We are a ‘buzz’ with fun ideas and activities for your bee preschool theme! In our free bee-themed preschool lesson plans, we have compiled over fifteen different bee-themed activities including book recommendations, art and sensory exploration, plus math, science, and social-emotional learning. You’ll find the whole bundle of ideas at the end of this post in a FREE download of preschool lesson plans.
Free Bee-Themed Activities for Preschoolers Including Free Preschool Lesson Plans
Learning about bees is so intriguing, isn’t it? They are such fascinating creatures with real purpose on this earth. Not only do they pollinate the flowers that give us ALL the good food to eat, but the worker bees are so diligent about providing for their hive and producing honey.
In recent years, we’ve learned that the bee population (especially the honey bee) is in danger. Introducing a bee theme to your preschool classroom allows young children to take part in learning about this unique insect and discovering how essential they are to the planet. Learning about how to help the bees also gives preschoolers a chance to feel protective and spur ideas for ways to help the bees persist.
I am not suggesting a bee-themed unit filled with doom and gloom… but learning about the true story of bees will invite budding scientists and entomologists to blossom! Plus, the busy bee-themed activities we have planned for your theme are loads of fun, light-hearted, and a great way to introduce this lively insect!
FAQ About a Bees Preschool Theme
You may have a few questions about teaching this preschool theme! Check out these frequently asked questions for how to teach your preschoolers about bees.
Learning about bees will provide you with some very interesting facts! Did you know bees have five eyes? And they can fly up to 15 miles per hour? Even more fascinating… one pound of honey is made by 2 million flower visits!
Bees are full of life lessons. One important aspect of a bee colony is that every bee works together. The worker bees, drones, and queens each have their own important role in the colony and teamwork is essential.
A springtime insect theme is a great time to learn about bees and other bugs. Learning about flowers and pollination and how gardens grow ties in nicely with your bee-themed activities, too!
Important Info about these Bees Lesson Plans
These lesson plans for preschoolers are just one theme in a set of over 40 that will become a part of my free Learn At Home Preschool Lesson Plans.
The Learn at Home Preschool Activity Plans are a set of free activity plans you can use to teach your preschooler at home.
Each set of lesson plans is centered around a weekly theme and includes a minimum of 16 activities that can be done throughout the week. They are designed to be done at home with parents, but many preschool teachers are using these lesson plans, too!
Just glance over the lessons each day, gather the very few materials needed, and you’re ready to go!
All the preschool learning activities are quick and easy to set up, requiring very little (if any at all) prep and only require the most basic of household materials. This makes them especially easy for parents to implement…and this makes preschool teachers happy, too!
These activities also work wonderfully in the classroom, and if you’re a preschool teacher who is remotely teaching you can send these lesson plans to your student’s parents.
Engaging Preschool Activities for a Bees Theme
Fun-filled and exciting bee-themed activities for your preschoolers! We’ve put together over 15 different activity ideas, sure to make your bee theme ‘buzz-worthy’!
Literacy Activities for a Bee Preschool Theme
Feed the Bee Alphabet Activity – This fun letter identification and sound activity is so engaging and captures interest quickly. The game can be played two different ways, first match the alphabet cards and find the matching letter. Or draw a card and match the beginning sound to a honeycomb.
Life Cycle of a Bee Tracing Practice – This is the perfect pre-writing/writing activity for preschoolers to develop their fine motor strength and prepare their pencil grasp for writing with a pencil. After printing the life cycle mats, invite your preschooler to use playdough and roll the dough out to match the cycle cards. Then invite the child to trace the words on each card. After all the cards have been traced and used with playdough, invite your preschooler to arrange them in the order of a bee’s life cycle.
Don’t Forget Picture Books!
One of the best ways to teach preschoolers about a new theme is by choosing high-quality literature! This is a list of books that we love using with a bee theme. Click the covers below for more details!
Math and Science Activities for a Bee Theme in Preschool
Bumble Bee Counting Cards – Build number recognition and number sense with this fun activity counting bees! Use bee mini erasers or use yellow or black pom poms for little bee counters.
