The Abundant Garden Sample

You will find one lesson on bees below followed by a literature page and six activities to choose from for the week.

**Please note that in the purchased curriculum these pages will be separated in an easy to use course system that flows smoothly.**

Memory verse: Proverbs 16:24, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

Bees are incredible little insects and are essential to life as we know it. Bees are responsible for pollinating a third of the food we eat! Because of this, they are an important factor to consider as you continue to plan your garden. Here are ten facts about bees taken from National Geographic Kids.

1. Honey bees are super-important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. This means that they help other plants grow! Bees transfer pollen between the male and female parts, allowing plants to grow seeds and fruit.

2. Honey bees live in hives (or colonies). The members of the hive are divided into three types:

• Queen: One queen runs the whole hive. Her job is to lay the eggs that will spawn the hive’s next generation of bees. The queen also produces chemicals that guide the behavior of the other bees.
• Workers: These are all female and their roles are to forage for food (pollen and nectar from flowers), build and protect the hive, clean and circulate air by beating their wings. Workers are the only bees most people ever see flying around outside the hive.
• Drones: These are the male bees, and their purpose is to mate with the new queen. Several hundred live in each hive during the spring and summer. But come winter, when the hive goes into survival mode, the drones are kicked out!

3.  What are these buzzing bugs most famous for? Delicious honey! But did you know they produce honey as food stores for the hive during winter? Luckily for us, these efficient little workers produce 2-3 times more honey than they need, so we get to enjoy the tasty treat, too!

4. If the queen bee dies, workers will create a new queen by selecting a young larva (the newly hatched baby insects) and feeding it a special food called 'royal jelly'. This enables the larva to develop into a fertile queen.

5. Honey bees are fab flyers. They fly at a speed of around 25 km per hour and beat their wings 200 times per second!

6. Each bee has 170 odorant receptors, which means they have one serious sense of smell! They use this to communicate within the hive and to recognize different types of flowers when looking for food.

7. The average worker bee lives for just five to six weeks. During this time, she’ll produce around a twelfth of a teaspoon of honey.

8. The queen can live up to five years. She is busiest in the summer months, when she can lay up to 2,500 eggs a day!

9. Honey bees are also brilliant boogiers! To share information about the best food sources, they perform their ‘waggle dance’. When the worker returns to the hive, it moves in a figure-of-eight and waggles its body to indicate the direction of the food source. Cool, huh?

10. Sadly, over the past 15 years, colonies of bees have been disappearing, and the reason remains unknown. Referred to as 'colony collapse disorder', billions of honey bees across the world are leaving their hives, never to return. (https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/animals/insects/honey-bees/)

Bees

The following video shows some incredible footage of bees that include more insights into the way they live. The video is produced by the makers of the Flow Hive and is not sponsored (they just happened to make great videos).

This next video shows the queen doing her job (laying eggs) in real time. The queen is the large one with the red dot painted on her.

One of the most amazing things about bees is how they are able to share complex navigation information with each other. The following video details what we've learned about this process.

Colony collapse disorder:

Our bee population has been under significant stress since the mid 1980's. Over the last ten years, bees have made headlines in the news as bee colonies have been dying off at a much higher rate than usual. This has been blamed on many things, but the most likely culprits are a combination of the following reasons:

• Lack of consistent food sources: Bees need plants that are flowering the entire warm season of the year to produce enough honey to survive. Farm land that is in monoculture (growing only one type of crop in field after field) doesn't have plants that are flowering at different times during the warm season. Also, with large scale agriculture, often every possible growing area is used, including unused land that had been previously left wild. These wild spaces once allowed a place where native flowers provided a food source for local bees.
• Pesticides: A new group of pesticides, called neonicotinoids, have been added in recent years to the pesticides already in use and have been blamed for colony collapse disorder. In fact, the European Union has banned many pesticides in that group since 2013. For more information, visit Pesticides and Pollinators.
• Parasites: In the 1980's, a mite called Varroa destructor,which literally sucks blood from bees, was accidentally introduced in the United States from Asia.  It significantly added to the stress of honey bee colonies.  Learn more at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

There has been significant debate as to which of these factors is the main cause of the problem and there have been a number of other outlandish claims in the media. The following video gives a brief summary of some of the information and misinformation that has been presented.

Beekeeping:

Beekeeping

Since the news of colony collapse disorder spread, there has been a significant increase in back yard beekeeping by people who are concerned about the bee population. Many have found this to be a very enjoyable hobby which can be practiced even in some cities (make sure to check your local city codes). The following series of videos was again put together by Flow Hive.

