Bees

After reading The Secret Life of Bees, the busy insects have become an interest of mine. I've read a bit into the health benefits of honey, vs. sugar and read a little bit on the social structure of a beehive and whatnot. Well, I've forced my interest onto Peter and checked out books from the library for him on bees. For Joy/Pre School this last Wednesday, we met at my house and learned about bees as well. The kids loved it. When I asked, "Who do you think gathers all the honey and does all the work in the hive?" The boys answer, "the boys" and the lone girl answered, "the girls". Well, she knew what life was all about, apparently (joke).
After we talked about it for a while, we went to a local business that sells honey. In their store they have an actual hive behind glass. Peter and his joy-school friends loved it! The store manager even found the queen bee and we all got to see it. It was fun for even me. Then the kids had a great time sampling all the different flavors of honey. They were so enthralled, which is a rare occurrence for all of them at once. When I asked Peter and his male friend what their favorite part was, they said seeing the queen bee. When I asked Peter's little girl-friend what her fav was, she said seeing all the "princess bees". I didn't get it until later, but now it makes perfect sense. If all the workers are girls, and there is one queen bee, all the others must be princesses. Every once in a while, that glimpse you get into a child's brain is well worth the hours of frustration when you are not.