The Bee and Community

Bees and other insects, community, working together, and good manners will be our themes next week.
We will be studying the life of bees, making our own granola, sampling local honey, taking a field trip to Mama Jeans, hearing beekeepers talk, working together on our outdoor play areas with rakes, shovels, and wheelbarrows, planting beans and flowers, practicing good manners with our friends, making felt bees, modeling with beeswax, hearing stories, songs, and poems about bees, making honey sesame "candy", going on a bee hunt, creating felt bees, and playing bee games.

Our books to look at together include:

The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci
The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons
Honey in a Hive by Anne Rockwell
The Beautiful Bee Book by Sue Unstead
When the Bees Fly Home by Andrea Chang
The Queen Bee by The Brothers Grimm
Learning About Bees from Mr. Kreb by Alice Flanagan
Bumblebee at Apple Tree Lane by Laura Galvin
The Bumblebee Queen by April Sayre
Sing and Hum Bumblebee by Mari and Maya
The Best Beekeeper of Lalibela: A Tale from Africa by Cristina Kessler
The Beeman by Laurie Krebs
Love is a Handful of Honey by Giles Andreae
In the Trees Honeybees by Lori Mortensen
Words are not for Hurting by Elizabeth Verdick
Please is a Good Word to Say by Barbara Joosse
Madeline Says Merci by John Marciano

Nature Walk Verse:

The buzzing bee gives honey sweet
To every little neighbor
Then thanks to her we all repeat
For her unceasing labor

This week's reflection: Community

"How does one keep from "Growing old inside"? Surely only in community. The only way to make friends with time is to stay friends with people....taking community seriously not only gives us the companionship we need, it also relieves us of the notion that we are indispensable."
-Robert Mcafee Brown

" Being a parent and caregiver is extremely rewarding, however, because we work out of our homes caring for children we are not able to interact with other adults as often as many professionals do each day.

The benefits that come along with being an active member of your community are endless. Studies show that those of us who get involved have improved health as well as a stronger sense of purpose and fulfillment in life. What can you do to get involved? Spend time meditating on how you and your children can become more active in your community. Make a list and make it happen."

Little Acorn Learning