Collecting Honey:

Honey has been taken from bees for thousands of years in a variety of ways. The following three videos show ways this is done from ancient, to modern, to brand new.

This next video shows how honey is traditionally collected in the wild in India.

This video shows the modern, largely mechanized extraction of honey.

This video is the promotional video for the Flow Hive. Please note it does have an evolution reference at the beginning of the video. It shows a simpler way to collect the sweet reward of keeping bees.

We hope you had fun learning about bees. Check out the book recommendations and activities to learn even more! Have fun gardening!

C.S Lewis has been credited with saying, "A children's story which is only enjoyed by children is a bad children's story". Stories have a way of making learning easy, fun, and memorable.

For each lesson it is recommended you read at least one resource and story book as you are able. Check your library for availability first to save money. We encourage you to read reviews before buying books to add to your own collection. You can support Kinderfarm Family by shopping Amazon through the links provided, but often the books can be found cheaper at Abebooks.com or Betterworldbooks.com.

*Please note: There is a (R) beside all books personally reviewed and our favorites are labeled as "highly recommended". Age categories are assigned upon a child's approximate developmental readiness and not on reading ability. There may be mention of evolution in some books. For help in debating evolution, consider subscribing to Institute for Creation Research (icr.org).

Resources to learn more about bees:

• Bees: A Honeyed History by Piotr Socha - highly recommended for children ages 6-12 (includes evolution). (R)
• The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci - highly recommended for children ages 5-11 (includes evolution). (R)
• Nature Anatomy (p. 68-69) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11 (includes evolution). (R)
• Farm Anatomy (p. 166-169) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11. (R)
• Honeybees by Joyce Milton - recommended for children ages 6-10. (R)
• The Bumblebee by Angela Sheehan - highly recommended for children ages 5-10. (R)
• Watch Honeybees With Me by Judy Hawes - recommended for children ages 5-10. (R)
• What If There Were No Bees? by Suzanne Slade - highly recommended for children ages 6-9. (R)
• Are You a Bee? by Judy Allen - recommended for children ages 5-8. (R)
• Bug Hotel by Libby Waldon - recommended for children ages 4-8. (R)
• The Honey Makers by Gail Gibbons - highly recommended for children ages 4-8 (includes evolution). (R)

Stories about bees:

• Parables From Nature ("The Law of Authority and Obedience p. 5-10) by Margaret Gatty - highly recommended for children ages 8 and up (consider buying an older edition). (R)
• In the Land of the Big Red Apple by Roger Lea MacBride - recommended for children ages 8-12. (R)
• Pooh's Library by A. A. Milne - a highly recommended collection of Pooh stories for children ages 3-12. (R)
• The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann - recommended for children ages 7-11.
• Bumblebee (First Look at Nature) by Angela Sheehan - highly recommended for children ages 6-10. (R)
• The Bee Who Spoke: The Wonderful World of Belle and the Bee by Al MacCuish - recommended for children ages 6-10. (R)
• The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi - highly recommended for children ages 4-10. (R)
• The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco - highly recommended for children ages 4-10. (R)
• Flight of the Honeybee by Raymond Huber - recommended for children ages 4-9. (R)
• The Beeman by Laurie Krebs - a rhyming book highly recommended for children ages 5-8. (R)
• Bee & Me by Alison Jay - a wordless picture book (which allows a child to tell the story based on the illustrations) highly recommended for children ages 2-8. (R)

Other resources:

• Safariology the Life Cycle of a Honeybee - This resource toy is a good way for children to learn more about the life cycle of the bee through touch. Recommended for children ages 4-12.

Additional books to be used for activities: (choose one or more recommended books for each activity):

Books used in the "Become a Honeybee Guardian" activity:

• What If There Were No Bees? by Suzanne Slade - highly recommended for children ages 6-9. (R)
• Bee & Me by Alison Jay - highly recommended for children ages 2-8. (R)

Books used in the "Honey Butter" activity:

• Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder - highly recommended for children ages 6-12. (R)
• Pioneer Farm by Megan O'Hara - highly recommended for children ages 4-11. (R)

Books used in the "Anatomy of a Bee" activity:

• Bees: A Honeyed History by Piotr Socha - highly recommended for children ages 6-12 (please note there is mention of evolution). (R)
• Nature Anatomy (p. 68-69) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11 (please note there is mention of evolution). (R)
• Farm Anatomy (p. 166-169) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11. (R)

This is a recipe for children of all ages. Studying about bees is the perfect time to indulge in a little honey butter. It's also easy to make and fun to surprise someone with a gift of bread and homemade honey butter. In this activity, children will learn how to make honey butter.

