Preschool Bee Unit

The month of August was all about bees. There is so much to learn about on this topic and can easily be implemented into all the subjects. Here is how I used bees in our month of lesson plans. I really suggest doing this thme during prime pollination season. We spent plenty of time outside so we could watch bees at work around the flowers. Some common flowers bees are attracted to are dandelion, clover, honeysuckle, lavender, and cone flowers just to name a few.

On of our first activities was to stop in our local children’s museum where there is a bee exhibit with a view of a real beehive to watch the bees in action. We dressed up as bees, played a game to bring velcro pollen balls from flowers painted on the wall to the hive, we did some bee puzzles, watched the real bees work, and viewed some products made from bees wax.

We made this bee craft using a tongue depressor, markers, and pipe cleaners. We used cornmeal to represent pollen, which stuck to the pipe cleaner. The little bee could transfer some cornmeal from one plate to another that represented the bee hive. There are step by step directions on my TikTok.

For a fine motor activity, I found a silicone mold like this one that looked like a beehive. I used colored water to look like honey. My preschooler used a dropper to fill in each hole and then return it back to the jar. She had fun pretending she was a bee filling in the cells.

I have a friend who is a beekeeper. She was kind enough to let us visit with a friend to see her bees and have a little lesson on bees. She told us all about the life of her bees and she had a display case to watch the bees work. She had bee products and bee keeping materials for us to touch and see and let us borrow a book to read at home.

We made chest rub and hand salve with this beeswax. The recipe is the same, the difference is the essential oils used. It’s so easy. Just melt 1 oz of beeswax in jar placed in a pot of water on the stove, add 1/4 cup of olive oil, mix it together, and then add a few drops of whatever essential oil you like. This is amazing for really dry skin. The chest rub we use for stuffy noses.

I found some whole honey comb at a farmers market. We got out the magnifying glass to get a close up look at the comb the bees worked so hard to make. My preschooler was amazed at this, and especially the loved taste testing!

For another fine motor activity was as simple as a jar, corn kernels, a honey jar, and a small spoon all on a tray. The preschooler just uses the spoon to scoop the kernels (aka pollen) into the honey jar and back.

I found this bee themed sticker set. I used this as a visual aid to teach the beattitudes.

I found these sheets of beeswax that made candle making so simple. All you need is candle wicks and tabs in addition to the wax sheets. I had to cut my wick to size and attach the tabs with pliers. Here are wicks and tabs that are premade. We just placed the wick at the edge of the wax sheet with the tab flush and tightly rolled the sheet. For an added bonus, add a few drops of essential oil or sprinkle some cinnamon before rolling.

We used more beeswax to make some beeswax crayons. It wasn’t too hard, but some patience is required. I used this recipe to make them. Just melt 6 ounces of beeswax, 2 tablespoons of raw cocoa butter, 6 tablespoons of carnauba wax, and pigments of choice. There are so many options for natural dyes such as red oxide, beet root powder, turmeric, algae powder, cocoa powder, charcoal, and more! I tried to keep it simple by using these packets of mica. For natural dyes, 1 teaspoon will be enough. The mica needed more to get enough color. The wax will be melted the same way as before in the jar placed in a pot of water on the stove. Once the waxes are completely melted, distribute to small paper cups or glass jars and stir in the colors. Pour each color into a mold of choice. I found a cute bee mold to keep on theme. Once the crayons are set, they are ready for coloring!