World Bee Day 2024

There was a hive of activity in Forest School last Monday when Kindergarten were treated to a wonderful visit from some beekeepers.

Grandparents to one of our children in Kindergarten, Alan and Jayne are very knowledgeable and have a clear ethos of "the art of gentle bee keeping."

They have been keeping bees for just over 5 years now and are part of the 'North Devon School of Country Beekeeping' where they have a clear ethos for sustainability and welfare of the bees, "We adopt this bee-friendly approach to hive management because we want bees to be healthy; healthy bees will prosper, prosperous bees will multiply, more bees means better pollination of our food plants and so we all benefit." http://gentlebeekeeping.org.uk

The children were so enchanted by all the resources, posters and equipment. We handled some beeswax and saw the wax up close in the frame. The children were really surprised to hear that Honey Bees have five eyes! Some of us even dressed up in a special beekeeper's hat and we learnt all about the smoke can, (smoker), and how this can be used to calm them.

Sarah made us some toast which we dipped in the locally produced honey. It was so tasty and we said a big thank you to the bees.

The children really enjoyed themselves and we presented Alan and Jayne with a hand made 'Thank You' card a gift. Their visit certainly has had a huge impact on the children; "the Queen had a red spot on her back." "They make honey. They eat it when the flowers are all dead" "Bees make honey."

Dragonflies have been enjoying learning about bees this week. They have met our friendly cuddly bee and enjoyed a story 'Betty the Bee' by Emily Hobson-Martin. Dragonflies have loved the puppet show where they follow Betty's flight of delight as she dances to and from all the colourful flowers collecting pollen.

Ladybirds and Dragonflies have made the most adorable little footprint bee pictures for their display board. They immersed themselves in the sensory exploration of this provocation, benefitting with a delight for the senses; the cold paint on their toes, the colours of the paint, the calming effect and the interest in how the paint is runny and squidgy between their toes!

They also used recycled bubble wrap to print the honeycomb.