Bee Curious

Originally appears in the Spring 2015 issue

“Why are bees in the flowers?”

Countless children have asked me this question.  With each child, I squat down next to them, slip my glasses down my nose, lift the brim of my hat, widen my eyes, and say, “I wonder about that.”  Often there is a long pause as the child expects an explanation.  Then I say, “Tell me what you think. What do you notice?”

The small purple thyme flowers in the landscaping around the sandpits at Harker Preschool are a favorite of honeybees.  The children make amazing observations of these busy insects while outside at play.  That pause in play—to wonder at the flight of a bee or at its milling about in a flower—this is powerful science.  Not just any kind of science, this is inquiry-based science because it is driven by innate curiosity.

Young children are natural scientists because they want to understand the world around them.  By levering their curiosity, I am able to extend something they wonder about into an investigation.  You might ask me, “Why not simply read them a book that tells about bees and bee behavior?”  It is a fair question.   Certainly, I referenced many books about bees in our honeybee investigation.  But the primary way the young child learns is through imitative play.  She needs to be the bee!