Making 10 Puzzles – These clever beehive counting and adding puzzles help preschoolers see various ways to build the number ten. Use manipulatives for even more counting support.
Build a Mason Bee Habitat – This important project helps save the bees who need our help and invites preschoolers to be involved in the building of this important ”hive”. Using a tin can, string, and bamboo, you can make a home for the mason bees in your area.
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Insect Preschool Centers$10.00 -
Insect Emergent Readers$3.00
Playful Preschool Learning Activities for a Bee Theme
Create a Bee Picture Book – Invite your preschooler to draw different versions of a bee. Check out this drawing video or this one for drawing ideas. Add bees in the hive for even more detailed art and discuss how to add a background and draw the hexagonal shape of the honeycomb.
Hot and Cold Scavenger Hunt – Hide a number of items around the classroom or home, indoors or out. Give your preschooler a list of items and then tell them when they are hot (close) and when they are cold (far away). Use different ways to say the temperatures, like freezing, icy, hot as lava, burning up, etc.
Act Out Your Favorite Books – Use clothes and accessories from around the house or classroom to dress up as the characters from your favorite children’s books, and act out the stories.
Social-Emotional Activities for a Bee Preschool Theme
Showing Gratitude – Go to YouTube and listen to the story, The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman. After reading, discuss the word greedy with your preschooler. Work together to come up with relevant examples of being greedy that would apply to your preschooler. Ask, “Did you notice how the greedy bee turned that greed into gratitude/thanks at the end? What made him become less greedy?”
Bumblebee Breathing to Regulate – It’s so essential for young children to learn different strategies to cope with overstimulation, frustration, anger, or even excitement. In this activity, children will learn ‘bumblebee breathing’. To begin, practice sitting comfortably and closing your eyes. Focus on listening to your breathing. Then, cover your ears to close off outside noise. Breathe out through your mouth saying, “Bzzzzzzzz” for as long as you can. Repeat until your body is calm and relaxed. This strategy can be used at any time and adapted to fit your preschooler’s needs.
Just Plain Fun Bee Activities for Preschoolers
Bumble Bee Movement & Song Activity – Using a funnel, fill a yellow balloon with flour and tie it off. Add black stripes with a permanent marker. Invite your preschooler to sing along to the baby bumblebee song and squeeze and play with it along with the movements. Don’t forget to pretend to be bees! These bumblebee preschool activities build fine motor and it’s so fun!
Bee Paper Craft – This simple and adorable bee craft is easy for preschoolers to create and add on movable wings for extra interest.
Painted Rock Bee Art Project – Head outside and choose a rock! Get creative and paint on those yellow and black stripes.
Get Online Activities for a Bee Preschool Theme
Online Story – Go to YouTube and listen to the story The Honeybee by Kristen Hall. After watching, go back to some of those busy pages that review how the nectar gets made into honey. Invite your preschooler to ask questions about the process and why honeybees are in danger and read some additional books about bees together.
Here is the Beehive – This preschool-friendly song helps young children learn positional words and number sense concepts.
Bumblebee (Buzz Buzz) – This popular bumblebee song is great for gross motor movement and will soon be a kid favorite!
Make Your Bee Theme Even Better!
Sometimes (not always), what turns a great preschool theme into an exceptional one is having some extra special materials specific to that theme. These are some of the bees toys and activity kits I like to use with my preschoolers.
Get Your Free Bee-Themed Lesson Plans Here
Want to include these bee preschool lesson plans in your bee themed learning? Ready to grab your free printable lesson plans with all these bee theme activities for preschoolers?!
No problem. I’ve made a printable for you. Just fill out the form below and it will be sent to your inbox.
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I am an educator, book enthusiast, and a stay at home momma to two precious and long-awaited littles. My degree is in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum and Instruction and I have spent the last 15 years working with young children. I feel very fortunate to have this time to watch my babies grow and I can’t wait to share my passion for learning and reading with you!
