Bee and Beehive Craft with free template

ByMonica

Bees are one of those insects that children seem scared of, yet completely fascinated by. They love to learn about them and study them, but don’ t you dare fly by! We created this bee and beehive craft to celebrate World Bee Day on May 20th and not only was it a fun project, but it was also a great way to bring up different types of bees and what they do.

Before You Start

Wait!…before you get started there is something very important that you have to do…

Grab your roll of bubble wrap (you need this for your painting tool) and cut off a piece, 12×12, 6×6, whatever you are able to spare.

Hand that piece to your little and let them

POP POP POP!!

For real, do this, it’s fun and they LOVE IT!

Prepping Your Space

For this painting project, I decided to add a couple layers to my prep set up.

I started with a flattened cardboard box, added a large sheet of white paper on that, then finally set the beehive template at the very top.

My reasoning? My group loves to keep painting. We do a lot of painting projects for that reason.

When they finish stamping their beehive there is another paper ready to go.

I also have wet wipes close by and paint shirts.

What You Need

We’ve got a huge list of materials today but they’re all pretty simple items. Not only are we going to have 3 items for the kids to make, but we’ve also got to put together a fun stamp.

Materials:

  • Template printable (2 pages)
  • Toilet paper roll
  • Small piece of cardboard
  • Bubble Wrap
  • Glue stick
  • Hot glue
  • Scissors
  • Yellow Paint
  • Small 6-inch paper plate (will also become your bee body)
  • 1 large googly eye
  • Black Paper
  • White Paper
  • Black Marker
Grab your template here!!!

Creating A Honeycomb Stamp:

  1. Cut out one of the hexagons on your template
  2. Trace hexagon onto your cardboard and cut that out
  3. Use template to cut out hexagon with bubble wrap
  4. Using the glue stick, attach bubble wrap (textured side out) to your cardboard hexagon
  5. Attach toilet paper roll to back of cardboard with hot glue creating a handle

What We Did

Rather than adding yellow paint to your 6-inch paper plate in a blob as we normally would when painting, I squirted it in a single layer over the whole plate. This way the stamp will more easily be covered in paint for the little learners.

This is more of a project based creative session so rather than setting out the materials and saying, “go for it!” I sat with my toddler group, and we talked about how to use these materials and what we were creating.

I had them touch the bottom of the stamp and test out the pattern on their big sheet of white paper before they began stamping over their beehive.

Creating The Beehive

This was so simple; after discussing how to use our new tool, my little learners stamped their beehive.

Some did it in the same space over and over.

Some realized that they should move around their paper.

We didn’t care about staying in the lines.

Creating The Bee

For us, this part of the project was pretty adult directed. I cut out all the pieces, added the glue and drew on the smile for the littlest kiddos. Depending on the ages of your group, yours may enjoy doing more of this portion.

After cutting out the pieces (black strips were about 1/2inch and two wings were freehand), add glue for the stripes.

Cut the access off.

Glue on the wings.

Glue on the eye.

Add a cute half smile!

Bonus Project

My group is always looking for a way to keep painting and I am all in for that!

When they finished their beehive and bee, we moved those to the drying area and they were able to try out their stamp.

Ways To Learn

  • This is a fantastic project for a bee theme.

Bee Facts (nasa.gov)

The Bee Conservancy – Est. 2009 in Response to the Bee Crisis

STEM Programs, Corporate Team Building, Beekeeping Resources | Planet Bee Foundation

Bees | National Wildlife Federation (nwf.org)

  • Talk about the color yellow
  • Count the stripes as they put them on
  • What sound does a bee make … buzz buzz
  • Bees make … honey!
  • Have your littles try a little honey
  • What shape is the bee plate
  • What shape is the tool you created

The End Results

This was a fun project to explore. The bee portion was a bit difficult to assemble for my little group but there is nothing wrong with adding some directed crafting into your day.

Takeaway Tips

  • Remember it’s okay to have a healthy amount of project art mixed into process art
  • Set up your space before you get started especially if working with multiple children
  • Buzz buzz, how does your little learn? Will you talk about sounds, taste, or discuss what bees do?

Want More Art Fun?

Why not try out this fun painting with flowers project to go with your bees!

Similar Posts