Homeschool Science: Diagramming Bees

I know that Monday is usually the day that I share our homeschool's work plans for the week with you, but THIS week is Nutcracker week! I'm trying to get the kids to do some math and spelling each day, but really our family's primary goal this week is to support Syd, keeping her fed and hydrated and rested, making sure she has plenty of free time and fresh air, and getting her where she's supposed to be when she's supposed to be there with the correct hair, makeup, clothing, and various snacks, water bottles, bobby pins, decks of playing cards, etc.

And later this week? We get to watch our little angel dance!

So today, instead of telling you my plans, I'll tell you about something awesome that we did earlier this year. Remember the kids' obsession with bees this summer? Well, really it began with a deep love for Syd's Mexican sunflower, then an interest in the butterflies that frequented it.

And then we were given, by a publicist, a copy of this book:


And that's how the obsession with bees began. The kids studied bees and bee habitats, and participated in the Bumble Bee Watch program. And they pored over this book. Heck, *I* pored over this book! There are seriously some amazing bees in the world!

To demonstrate their knowledge of bee anatomy and prove their ability to apply it to a variety of bee types, I tasked the children with diagramming several of the bees from this book. Here are examples of their work:

Seriously, that iridescent green and yellow bee?!? Are you KIDDING me?!? I freaking adore it.

Entomology is a seasonal study that I'm sure we'll pick up again in the spring, or perhaps sooner, if I can convince the children that the mealworm farm that I want them to start is the good moneymaking opportunity that *I* think it is. Until then, here are some of the other resources that we enjoyed in our brief summer unit on bees:

• Insect Anatomy online book
• How to Make Toilet Paper Tube Hexagons