Looking for information and formats for classroom presentations depending on age...
Here's something I used for children between 4 and 9. The dashes indicate where I waited for their answers. When they had questions, I answered right away so they didn't forget their questions.
- Bees can live in the wild. But for thousands of years people have also taken care of bees.
Bees make a nest called
comb out of a kind of wax they can make from their tummies. When their tummies are full of nectar from flowers, and there?s no place to put that nectar, the bees will start to leak little flakes of a kind of wax. (Show a picture of wax being extruded from a bee's abdomen - this was a hit. I printed a big glossy photo.)
And then they will build that wax into comb. But it has to be very warm to do that, about 90 degrees! So they hum and buzz in their hive to make it warm inside. Have you ever moved around to keep warm? - - -
Let?s look at some wild comb & comb from domestic bees. (Pass a piece of rogue comb and flat comb. It only has to be 3 or 4 inches long.) When you look at the difference between comb from wild bees and comb from domestic bees, why do you think people like to keep bees in a special box? - - -
When a place is very crowded with bees, some of them move out into a different place. We call that a swarm. Wild bees pick a place like a hollow tree or an empty box to move into. The first thing they do is hold hands and put out wax from their tummies, to build a place for their Queen mother to rest and lay eggs for future bees.
Bees work together, and they need bees of all ages to make a successful colony. Do you have friends of different ages? - - -
When they move into a new home it is spring or summer, and each bee lives only about six weeks during this time of the year. So they need to quick! start making more bees so the house can be re-filled with bees.
Comb is the furniture and cupboards in the bees? house. It?s where they raise babies, where they store their food, and they can even crawl in empty comb to huddle up and keep warm. So it can be like a bed. Would it be comfortable for you to sleep in your cupboard? - - -
Bees are hard workers. They are always cleaning up in the hive. They do not go to the bathroom in the hive. In winter, bees live five or six months. In summer, they live five or six weeks. Most bees are female.
When one bee finds a place with good flowers, she can tell the others where that place is by a special dance called a waggle dance. Other bees understand the message, even in a dark beehive. Most often, bees communicate with smells.
After many months of living in a new place, bees make enough honey to put some away at the back of their hive. A beekeeper will take some honey because of taking care of the bees and helping them, but will always make sure they have enough honey to live on.
OK to touch and smell: rendered wax, bee brush, wild comb, managed comb.
Bees have many different jobs during their lives.
(This may be copyrighted; I found it on Pinterest so it might be public.)
You can have many jobs during your life, too!
Even simple jobs are dignified and important.
Cleaning your room, cleaning the house and yard
Taking care of other people, cooking for them, and feeding meals
Building things for everyone
Watching out for safety
Going to work to get the food and necessary things we need
Bees bring in nectar to make honey, for the colony, also water, pitch from trees, juice from mushrooms and moss, and pollen from plants. That?s why they're so good at pollinating crops. When they move from flower to flower, they bring pollen to the buds. Then the buds can make the fruit or vegetable. Do you enjoy doing things to help other people? - - -
Puzzle: Look at the real frame with honey. Then look at the picture of a frame, and guess where the honey is. (capped) - - - Can you find the pollen from plants on this frame in the picture? - - - Where are the baby bees? - - - Do you like to take care of animals? - - - This is taking care of insects. But they are livestock, not pets. Bees are never really tame, like a pet can be.
Hope this helps. Children respond to love and sincere interest in their thoughts.