Since the plants had to be left alone to develop their seeds, this day's activity was to build on what students had already learned about bees by building models of the insects. Then, sitting in their reading circle, the class read parts of a book about bees. Students are excited to share information they've already gleaned in past explorations, through observations and using bees to pollinate their plants. They chime in with great ideas and are fascinated by new concepts such as compound eyes, honeycombs, and social structure. In cooperation with the art teacher, the children have already painted egg-cartons yellow.
Careful construction begins.
Unfortunately, compound eyes are not easily reproduced with a marker, but this student creates a good representation. This student carefully traces the wing patterns to create a pair of forewings and hindwings for the bee model. Francesca forgot, but since Kay was busy elsewhere, she used her own initiative to consult the book they had just read to answer her own question. A finished bee, complete with all of its anatomical parts. After all of the bees are completed, Kay gathers the class together for a wrap-up discussion of what they discovered about bees today.