Australia hosts about 2000 amazing native bee species, vital for the pollination of plants and ecosystem health.
This fun and interactive workshop will introduce young minds to the needs and roles of Australian bees.
“Bees 4 Pre’s is in all honestly one of the most hands on, interactive, play based incursions we have had visit our Pre-School.
The children explored many concepts, including the important work bees do through a variety of interesting ways which were not only meaningful to them but were also following the EYLF.
Abbie our presenter supported the children through each of the provided experiences and fostered their curiosity by spending the time to answer their many questions.
Our children really enjoyed exploring the insect hotels. Seeing as these were left with us to keep, the children have the opportunity to re-visit these and continue to build upon their current knowledge of pollinators.
I can’t recommend Bees 4 Pre’s enough!!”
Jenny Garcia | Arncliffe Preschool | 2022
THE SUPER POLLINATORS INCURSION
The Super Pollinators Incursion is a rich hands on learning experience designed to ignite interest and proactive conservation for bees. This incursion makes a fabulous introduction to pollination processes, paddock-to-plate themes, sustainability and lifecycles. The experience is comprised of an introductory presentation for the class followed by group rotation around six stations offering fun bee related activities.
Each session receives 1 hotel to install in the garden!
This workshop aims to meet the following ELYF Outcomes via:
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Shared group experiences
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Collaborative team work
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Learning about the needs of humans and animals
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Proactive skill and knowledge based solutions
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Promoting sustainability
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Story, role play and investigation
WHY BUILD A BEE HOTEL?
“We were so impressed with the way Kids Connecting Nature and our host, Ella, provided such a fun and informative experience for our service.
They understood the focus and attention of preschool children and catered their incursion to maximise learning, fun and engagement.
We loved that it was play-based, educational, and interesting with the variety of activities organised. The information was relevant and presented beautifully.
Thanks for arranging a session that is different and engaging, alongside being so educational!”
Leap Early Learning | Abbotsford | 2022
ACTIVITIES
Following a vibrant introduction to the whole cohort, children will freely explore these fun activities:
Class Activity – Bees Basics: A richly illustrated super-sized book, amazing bee models and fun props that introduces key concepts
Activity 1 – Be a Bee: Pop on a hat and wings to dress as a range of native bee species
Activity 2 – Bees Pollinate Flowers: Slip on a bee puppet to pollinate waist-height flowers
Activity 3 – Bee Snap: Match the magnetized bee cards to the images on the bee posters
Activity 4 – Bees Help Help Feed Humans: Choose your favourite bee-pollinated foods from the fruit and veggie shop
Activity 5 – Build for Bees: Make a bee hotel*
Activity 6 – Bees Make Nests: Find the perfect pieces of bamboo to arrange in the hotel*
Activity 7 – Magnificent Minibeasts: View a range of minibeasts and super-sized bee models with magnifying glasses
Activity 8- Bee Puzzled: Enjoy the challenge of vibrant bee puzzles to learn about some of our most charismatic local bees
Activity 9- I Spy: Look through a bee kaleidoscope to see like a bee
Activity 10 – A Place for Bees: We check out your garden for installation sites, and use large magnifying sheets to look at the different features of flowers
Post Workshop – Make it Bee-utiful: Decorate your bee hotels
* MAKE A BEE HOTEL
Make an insect hotel for local native bee species! Timber insect hotels are supplied as 5 piece building blocks that connect together. Each child will enjoy the challenge of fitting the pieces together with a toy hammer to create a bee hotel. Please note there are no nails or small pieces used for this activity. We also provide fully constructed hotels for each child to fill with bamboo during Activity 6.
Every session receives a hotel to install at your centre so that you can continue the learning!
THE EARLY LEARNING FRAMEWORK FOR AUSTRALIA (EYLF)
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of Identity:
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Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world:
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Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing:
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Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing
4: Children are confident and involved learners:
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Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity
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Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
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Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another
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Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies and natural and processed materials
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators:
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Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts
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Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
INCURSION PRICES
BEES 4 PRE'S
- * Minimum $400 ($13 pp above 30 children)
- 1 bee hotel to keep per session
- 1 hour duration per session
- Maximum 5 sessions per day
- Travel costs may apply
- Maximum 30 children/session
THE SUPER POLLINATORS – INFORMATION SHEETS
Instructions to make your own insect hotel from our kit
The Basic Buzz – A book about bees for teachers and students
Instructions to make your own insect hotel from scratch
Who is in my bee hotel? ID your guests
Bee in the know – instructions to install your insect hotel
Pollinator Survey – Pollinators in the school yard
Make your own mud brick for blue-banded bees
The Super Pollinators – Super Puzzles
MADE A HOTEL? WHAT NEXT?
Paint it
Paint your hotel in non toxic (child friendly) floral coloured paint! Finish with eco-friendly lacquer – supplied to school workshops.
Watch It
Do not stand in the flight path of your bee guests – observe from the side
Most solitary bees have an annual cycle. Females’ lays eggs over summer then die. The young over-winter in the nest & hatch in spring – it may take several cycles for them to find your hotel. Other insects may like it too – it’s good habitat!
Many solitary bee species can sting you, however they are not aggressive and it is very rare for them to do so
Place It
Secure your B & B 1-2 m above ground where it receives morning sun, afternoon shade & minimal weather exposure. It can be undercover on a veranda, on a fence post or under a tree!
Report It
Monitor & report insect activity on the Questagame or iNaturalist app to build our knowledge about bee behaviour and distribution – it uploads to the Atlas of Living Australia.
Participate in bee surveys such as Pollinator Week.
Inspire others – Talk it up – add a story about your Super Pollinators project to our Facebook page.
Get Planting
Feed your bees! Flowers in different colours & shapes – exotics & local natives – something in flower all the time!
Ask your local community or council nursery about local plants for local fauna – very important to maintain plant host relationships for pollinators!
Download ‘Bee Friendly’ (resources and links page) for bee attracting plants
The closer your hotel to flowers, the less flight time required to collect pollen & nectar for the brood & the more eggs can be laid! More bees!
Leave some bare earth & dead wood for nesting.
Chemicals and pesticides can kill bees – BEE friendly!
Repeat
Once the young emerge they will not reuse that cavity, so replace the content with bamboo, curled bark, pithy stems or drilled rounds for new uptake.
Different species seek different size holes – provide a range of 2-9 mm holes.
Make another hotel – salvaged untreated recycled hardwood is ideal. Build a box or reclaim a small drawer – get creative!
