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Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Honey Bees for a day - Questions answered

My girls are obsessed with all things bugs/insects lately.  My oldest is always asking a million questions a day.

Does that bee sting?

How come some bees sting and some don't?

Is that a honey bee?

How do bees make honey?

Why do they like flowers?

To be honest I can't answer half her questions!  

We first started exploring this by visiting the local library. We checked out 3-4 books on bees/wasps.  We have been reading these books for several weeks before I set up this invitation.  My oldest gave me the inspiration when she said: 

"I wish I could be a honey bee for a day."



The invitation

Flowers in water
Honey
Turkey Basters
Egg Carton
Bee costumes

I left this completely up to my girls to explore any way they wanted to.  

They started first by putting their nest (egg carton) "up high on the art table so no one would step on it"


My 27 Month old did not want to wear her wings and that is OK!  


Sucking up the nectar.  


My 27 Month old knew that the bees sucked it up from their mouth so she always put the back end of the baster up to her mouth.  


My oldest got a little frustrated with her baster so she asked for something else.  I gave her a medicine dropper.  


Putting the "nectar" into the "honeycomb."


My 27 Month old lost interest after a couple trips back and forth.  


My oldest declared me a "worker bee" and said "you need to squirt in some honey... but only where the nectar is, Mommy"  


Doing her "busy bee dance" to show all the other bees where the flower patch is.  


Collecting more nectar.  


Counting how many she has left to fill.  


Fanning the honey with her wings


I did NOT have wax paper out.  She asked for this to seal her honeycomb when it was done.  I thought that was a great association.  :-)  


My 27 Month old joined back in when she heard there was going to be honey tasting going on.  


Scrapping her honeycombs to put into jars.  


"Look at all this honey we made!"


And of course the taste test! 


RL 

10 comments:

  1. Did you borrow "Busy Buzzy Bee"? That has been a favorite in our house lately.

    Great setup!

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  2. Any other good bee book? I always love suggestions for the library!

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  3. This looks like lots of fun! My son is very interested in "pollinators" from a tv show he saw on bees - I bet he'd love this. I'd love to hear which books you checked out from the library as well!

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  4. Wow, this site continues to amaze me. I am really impressed with the imaginative and hands on learning you present to your children. The idea of the invitation and allowing the children to create their own activity is a great concept. Children are so often boxed in by structure, structure, structure. While this is often necessary, especially in a school setting, you have taught your children the necessary safety precautions but do not limit their creativity or their explorations.
    I am looking forward to setting up invitations for my school-age children this summer and to seeing what they can gain from it!
    Thanks for sharing!

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  5. I love your blog and all the fun your having with your kids! How fun your use of invitations, your kids are very lucky :) I'm getting a lightbox, some glass beads, getting our wings out and gonna start trying all your fun projects! Hug from michelle http;//www.mommyspinkielipgloss.blogspot.com

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  6. I really enjoy follow your blog. You always have the most creative ideas to help children gain a curiosity for science and other learning areas, which I will definitely keep in mind for when I become a teacher. Last semester I took a course on insects and I even had the opportunity to teach my cousin's 1st and 2nd grade class about honey bees, since I find them very interesting as well. I found this book at Target for just $1, and it had really great information to share with the students: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51lANwT6FZL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
    Thank you for all of your great ideas!

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  7. This is so perfectly appropriate - and BEAUTIFUL - that I almost wept. What a celebration of physics/nature/life/learning. Exquisite; love it.

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  8. Absolutely LOVE this!! We're doing an insect theme at my preschool. The first week was general insects, this week we focused on Ladybugs (you can see some of our adventures in my latest blog post at: http://msbarbarasblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/ladybugs-keepin-it-real.html) Next week is caterpillars and butterflies and the last week of the month will be bees and ants. Can you tell me where you found the wings and antennas?

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