The below photos are of a wonderful field trip we took in 2004-5. Of course, with a name like Sprittibee, you would assume that I would have a bee field trip up my sleeve, right? What is ironic, however, is that for the most part, I am deathly afraid of flying insects. Running and screaming is NOT beneath me when bumble-bees, yellow jackets or large, fang-faced horse-flies are nearby. I have been CHASED and harassed by bumble bees and red wasps; and I am a mosquito magnet.
Honey bees, however, are very interesting little creatures. I enjoy watching them [when they aren’t dive-bombing me at the snow-cone stand in the summer after the guy changes out the trash can]. The bees on this particular field trip behaved themselves quite well.
I was impressed with all the great facts we learned and the sweet, sticky honey we got to taste. A few of the bees even landed on us [not me, thankfully – or everyone there would have left with burst eardrums] and not a single person got stung [although the bee man had a few bumps on his skin that made me wonder how many thousands of times he had not fared as well… I guess “we hurt the ones who are most familiar to us”].
I would highly recommend a buzzy bee field trip for your homeschool journey. Make sure you stick close to the smoke can!
Quick Links:First and Second Grade Field Trips
Sprittibee’s Homeschool Series
As the daughter and granddaughter of beekeepers, I was trained from earliest childhood (and consequently, I trained my kids) to hold completely still if a bee lands on me. Once I was reading a book in our tree house when a yellow jacket landed on my glasses. I held perfectly still, but when it started moving inside the lens, I grabbed my glasses and threw them off my face. They landed, unbroken, 30 feet below in the grass. Honeybees only sting when provoked, but wasps aren’t as kind.
Yes, I have had a bumblebee once land on a heavy chain I was holding near my hand. I stood completely still for a long time waiting on it to leave. It finally did. I have been very blessed to have never been stung. I love bees… but wasps give me the creeps! The scariest wasp-looking thing I have ever seen was the Texas Tarantula Hawk.
I remember doing that back when I was homeschooled! I wanted to smoke the bees dizzy to insure they’d leave me alone! lol
Tim – yes, I stayed really close to the smoke can! I love to watch the bees… but don’t like them landing on me!