Busy Bees

After reading a great article about beekeeping in our Your Big Backyard magazine we wanted to know more. (For those of you who remember the Ranger Rick magazines, this is the preschool version, distributed by the National Wildlife Federation. We love it. You should check it out!) We just happen to have our very own resident beekeeper - E's dad! We loaded up and watched from the car as Mr. Matt worked. We saw him use smoke to calm the bees, learned that boy bees don't sting, and we tasted some sweet local honey. Everyone, including Mrs. Mandy, learned a lot! What a fun day.




Mr. Matt in his beekeeping gear.


Baby bees, larva, if I remember correctly.


The queen bee in all of her glory! Were you looking for something a little more flashy (like a crown)? Me too :)


Fresh honeycomb. Yum!

Mrs. Mandy's Batch Plants a Pumpkin Patch

It all started last fall... we saved the seeds from our class pumpkin. In the spring we created some tiny terrariums and sprouted a seed for each student. We planting the seeds in cups and learned that all plants need sunlight, water, and soil. A few weeks ago we transplanted our young plants into the first ever "Mrs. Mandy's PreK Pumpkin Patch!" (Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us dig up your yard.) I can't wait to see what happens in the fall!




Each student painted a stake to mark their very own pumpkin plant.






In you go little plant.


A little water makes it official. Now we just sit back and watch them grow!

In Full Bloom

A cute spring picture that I forgot to post: