What a wonderfully warm and sunny week. Perfect for lots of laughter, discovery and bees! With sun cream regularly applied, water bottles always in hand and a cheeky ice lolly to cool off. We made the most of each day of the sunshine in the safest way. Heck, we even went on river walks. We had lots of water play and a special activity called ‘break the ice’ running through the week. Ice blocks of pink and blue were broken up into small pieces using hammers, stones and rolling pins. This promoted fine motor skills and developed strength in the wrist and arms, as they smashed and crushed the ice, everyone found this activity very intriguing and enjoyable.
This week, we have been focusing on learning about bee facts, their importance in the ecosystem, and related activities. We covered topics such as the bee life cycle, the role of different bees in a hive (Queen, worker, drone) and how they pollinate plants. We had some engaging craft activities too such as using paper plates to paint beelines on as well as making pine cone bumble bees by wrapping pine cones with yellow and black yarn and using pipe cleaners for the antennas. Another activity saw some wonderfully slimy slime with hidden stones that had little bees on them, the children had so much fun rescuing the bees by digging through the slime and carefully picking them out. At Little Forest Folk, as we are passionate about reusing materials, bees were also made using empty plastic water bottles with paint and tissue paper. On another day we gave our empty paint bottles a second life, filling them with colourful water for some messy fun.
We’ve also had a wonderful time storytelling using story stones, reading books such as ‘Five Bizzy Honeybees’ by Lance Douglas. Did you know bees bring water to the hive to keep it cool, and there are guard bees who flap their wings to keep the air circulating in the hive, how cool is that! Outdoor exploration further enhanced the children’s understanding and appreciation for these vital insects.
We have also been looking at pictures and observing real bees as they visit our bramble flowers. We are learning about the bee’s anatomy, their special dancing language and about the jobs that all the bees have as they work together within the hive. Did you know there are lots of different varieties of bees in Britain, five types of bumblebees, miner bees and so many more!
Different types of obstacle courses were made throughout the week which taught our little explorers how to work around challenges, just like bees do. They learned to find clever shortcuts and avoid the ‘bees’ (our handmade ones) on their way to the honey.
Another great week, we hope you all have a lovely weekend!
Little Forest Folk
Twickenham