More Bee Activities
Plant a Bee Garden
With children, plant flowers that attract bees such as black-eyed Susans, lantana, and zinnias. Plant herbs such as lavender, basil, and sage.
Decorate a plastic cup with bee and flower stickers. Plant some flower seeds. Glue a bee cut out to the top a of craft stick to make a plant stake.
Smelling Bees
Ask children how they usually recognize somebody (sense of sight). Explain to children that bees recognize each other by using smells called pheromones. For a fun smelling activity, spray or dip cotton balls in perfume, lemon juice, vanilla, vinegar, or any other smell that children will easily recognize. Make sure to make at least two of each scent. Place each cotton ball in a plastic bag or empty film canister. Give a bag or canister to each child. Have children use their sense of smell to find their partner with the matching smell.
Variation:
Place one cotton ball of each smell on a table and challenge children to guess the scent.
Bees on Bread Estimation
Read the book The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord. This story is about a town that has a wasp problem. The town solves the wasp problem by baking a huge loaf of bread and then spreading strawberry jam on the bread to tempt the wasps to the bread.
Show children a slice of bread and a cutout of a bee. Have children guess how many bees they think will fit on the slice of bread. Write their predictions on a chart along with their names. Place the bee cutouts on the bread to find out how many bees will fit on it. Compare the actual number to the estimations on the chart. Then serve bread and jam as a snack.
Balloon Bees
Blow up a yellow balloon for each child. Have children draw eyes, mouth, and stripes with a black marker. Let them tap their "bees" around the room to the "Flight of the Bumblebee" by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Name Game
Have children sit in circle. Point to a child and say,
Buzz, buzz, honeybee,
Won't you say your name for me?
The child says his or her name, and then you repeat it. Then have children say the name and clap their hands two times. Repeat the process with the rest of the children in the circle.
SNACKS
Note: Before you serve any snacks containing honey, check for honey allergies.
Beehives
What you need:
1/2 c honey
1 1/2 c powdered milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 c peanut butter
1 1/2 c rice cereal or cornflakes
Freezer bag
Waxed paper
Mixing bowl
Mixing spoon
Egg carton