*Disclaimer: Children under the age of one should NOT consume honey. If you or your child is a diabetic, please consult your physician before ingesting sugar of any kind.

**This recipe was adapted from a recipe found on savorynothings.com.

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Math, Life Skills

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies:
  • handheld mixer
  • bowl
  • spatula
  • jar with lid
  • a loaf of bread (either store bought or homemade), cornbread, or biscuits
•  Ingredients: 
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened - You can either buy butter to church or churn your own. (You can find directions on how to churn your own butter below.)
  • 1/3 - 2/3 cup honey (warmed and liquidy) - organic, raw, and local honey is best
• Wash hands thoroughly.
• Subjects addressed - Math and Life Skills: Combine the ingredients and whip them in a small bowl using a handheld mixer.
• Place in a glass jar and cover.
• Find a family to bless and play ding, dong, ditch as you leave this butter and bread on their doorstep.

Churn Your Own Butter: a recipe for children of all ages. In this activity, children will learn a little how life was lived back in the 1800's as they churn their own butter.

*(R) - book personally reviewed

** This recipe was adapted from the book Pioneer Farm by Megan O'Hara.

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Reading Comprehension, History, Oral Composition, Life Skills, Art, Handwriting

• Supplies:
  • one mason jar with lid (or a real butter churn if you are into antiques)
  • gardening notebook/journal
  • paper (if using a binder) - copy paper, cardstock and/or 140 lb weight paper if using watercolors
  • pencil and eraser
  • art medium of choice (colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or markers)
  • page protectors
• Ingredients:
  • one cup whipping cream
• Subjects addressed - Reading Comprehension and History: Read the book:
  • Pioneer Farm by Megan O'Hara - highly recommended for children ages 4-11. (R) This cute little story is about life on a farm in the 1880's. (It's best when read wearing a prairie dress and bonnet.)
• To learn more about pioneer life read the one or more book from the following series:
  • Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder - highly recommended for children ages 6-12. (R)
• Subject addressed - Oral Composition: Talk about the story, allowing your child to insert any thoughts he/she may have had while listening. 
• Subject addressed - Life Skills: Put the whipping cream into the mason jar. Put the lid on, making sure it's on tight.
• Dance around while you and your child take turns shaking the jar for 30 minutes. (This is a great way to get some energy out.) You will see the butter separate from the buttermilk.
• Put the butter in a bowl.
• Place the buttermilk in a lidded container and use it to drink or in a recipe (like pancakes or apple cider donuts!)
• Rinse the butter with a little cold water as any buttermilk left on the butter can spoil it.
• Stir in a pinch of salt to taste (optional).
• Use the butter for the above honey butter recipe.
• Subjects addressed - Art and Handwriting: To document learning, have your child draw a favorite scene and/or copy a favorite quote from one of the books above.
• Place the page(s) in a protector when finished and include it in the garden notebook/journal.

This is a recipe for children of all ages. Honey, commonly known as liquid gold, has been used for thousands of years as a powerful tool to treat coughs, infections, wounds, flus, prevent allergies and more. According to a study done in 2012 on nighttime coughs in children by the Journal of Pediatrics, honey is the preferable method of treatment for children suffering from upper respiratory infections. We are heading into that time of year where everywhere you turn people are coughing, sniffling and sneezing. You can be prepared for this season by making honey lemon lollipops. (Although giving your children a spoonful of honey with a touch of cinnamon will do the trick as well.) In this activity, children will learn how to make honey lemon lollipops.

*The following recipe is adapted from a recipe found on wholefoodrealfoodgoodfood.com.

**Disclaimer: Children under the age of one should NOT consume honey. If you or your child is a diabetic, please consult your physician before ingesting sugar of any kind. These lollipops have a caramel consistency so they are on the chewy side and not recommended for children with braces.

