Yesterday (July 10) was Don’t Step on a Bee Day, a day celebrated in the United Kingdom in honor of the important roles bees play in our ecosystems. It seemed like a fun excuse to do a storytime about bees, sot that’s what we did for our Outdoor Musical Storytime today.

Here’s what we did:

Books:

The Hidden Rainbow by Christie Matheson

This book asks the reader to help the bees by brushing away snow, blowing a kiss to the lilac trees, and other interactive activities focused on flowers that represent all the colors of the rainbow. The kids loved calling out the colors on each page, and some of them came up to the front to point to things in the illustrations.

Bear and Bee by Sergio Ruzzier

Funny story about a bear who wants some honey from a nearby hive, but is terrified of bees, who he has heard are big with sharp teeth and claws. Luckily a real bee sets him straight, and shares his honey.

beehive by John Hurley

Very simple book with only one word per page, showing how bees swarm, lay eggs, pollinate flowers, guard their hive, and make honey. I had the kids mimic the actions of the bees on each page.

Songs & Rhymes:

Rainbow ‘Round Me

We sang this one after reading The Hidden Rainbow. I asked the kids to suggest things they might see outside the window. We had a brown kitty, a blue and purple dinosaur, a white owl, and a black tree.

When I [C] look outside my [G7] window,
There’s a world of color I [C] see.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
There’s a [G7] world of color I [C] see.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 

And the [C] tree outside my [G7] window,
Is as green as green can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] green as green can [C] be.

CHORUS:
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 
[F] Rainbow, [C] rainbow, [G7] rainbow ’round [C] me. 

And the [C] bird outside my [G7] window,
Is as blue as blue can [C] be.
Fiddle-dee-dee, [F] outside my [C] window 
It’s as [G7] blue as blue can [C] be.
And the tree is [G7] green as green can [C] be.

Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee

I do a variation of the version in this video by Dr. Jean, which is considerably less violent than the old camp song. I asked the kids to suggest other animals they would like to bring home and we made up new verses for them: “I’m bringing home a baby elephant. Won’t my Mommy say, “Oh, no, we can’t!” etc.

I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C]bumblebee.
[G7] Won’t my mommy be so proud of me?
‘Cause I’m [C] bringing home a [F] baby [C] bumblebee.
[G7 ]Ouch! It stung me!

Here is a Beehive

One of my favorite rhymes for baby and toddler storytimes. We did it three times:

Here is the beehive (hold up fist)

Where are the bees?

Hiding away where nobody sees.

Watch, and they’ll all come out of their hive!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5! They’re alive! (fly fingers around).

You Are My Flower

This is a sweet, old song by The Carter Family. I especially love this version by Elizabeth Mitchell. It’s also very easy to play on the ukulele or guitar, with a two chord pattern that repeats all the way through. I actually played it on the autoharp today, which the kids found really fun to play at the end of storytime.

[C] The grass is just as green, the sky is just as [G7] blue.
The day is just as bright and the birds are singing [C] too.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

The [C] air is just as pure, the sunlight just as [G7] free,
And nature seems to say, it’s all for you and [C] me.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

So [C] wear a happy smile, and life will be worth-[G7]while.
Forget your tears, but don’t forget to [C]smile.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

When [C] summertime is gone and snow begins to [G7] fall,
Just sing this song and say to one and [C] all.

You are my [C] flower, that’s blooming in the mountain for [G7] me.
You are my flower, that’s blooming there for [C] me.

Stay & Play: Craft Stick Bees

This was a variation of a similar craft from I Heart Crafty Things. Before the storytime, I cut out ovals and slightly smaller circles on yellow paper for the body and the head, and small ovals for the wings.

For the Stay & Play, we put out the paper shapes, glue sticks, googly eyes, craft sticks, and markers. The kids had fun making their own unique bees, some of which had many eyes!

What are your favorite books or songs about bees? Please share them in the comments below.