We are beginning our 🐝Bee Study to defy any misconceptions and fear of these amazing insects (closely related to wasps and ants). Bees are very important pollinators for flowers, fruits, and vegetables. They transfer pollen between the male and female parts of the same flower, thus allowing a plant to grow seeds and eventually fruit! Without pollination, the flowering plant will not produce a fruit! And the best-known bee species, the European honey bee, produce sweet honey we all love and beeswax.
We love to read and then bring books to life with hands-on activities, which is more effective for us in exploring the subject than passive reading.
After reading the Nature Anatomy book, which explains the common nectar sources for bees, we made from pom-poms 🌼flowers (left to right): Dandelion, Yellow Sweet Clover, White Dutch Clover, and Goldenrod to resemble those nectar sources. To make this hands-on presentation, all you need is some cardstock, pom poms, and a glue gun.
We also read The Bee (My First Discoveries) book, which offers captivatingly detailed illustrations revealing how these insects gather nectar and make honey, how they communicate with each other, build their hives and keep them clean, how they reproduce and rear their young and form new hives. And such reading prompted us to 📌pin-poke the dance of the 🐝bee explaining the direction of the found nectar. Just place a sponge or we are using a white packing styrofoam block as a cushion so that the pin does not poke your table.
Once finished poking, offer your child to hold the paper against the light.
The round dance tells the forager bees that flowers are nearby. Bees: A Honeyed History book.
During this Entomology lesson, Adrian got to express his creativity and practice fine motor control by 📌pin-poking! And, most importantly, he had fun!
To see the entire Bee Unit roundup, see here 🐝Bees Unit Study.
No Comments