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Reading Comprehension, Oral Composition, Health, Science, Music Appreciation, Life Skills, Math

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies: 
  • lollipop sticks (these can also be purchased a craft store)
  • parchment paper or a silicone baking mat (or silpat)
  • saucepan
  • stirring spoon and a spoon/small ladle
  • cookie sheet(s)
  • cellophane
  • ribbon or twist-tie
  • lollipop molds (optional)
  • candy thermometer (optional)
• Ingredients: Yields approximately 21 lollipops
  • 12 ounces honey - organic, raw, local honey is best - we used orange blossom honey
  • 10 drops lemon essential oil - you can buy Young Living oils via IG @thelivingwellessentials (or 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon (cinnamon has anti-viral qualities)
• Subjects addressed - Reading Comprehension and Science: Read one of the recommended stories about bees.
• Subject addressed - Oral Composition: Allow your child an opportunity to share any thoughts he/she may have had while listening to the book. Narrate in turns if there are several children. Encouraging your child to share about what they learned with Dad during dinner is a great way to narrate naturally.
• Subject addressed - Music Appreciation: Listen to selections from Johann Sebastian Bach played quietly in the background as you make the lollipops.
• Subjects addressed - Life Skills and Health: Wash hands thoroughly and put aprons on!
• Subjects addressed - Life Skills and Math: Place the lollipop sticks about 3 inches apart on your cookie sheet (or more) lined with parchment paper/silpat OR put your lollipop molds on the cookie sheet.
• Put the honey in a small saucepan and cook over medium-low heat. While the honey was cooking over the stove, bees came to our open (but thankfully screened) window. It was interesting how they were attracted to the smell of the honey!
• Allow the honey to boil for about 10 minutes or until your candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees F.
• Remove the honey from the heat and stir in the lemon juice (or lemon essential oil) and cinnamon.
• Using a small ladle or spoon, slowly pour the hot mixture in small circles over the top of the sticks. Make sure to try to make them thick - thin lollipops can cut your mouth. The first couple lollipop shapes may be a little wonky. It's easier to form the circles as the honey cools but if it cools too much, it hardens and may need to be reheated.
• Gently roll the stick to make sure each side of the stick is well coated.
• Allow about an hour to cool and then place them in an air-tight container, separating with parchment paper, or eat.
• These lollipops would also be fun to use as stirrers. They could be put in a cup of hot water and make honey lemon tea as it melts.
• Enjoy!

Top Image by Heather Barnes on Unsplash 

Beeswax Candles: an activity for children of all ages. The following activity is a guest post written by Jennifer Naraki. She can be found on Instagram @jennifernaraki. In this activity, children will learn how to make candles using beeswax.

Bees bring such bountiful blessings to us! Not only do we rely on their gift of pollination, which is an enormous gift in itself, but they just keep giving! Their beautiful gift of honeycomb, provides us with both honey and wax. Honey is a delight to eat, add to baking or sweeten drinks, such as tea, with.  Beeswax has many uses, one of which is making candles. Before electricity was invented, candles were necessary to provide light when it was dark. Though not as much of a necessity today, candles provide a warm, cozy, calm atmosphere. They are a delight to have burning when the sun has set for the day, and darkness falls upon us. Not only do they create an inviting space, natural beeswax candles are said to be a natural ionizer. That means when they burn, they purify the air of dust, pollens, odors, toxins, and more, while leaving a light, sweet honey scent in the air. Our family enjoys not only burning beeswax candles, but making them too! There are several ways of doing this. We prefer to order a kit online, from Amazon, which includes beeswax sheets and wicks. Making the candles is so simple.

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Art, Life Skills

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies: 
  •  candle making kits containing beeswax sheets and wick
• Place beeswax sheet on a smooth surface.
• Cut the beeswax to size, with scissors, to create the size of candle you desire.
• Cut the wick to size, to run the length of the beeswax sheet with some left above it.
• Place the wick along the side of the beeswax, closest to you.
• Roll the wick into the wax, pressing firmly down.
• Continue rolling the beeswax tightly, until you have rolled the entire sheet.
• Roll the candle back and forth on the table to seal the end.
• Cut the wick on top to ½ an inch.
• Place your candle in a holder.
• Light and enjoy!

Thank you Jennifer, for your contribution with this fun bee activity.

*Image by Jennifer Naraki

This is an activity for children of all ages. So often we forget to tell people how special they are to us. There aren't many people who wouldn't welcome a handmade card. Handmade cards take the precious resources of time, effort, and a bit of vulnerability to create. In this activity, children will spread kindness as they make a friend or neighbor a 'you are so bee.you.tiful' card. (Hint: you can also make a card for each of your children and lay it on their pillow for them to find when they go to bed.)

