Bees & Butterflies

Ian painted this bilateral symmetrical butterfly by painting one side with finger paint and then folding and pressing the paper.

Last weekend we attended "Wings in the Park - A Celebration of Bees, Blossoms, and Butterflies".  Ian and I learned about monarch migration, host & nectar plants, and the difference between bumble bees & honey bees.  We also looked at several different kinds of live caterpillars and Ian held a monarch butterfly.

We often see bees and butterflies in our vegetable garden and yard.  This week the boys helped me transplant some native plants to attract more pollinators.

Bee & Butterfly Activities:

• "Honeybees in Their Hive" puppet show (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas)
• "Collecting Pollen" (Small Wonders by Garrett & Thomas) - Ian pollinated flowers in our yard with a cotton swab.
• "Comb Shapes" (Hands-On Nature by Lingelbach & Purcell) - We compared hexagonal and circular comb shapes.
• "The Caterpillar" and "Here is the Beehive" hand rhymes (Hand Rhymes by Brown)

Books:  The Icky Bug Counting Book by Pallotta;  The Best Book of Bugs by Llewellyn;  Insectlopedia by Florian;  From Caterpillar to Butterfly by Heiligman;  Where Butterflies Grow by Ryder

Resource Links:  Penn State Center for Pollinator Research, The Great Sunflower Project