Title – Bee Activities

By – Holly Rowan

Primary Subject – Math

Secondary Subjects – Art, Language Arts, Science

Grade Level – Pre-K

Introduction:

This lesson combines a book and a game that both feature bees and counting skills.

Procedure:

1. First, read the story,
   
   Buzz, Buzz, Busy Bees
   
   aloud with a small group of Pre-K children. Encourage the children to take turns counting the bees. The book begins with nine bees and counts down to no bees at the end. The bees are fuzzy and pop out from the book providing a really good way for students to point and touch each while counting.

   During the book, ask students which other animals are on each page. Also, ask what happened to the bees at the end.
   
   Where did they all go?
   

2. Next, play the game -
   
   Bee Tree
   
   . Fine motor skills are required for placing the leaves in the tree (the leaves are sticks that you thread through the holes in the hive at the top of the tree). Have the children help put the bees into the hive once all of the leaves are in place.

   The students take turns removing one leaf at a time. If any bees fall out, they are to count how many bees fell and hold onto the bees. At the end of the game, have each child count the total number of bees that fell during their turns.

   
   
   Note from LessonPlansPage.com:
   
   
   We are sure you have great ideas on how to carry out the game above, but if you are stumped, here is our interpretation of the idea. It is made from a file folder that is decorated and stapled on one side. A stick glued in an inside edge keeps it open. You could take it down from a bulletin board tree or a real tree limb to start the game. You will also have to make, find, or paint green leaf sticks and make bees from paper or other materials to complete the activity.
   
   

3. Last, have the students draw a picture of a bee. Their bee can be landing on a flower or flying over something. Students should have lots of cutouts to paste onto their paper – flowers, trees, gates, fences, animals, etc. They can decide how many bees to add to their picture (by drawing them). Have each child count how many bees are in their picture.

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Holly Rowan

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