing to listen to the ideas of other students in the group. When she again directs them to rebuild it, the disgruntled students decide to leave and get back on the bus.

The bus ends up turning all of the students into trees just as a windstorm sets in. As it gets very windy, they watch as the wind goes around the trees instead of knocking them down. They learn that the round shape of the trees, the roots in the ground, and their flexibility that lets them sway in the wind contribute to allowing them to withstand the wind.

After the storm, the kids are returned to human-form, and Keesha apologizes for not listening to their ideas. Different members of the group contribute ideas to use the trees as inspiration for making a more wind-resistant structure.

During the final performance, the tower they’ve created widthstands the strong winds produced by the bus’s fans, amazing the audience. Though the theater critic Janet still writes them a bad review for special effects that are “too scary,” the group is proud of their work and happy that their play still sold out.

The class’s quirky science teacher, Ms. Frizzle encourages the students in this episode to embrace failure as a learning opportunity.

Keesha

One of the students in Ms. Frizzle’s class, Keesha is directing the class’s play and also directs the building of the tower. As they build, she’s initially resistant to incorporating the ideas of others, but when the rest of the group becomes disgruntled she learns the importance of listening to the ideas of others.

Pigs in the Wind

. Consider exploring some of the following questions in a discussion with your child.

Why do you think Wanda wanted to prove that Marty the Magpie wasn’t responsible for making a mess in the classroom? How did she do it?

Do you remember how the students determined which birds might have been responsible for the mess in the classroom? What information were they using to make these judgements?

Can you think of a time that you had a question you wanted to answer, or another goal you wanted to accomplish? What did you do?

This episode also discusses the way that birds have adapted to their habitats. Consider exploring some of the following resources if your child is interested in learning more about the topic.

Learn more about bird feeding adaptations in 

 from Naturalist Outreach by Cornell University.

Learn about evolution and how these adaptations have come about in the first place in 

“Claw and Order” is an episode filled with detective-themed puns as the class seeks to find the culprit behind their ransacked classroom. Wanda must clear her bird friend’s name when the class becomes convinced that the way his beak and feet have evolved is perfectly aligned with the evidence. In this episode, the class analyzes their classroom and the features of birds to solve the mystery. We encourage you to ask your child about a time that they had to find the answer to a question, and how they did it.

The class enters their classroom to find that it’s been ransacked by an intruder, and some items including their aquarium’s plastic scuba diver and the pepperoni on top of a pizza has been taken. Ms. Frizzle declares it The Case of the Chaotic Classroom, and the students take on the roles of detectives as they search the room for clues.

When the class discovers clues like a pile of nutshells, pecked up fruit, scratches on the desktop, and mysteriously claw-like footprints, they realize they might be looking for a bird culprit. Wanda walks in with her friend Marty the Magpie on her shoulder, and Keesha and Carlos accuse the magpie of being responsible.

Ms. Frizzle takes the class aboard the Magic School Bus to visit Marty’s nest and learn about birds to determine who might be responsible. She explains that every animal has adaptations to suit their needs, and birds specifically have evolved feet and beaks to fit their habitats. The class sees that the magpie’s feet match the footprints in their classroom, and its beak is appropriately suited to eating the seeds that they found.

They chase down Marty the Magpie and bring him back to the school, but Wanda is determine to prove that he’s innocent. She insists that some other bird must have the combination of beak and feet that match with the evidence, and the group heads back out on the Magic School Bus to learn about other birds. They travel around the world and see how different birds’ beaks and feet have adapted to their environments, but they don’t see anything that match the evidence found in their classroom.

The class puts Marty the Magpie on trial, but the trial is interrupted when Arnold bursts in with new news. Their classroom has been ransacked again, but Marty has been with them the whole time. Determined to find the real culprit, they do a stakeout.

The stakeout reveals that the real culprit was actually a pair of birds - a cardinal and a duck - whose traits together account for the evidence found in the classroom. Wanda is happy and relieved that her friend Marty the Magpie’s name has been cleared.

Keesha & Carlos

When their classroom is ransacked, Keesha and Carlos take on the role of detectives, and accuse Marty the Magpie of being responsible. At times they’re harsh in their accusations and interrogation of Marty, and Wanda must defend him until he’s proven innocent.

Wanda

Wanda defends her bird friend Marty the Magpie when he’s accused of making a mess of the science classroom. Determined that he couldn’t be responsible, she leads the search for another bird that could be the real culprit.

The class’s science teacher leads them on an adventure to learn about birds and their adaptations on their quest to find the culprit responsible for the classroom mess.

Setting Goals

Analyzing Situations

Claw and Order

In this episode, the students in the class are afraid of the farm and think it might be haunted by ghosts before they learn about what it actually is. Consider talking to your child about being afraid of things before you fully understand them, and use some of our questions below for inspiration.

Why do you think the class was afraid of the farm when they first arrived? Why did it become less scary after they talked to the researcher at the end?

Have you ever been scared of something but later found out that it wasn’t scary after all? Why do you think this happens sometimes?

This episode also covers some modern technologies that help farmers grow the food we eat. We encourage you to ask your child what they learned about farming in this episode, and consider exploring some of the resources below if they’re interested in learning more.

Do you live in a city? Farming can happen there too - learn more about city farming, including the vertical farming featured in this episode - in 

Get excited for the future of farming with 

 on technologies revolutionizing the industry

In “Ghost Farm,” the class takes a trip to a farm that’s rumored to be haunted and wind up learning all about farming technologies. A prominent theme in this episode is 

overcoming fear around things you don’t understand

, and we encourage you to ask your child about a time when they were afraid of something but later found out that it wasn’t scary after all.

Wanda is planning the school’s fall feast, but she spent so much time focusing on marketing that she’s forgotten to get any food. She sees Ralphie pull out a ripe tomato and take a bite, and she’s curious about where he got it. Ralphie tells her its from a farm on the way to his grandparents’ house, but he warns that it’s also haunted and known as the Ghost Farm.

The Magic School Bus Rides Again

Frizzle of the Future

Pigs in the Wind

In the Swim

The Battle for Rock Mountain

The Magnetic Mambo