A Very Bzzzy Day

We love having themed days at our house..it provides a great opportunity for learning and a whole lot of fun to boot. Last week my little guy requested we spend some time doing all things bee related. Aiming to please I spent an evening rounding up some fun stuff to keep us bzzzy and having fun the whole next day through. Here is what we came up with. :)

Fingerprint Bee Hive with Busy BeesWhat You'll Need
A piece of white paper
Yellow and black fingerpaints
A black felt tip pen

How To
1. Using your childs pointer finger dipped in yellow fingerpaint create the hive pattern shown above in the middle of the white paper. Dip your childs thumb in the black paint to create the entrance to the hive. *tip* - keeping some baby wipes on hand makes for a quick and easy cleanup.
2. To create the bees have your little one dip their thumb in the yellow paint and apply thumbprints all over the paper again and again where ever they please. Once the paint dries a grownup can draw on the wings, stripes and eyes with a black felt tip pen.

BEE-TIFUL!!

Egg Carton Bees
What You'll Need
2 egg carton "cups", cut from a whole egg carton (duh)
Black and yellow paint
Paintbrush
White glue
White foam
Safety Scissors
Black pipecleaners
Googly eyes
Black felt tip pen

How To
1. Glue the 2 egg carton cups together using lots of white glue. Allow to dry.

2. Paint the new shape with alternating black and yellow stripes to form the bees body. Once again allow to dry.

3. Cut 2 wing shapes from the white craft foam and glue the wings to the sides of the egg cartons. Trim a black pipecleaner to form the antennae and glue into place. Add googly eyes and a hand drawn smile and you have one happy bee ready for fun. *tip* - you could also suspend this little guy on some string or thread attached to a popsicle stick and let your child take him on a pollen hunt.

We also found a really fun song and dance to do which also provided an opportunity to learn about the crisis of the disappearing honey bee. In the past few years more than 1 in 3 colonies of honey bees have been dying nationwide. This alarming phenomenon is known as colony collapse. This poses a serious threat to our food supply as 1 in every 3 bites we consume on average has been pollinated by honeybees. Researches are still unsure as to what is causing such an extreme loss to the honeybee population. You can learn more at helpthehoneybees.com.


BUZZ BUZZ