This is a collaborative post
I have written a few times about the children’s endless fascination with bees. When we visited Snowdonia back in early May we went to The Ugly House and, whilst there, we learnt more about bees and got to spot a few out in the bee friendly gardens.
We picked up some bee friendly seeds to plant when we were home and a plant (which since we have planted has flourished) and they have been placed in out garden. We have quite a few bees visiting so we are helping to do our little bit to help the bees.
The team at First Tunnels have produced an infographic which I’ve shared below. This explains more about the plight of the honey bee and just why they are so important.
Here are some things I have done with the children to help them understand the importance of bees, and what we can do to encourage them into our garden. I don’t want the children to be afraid of bees in the same way I was when I was little and I want them to continue to be fascinated by this small but important little creatures.
Visit bee keepers – As mentioned above, we visited the Ugly House where there was a whole room dedicated to bees and it was very hands on for the children. We are also lucky to live close to Whythenshawe Park where they are running a range of events where you can get up close to see the bees as well as sample some of the honey. I hope to get to take them to one of the sessions over the summer break.
Visit the library and read any number of the fabulous books about bees – we have read a few but Bee by Britta Teckuntrup and Patricia Hegarty is a particularly good one. It follows a Bee as it goes about day to day and has really helped my children learn more about them and has contributed to their interest.
Get crafty and create your own wildflower garden – there’s nothing like getting hands on and creative to keep little hands busy and help them understand. We made this wildflower garden earlier in the year and the children loved it. We talked about how the bees needed flowers and why and what they would do. It was lots of fun and something we will certainly repeat next spring time.
Plant some seeds – Even the smallest garden or yard can benefit from a few pots of bright flowers. I am the first to admit that I am not a gardener but I do like planting the seeds in early spring with the children. We always do sunflowers and then an assortment of other things that we pick up. The children like seeing the seeds grow and of course watching them bloom as they get bigger – all the while attracting the bees.
Know your Bees – the eagle eyed among you will have spotted the insect below is in fact a hoverfly – getting to know the different types of bees is a great way for children to learn about the many different types of creatures within one species. Just a walk around a bee friendly garden will make you realise that there are many different types of bees around.
Do a Bee Count – We haven’t yet done this, but next year as the bees start to make an appearance we might conduct our own bee survey – taking to a spot in our garden and counting how many bees we see in a ten minute window. I’ll then take the children somewhere less bee friendly, and do the same. We might make a graph of our results so they can see how bee friendly our garden is.
Do you help bees thrive, and how are you helping your children to understand the importance of bees and the ways in which we can encourage them?
Rhian Westbury says
I think it’s so important to remind people that bee’s are not an enemy and if you leave them alone they’ll leave you alone x
Emma Lofthouse-Burch says
I am really trying to teach the boys that bees are good, they love hearing about how they pollinate. We have made bee houses and hung them in the woods behind our house.
motherhoodtherealdeal says
Love this….and love bees! I have planted loads of lavender in our back and front garden so we have lots of bees around and my daughter is fascinated by them. We also have a fab book about where honey is from which she loves.
thefrenchiemummy says
wow this is so nice to get the kids with bees like that. I think it helps not being scared of them. I wish I had done that when I was little!
Bear and Cardigan says
Bees are vital to our very existence and it is important for children (our future) to recognise the difference between bees and other insects. I love the idea of doing a bee count, I think we may do this too
Our bucket list Lives says
I love your infographics. I couldn’t agree with you more. Sadly there doesn’t seem to be anywhere near enough bees this year. I did save one from a spiders web yesterday which Jamie saw and hopefully understood why I was helping the bee out. Great post.
Emma says
I am always teaching the boys about conservation and wildlife. We have a very wildlife friendly garden and always talk about the different bugs that it attracts.
fashionandstylepolice says
Love this post. I need to read some of these to my kids. My daughter is scared of bees at the moment.
Musings of a tired mummy...zzz... says
I think bees are scary after having an allergic reaction to a sting but I know they are so important to the planet
Janet T says
My daughter already adores bees. If there’s something with a bee on it, she wants to buy it!
Ami Throughamiseyes says
What a lovely post and great infographic. I always used to be scared of bees but since having pickle I won’t let him see I don’t like them and I try to encourage him to look at them and understand how important they are.
Natasha says
It’s so important that children know that bees are good for this planet! they’re so often confused with wasps!
Otilia says
My parents are beekeepers so my girls know a lot about bees and they enjoy eating the best of honey. I just wish i was more into them too. I need to learn how to be a bee keeper too!
Great post!
Newcastle Family Life says
This is a really useful post, I was always terrified of bees when I was younger x
mummygummie says
An important post, good to teach kids about this. My husband is very passionate about this subject.