This week’s activity Helping bees Over the last couple of weeks, we have had visits from two lovely bees.  One of our Early Years Educators, Tammy, is a trained beekeeper.  She shared her knowledge with the children in the following ways. The children were in Robin Garden when they spotted a bee on the floor.  Tammy explained that children should not pick up bees but should go and tell an adult.  Tammy carefully picked up the bee and brought it inside.  She talked about why it might not be flying – it could be too cold/tired/not have enough food, as it is still very early in the year for bees to be out.  There are currently no dandelion flowers in bloom, the bee’s first source of food. Tammy went on to explain that the warmth of her hand helped to warm the bee up.  She next explained that we can give the bee some food to give it enough energy to make it through to the warmer weather.  She put a tiny drop of sugar water on a spoon and the children watched in awe as the bee’s tiny tongue lapped up the water. This particular bee was a Tawny Mining Bumble Bee.  Tammy explained that there are many types of bees and this particular bee doesn’t live in a hive but lives in tunnels which they dig out in dirt or old wood, sometimes under leaves. She went on to explain that, although this bee does make honey, it only makes enough for itself and not for humans. Once the bee had recovered enough, Tammy put it on top of the trampoline to warm in the sun, explaining that the children should not pick bees up as they might hurt them. A few days later, there was another bee that wasn’t moving.  The children remembered what Tammy had told them and they came and got her.  They again helped the bee by giving it sugar water and this time the bee flew to the top of the trampoline where it rested in the sun.  One of the children was quite concerned that the bee was not moving and decided to sing it two songs to see if that would help.  The child said to the teacher “I’ve sung it two songs and it has not worked, it has not flown away”.  The teacher reassured the child that the bee was warming itself in the sunshine before taking flight. This has led to the children being interested in bees and their habitats.  They created a ‘bee hive’ using lolly sticks, and ‘cells’ (the middle part of the hive) using toilet rolls. There are photos on our Facebook page and website, www.anthonyroperpreschool.co.uk. Thank you. The Pre-school Team