Hello everybody and welcome to a brand new week! We are now in the last few days of June and summer is officially here! We've had lots of sunshine and the days are long. When you go to bed each evening the sun is still out and when you wake up in the morning it's back again already!

Before we begin, let's sing our days of the week song! I wonder what day it is today?

Haydn Arts Week

Last week was Sherwood Arts Week. Did you get to see any differnt works of art as you were walking through the streets and past the shops and houses? This week we are having our own Haydn Arts Week across school and this year our theme is Minibeasts.

We've been learning about different minibeasts this half term so we already know lots about them! I've been thinking about my favourite minibeast. I wonder if you can guess what it is? Here are some clues:

• I am an insect and I can fly.
• I am furry and stripy, a bit like a tiger!
• I buzz around your garden collecting pollen and nectar.

Have you guessed? Yes it's a bumblebee! I love bumblebees and they are one of the most important creatures on the planet! Bees pollinate trees, flowers, fruit and vegetables. In fact, they pollinate about one third of the world's crops that the farmers grow! So you can thank bees for your fruit and vegetables. 

Pollinate - that's a new word! Shall we find out what it means? Here's a video for you to watch that will help to explain! 

So there are different kinds of bees. There are bees that live in family groups like honey bees and bumblebees but most of the bees live on their own and are called solitary bees. Sometimes people get a bit mixed up when they see bees.

• Bumblebees are fat and furry. 
• Honey bees are smaller and slimmer and look more like a slightly hairy wasp.

Look at this activity sheet from The Bumblebee Conservation Trust to find out more about the differences.

Story of the Week

Let's begin our week with a story. It's called The Boy Who Lost His Bumble and it's written and illustrated by Trudi Esberger. The boy in this book is fascinated by bumblebees. That means he watches them, makes friends with them, gives them names and keeps a notebook about what they look like and what they do. One rainy day when winter arrives they disappear and this makes hime very sad. Why have they gone an what can he do to get his bumble back?

If you can, find a cosy place to sit and listen to this lovely story.
 

At the end of this story there is some information all about bumblebees that is very interesting.

Talking Together

• Did you enjoy that story? Let's remember what happened together.
• What did the little boy in the story love most of all?
• What did he write in his notebook?
• When did the bees disappear?
• Why do you think this happened?
• Where did the bees go? If you've read the information at the end of the story this will help you answer this question.
• When did the boy begin to feel happy again?
• What helped him to get his bumble back? What do you think 'his bumble' means?

Dance

Honey bees do a special dance to tell other bees in their hive where to find flowers for food. It's called the Waggle Dance. Why don't you go to the park, find a flower and then do a dance for your grown up to tell them how to find the flower.

Or maybe you could do a dance about your favourite food and see if someone can work out what it is?

Music

Listen to this piece of music by Rimsky-Korsakov called The Flight of the Bumblebee.

Can you hear what the bumblebee is doing in the music? Draw a picture of how you think it is flying around the garden whilst you listen to the music.

If you get a comb and a piece of tissue paper, you can make your own noise like a bumblebee! You can play along to the music or even make up your own music.

Did you know that bumblebees used to be called humblebees because of the humming sound they make?

Painting and Drawing

Paint or draw the colours of the rainbow - remember you did this last week? Go in your garden or on a walk and see if you can find flowers that match each colour. If you see a bee on that flower put a tick next to the colour. Which colour flowers did you see the most bees on? You could sing the Rainbow Song as you work and play!

Make your own bumblebee finger painting
Bumblebees are perfect finger print shapes. Why not make a beautiful painting of a garden full
of flowers and bumblebees using your fingers.
What you will need:
Poster paint (yellow is a must but you can use any other colours for the flowers)
Coloured pencils or pens
Paper
Your fingers
     

Bee Hand Print

Stone or Rock Painting

Find a large stone in your garden or in the park. Paint your stone yellow first and leave it to dry before painting the black stripes. Here's a picture of one to inspire you!

You could make your own stone flowers for your bees too!

Play dough 

You could make your own play dough bees and create a garden for them to buzz around in. Make a garden and flowers for them to collect pollen and nectar from.

Nature Crafts

  Make a little bee from an alder cone or another type of tree cone. The instructions are in the link below.

Homes for Bees

Where do bumblebees live?
Bumblebee queens have two homes: In autumn and winter queen bumblebees sleep by themselves in small holes under the ground, in compost heaps or in flower pots. This is called hibernation. Then, from spring until the end of summer the queen lives in a nest with her daughters. Sometimes there can be up to 400 bumblebees living in the same nest!

You can help bumblebees to nest in your garden by planting lots of flowers. 

Many bees are solitary. This means they live by themselves and not in a family nest. Mason bees and leaf cutter bees benefit from bee hotels that you can make for them. Here are some simple ideas.

 Egg Carton Bees

The Arty Mini Beasts
Home project

The Nottingham Schools Trust has created a pack for a Minibeast Arts Project for children to do at home. 

It's full of ideas and information. We would love to see any of your creations! Click on the link below to find out more!

Stories and Rhymes

Here are some stories and rhymes all about bees for you to share with your family! The first one is funny! It's called The Very Greedy Bee by Steve Smallman.

CBeebies Radio Show Me, Show Me Bees