Highland View Elementary School

Highland View ES-We're All Abuzz About Bees!

We're All Abuzz About Bees!

by Ms. Martins, Ms. Metallo, Ms. Mutafian

On Thursday, October 15 the third grade students had the unique opportunity to meet a real life beekeeper! We have spent the last six weeks learning about the plant life cycle, pollination, and the interdependence of a bee and a flower. This activity was an exciting culmination to all of our learning! The students were able to see firsthand the equipment and clothing needed to tend to a beehive.  They had a variety of sensory experiences including touching a real honeycomb and tasting honey. Students were able to learn the answers to many of the questions they had prior to this unit of study.

Beekeepers Wear Special Gear
One student tries on a bee jacket and gloves.  Beekeepers wear gloves and suits to protect them from being stung.   Another student tries on a bee veil and gloves.  Some beekeepers only wear this when they go into the hive.
Mrs. Smith, Ms. Metallo's mother, and her 2 assistants are prepared to work.
Tools of the Trade
A hand lens magnifies a piece of honey comb.
The smoker is used to calm the bees down before they go into the hive.  Mrs. Smith uses a paint tray to water her bees in the hive.
The beekeeper demonstrates using the smoker before she removes the screen and frames.
Mrs. Smith explains that the hive tool is used to remove the top of the hive since it is often stuck to the frames by sticky propolis.
The propolis is located around the edges of the screen. Students look for the sticky propolis.
Mrs. Smith removes the screen from the top of the hive.
Students use a hive tool to help the beekeeper open the hive.
Mrs. Smith demonstrates how a beekeeper always looks for the queen when opening a hive.
Mrs. Smith gently brushes the frame to demonstrate how she would brush off bees before looking for the brood (baby bees) in the honey comb.
A view of the frames and what they contain.
Mrs. Smith removed the frames from the hive.  Inside we found honey comb, nectar, pollen, and some honey!  Some frames had more honey, nectar, and pollen than others.
Students examine the honey comb.
Students carefully examined each frame.  Mmmm... a taste of honey!
View our bee models.