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Bible, Art, Handwriting

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies:
  • paper (if using a binder) - copy paper, cardstock and/or 140 lb weight paper if using watercolors
  • pencil and eraser
  • art medium of choice (colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or markers)
• Read Proverbs 16:24, "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones." Talk about what this verse means and memorize if desired.
• Cut a piece of card-stock to fit your envelope and fold it over.
• Design a bee scene (a flower or hive with a bee, a jar of honey, or a bee with each part labeled) with a pencil.
• Use the art medium of your choice to color in your design. Allow time for drying if needed. Consider making beeswax paint by combining melted beeswax (use the double-broiler method for this) with a pinch of spices (such as tumeric or cinnamon), beet juice, or grated wax from old crayons.
• Write a note to someone, telling them why they are bee.you.tiful to you and your family.
• Put the card in the envelope and give or mail to your special someone.

Top Image by Aaron Burden on Unsplash 

This is an activity for children of all ages. The anatomy of the bee is intriguing; every part has a well-defined purpose or role. The goal of this activity is for children to stretch their learning about the importance and design of bees.

*(R) - books personally reviewed

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Science, Oral Composition, Reading Comprehension, Drama, Bible, Art, Handwriting

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies:
  • gardening notebook/journal
  • paper (if using a binder) - copy paper, cardstock and/or 140 lb weight paper if using watercolors
  • pencil and eraser
  • art medium of choice (colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or markers)
  • page protectors
  • camera (optional)
  • paper bags and string
  • cornmeal
  • straw
  • colored fabric or a flower crown
  • cup with water
  • magnifying glass
  • memory verse box (optional)
• Subject addressed - Bible: Throughout the week memorize Proverbs 16:24, "Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Have your older child write out the memory verse onto a notecard to include in a memory verse box.
• Subjects addressed - Reading Comprehension and Science: Read one or more of the recommended books about bees.
• Subject addressed - Oral Composition: Allow your child an opportunity to share any thoughts he/she may have had while listening to the book. Narrate in turns if there are several children. Encouraging your child to share about what they learned with Dad during dinner is a great way to narrate naturally.
• Subject addressed - Drama: Together with your child, act out what's been learned. Go outside and attach paper bags (pollen baskets) to their legs with string. Have your child pretend to be a bee while you pretend to be a flower. Cover your head with brightly colored fabric or a flower crown and hide somewhere outside (preferably in a garden). Once your child finds you, let them sip water (nectar) out of a cup using a straw (their proboscis). As they drink, fill their bags (pollen baskets) with cornmeal. Then have them do a "waggle dance" to share with other bees information about where to find pollen. Have them spread the cornmeal (pollen) as they visit flower after flower. If there is more than one child, consider each taking a different role in the hive (Queen, worker, forager, etc.).
• Subject addressed - Science: Consider visiting a local bee farm in your area. Take pictures of the hives, bees, honeycomb, and any other areas of interest to put on a journal page. Taste the honey if able and take the opportunity to learn as much as you can about bees through this experience.
• Subject addressed - Oral Composition: Ask open ended questions about your visit, encouraging your child to tell you what they learned or about their favorite part of their trip to the bee farm. Talk about the different types of honeybees, what work each bee does, and why their work is so important to us?
• Subject addressed - Science: If unable to visit a bee farm, consider making a bee look out by placing a drop of honey right outside a window. Sit and wait for them to come. Use a magnifying glass to examine them more closely.
• Subjects addressed - Science, Art, and Handwriting: Draw a bee and label each part. If you were not able to visit a bee farm, use one or more of the following resources to draw a bee, honeycomb, or hive:
  • Bees: A Honeyed History by Piotr Socha - highly recommended for children ages 6-12 (please note there is mention of evolution). (R)
  • Nature Anatomy (p. 68-69) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11 (please note there is mention of evolution). (R)
  • Farm Anatomy (p. 166-169) by Julia Rothman - highly recommended for children ages 5-11. (R)
  • wedrawanimals.com (http://www.wedrawanimals.com/how-to-draw-a-bee/).
• Subject addressed - Science: Have your child briefly talk or write about the function or role of each part of the bee. Record a younger child's explanations/dictations as needed on the journal page.
• If pictures have been taken, have your child place these pictures on a journal page.
• "Digging Deeper" for an older child: To learn more about bees, have your child draw one or more of the following:
  • the life cycle of a bee
  • a web of life originating from a bee and its honey
  • a bee history timeline (see The Life and Times of the Honeybee by Charles Micucci)
  • a picture of a bee pollinating a flower to better understand the pollination process (consider reading the book Watch Honeybees With Me by Judy Hawes)
• Feel free to add this week's memory verse, a list of the books read, poems, recipes, memories, or quotes about bees to the journal page(s).
• Place the page(s) in a protector when finished and include in the garden notebook/journal.

