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
Jude says
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.
Sprittibee says
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.
Tim says
I remember doing that back when I was homeschooled! I wanted to smoke the bees dizzy to insure they’d leave me alone! lol
Sprittibee says
Tim – yes, I stayed really close to the smoke can! I love to watch the bees… but don’t like them landing on me!