The Beehive State

Utah is the Beehive State, so we had some fun with bees over the last few days.

We read two bee books (one fiction and one nonfiction):  Buzz by Eileen Spinelli features a happy bumblebee that comes across a newspaper headline that says, "Bees Can't Fly" and is suddenly convinced that she cannot fly until flying is necessary to save the life of a friend.  The Honey Makers by  Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the life cycle of bees, the organization of the hive, and more.

C and R completed two bee mazes.  I laminated C's bookmark maze (you can see this in a photo below) for him to keep.  I would have laminated R's, but who knows what she did with it.

It was nice to make some snacks that are a bit healthier than the sugar laden treats we have been making and enjoying lately.  I made bumblebees by layering banana slices with Nutella and sticking almond sliver wings on top.  I also gave them mini chocolate chip eyes.

Our beehive snacks are just round crackers with circles of American cheese layered by size.  I cut the cheese into circles by using the smallest biscuit cutter I have and then pressing measuring spoons of different sizes into the cheese to create smaller circles.  

Finally, I printed a beehive coloring sheet for each of them and had them make bumblebee fingerprints around the hive.  To make the prints they just made yellow paint fingerprints, and once the paint was dry they used black markers to add the details.  (That is C's laminated bookmark next to his fingerprint bee sheet)

Just in case you were wondering, Utah is not called the beehive state because of a large bumblebee population.  The beehive became the official state emblem in 1959 as a symbol of the industry and pioneer virtues of thrift and perseverance.