"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because she labors, but because she labors for others" (St. John Chrysostom).

The Bee

Away in the meadow

Amid the red clover,

The funniest music

Goes over and over:

The honey-bee singing

His song to the clover.

The words, they are set

To the rhythmical tune,

A rumble, and bumble

And zoom!

zoom!

zoom!

Zoom! goes the honey-bee, over and over,

Humming his tune to the blossoming clover.

~Author unknown

The hum of bees is the voice of the garden.

~Elizabeth Lawrence

This is an activity for children of all ages. Bee populations have been on the decline over the last years. Many reasons for this have been speculated and it seems as if it's due to a number of causes. Regardless of the reasons the question remains, what can we do about it? In this activity, children will learn what they can do in their garden to help bees thrive.

*(R) - books personally reviewed

Cross-curricular subjects addressed: Reading Comprehension, Oral Composition, Art, Science, Math, Handwriting

Visit our Amazon Store for this activity's full supply list

• Supplies:
  • a variety of flowers that bloom from early spring to late fall
  • herbs of choice
  • gardening notebook/journal
  • paper (if using a binder) - copy paper, cardstock and/or 140 lb weight paper if using watercolors
  • pencil and eraser
  • art medium of choice (colored pencils, watercolors, crayons, or markers)
  • page protectors
• Subject addressed - Reading Comprehension: Read one or more of the following books:
  • What If There Were No Bees? by Suzanne Slade - highly recommended for children ages 6-9. (R)
  • Bee & Me by Alison Jay - highly recommended for children ages 2-8. (R)
• Subject addressed - Oral Composition: Allow your child an opportunity to share any thoughts he/she may have had while listening to the book. Narrate in turns if there are several children. Encouraging your child to share about what they learned with Dad during dinner is a great way to narrate naturally.
• There are a few things we can do to help a bee population thrive:
  • Subjects addressed - Art, Science, and Math: Plant flowers. Incorporate math for an older child by having them use a ruler to calculate planting depth and seed spacing and use a calendar to determine when to sow seeds and expect blooming, etc. Planting flowers even in containers will help to increase the bee population around your home. "Plant flowers with open petals and upright stamens for easy access by our pollen-loving friends. Cosmos, zinnias and purple coneflowers are good examples. Choose flowers that are heavy pollen producers like salvia, penstemon and goldenrod.  And pick colors that attract bees like blue salvia, yellow nasturtium, marigolds and sunflowers" (Small steps from the paleo mama).
  • Select a variety of herbs to plant in your garden or in containers.
  • Allow an area for native wild flowers/weeds (plants that grow naturally in your area) to flourish and feed the bees.
  • Fill a small dish with stones and water so the bees have somewhere to land and drink safely.
  • Make a bee hotel.
  • Use natural organic pesticides instead of toxic chemicals.
• Subjects addressed - Art, Handwriting, and Science: Have your child document (either write and/or draw) on a journal page the things they've done to become a bee guardian. Record a child's explanations/dictations as needed.
• Place the page(s) in a protector when finished and include in the garden notebook/journal.
• Of course honey bees are not the only bees that pollinate. The following video from the UK illustrates this.

• The following video expands on ways to help the bees in your garden.

Top Image by Gary Yost on Unsplash 

Memory verse: Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

**Note** No person in history is free of faults and flaws. In our lessons we focus on the good done by each individual and encourage you to have age appropriate conversations about any way the individual discussed fell short of our example in Jesus Christ.

"Johnny Appleseed - 'He Lived for Others'". These are the words written on the tombstone of John Chapman. He was a man who had much, because he gave much. He was hardworking, selfless, kind, generous, and good. Being known as a man who read and knew his Bible, I'm sure he was very familiar with the text in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (NIV). He was a giver. He was a human who made many mistakes to be sure, but he was remembered for loving others.

Where would our country be without John Chapman, more commonly known as Johnny Appleseed? He transported bushels of apple seeds and developed nurseries where he sold, traded, and gave away his apple trees. He made many contributions to our country not just in the planting of his apple seeds, but also in planting kindness and goodness as he walked through the countryside. September 26 is celebrated as Johnny Appleseed Day. This is a day set aside to commemorate his legacy and how his life, just like his apple seeds, have impacted so many...

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