The Buzz About Bees

Both lower school students in second grade and middle-school students spend time learning about bees  — reinforcing important concepts across grade levels. 

Early in their educational journey, second graders participate in inquiry-based project work during their study of insects in their science modules. Second-grade teacher Julia McCartney says: 

“Second-grade entomologists spend weeks researching and studying insects with a focus on God’s most amazing insect, the honeybee! In addition to reading books, students visited fruit orchards to learn about pollination, carefully sketched insects in art class, and learned from honeybee experts at the Hickory Campus. As a culminating project, each entomologist created a model out of recycled materials to share their learning with others.   

They ask these essential questions: 

As these students get older and join the ranks of middle-school learners, they will spend time in their classes learning more about honeybees and the Hickory Campus apiary. The seventh-grade elective “Out in Creation” mirrors and builds on the concepts learned at Birdwood Campus, especially the importance of being in nature and the garden cultivation that happens in each grade. 

To learn more about the apiary and “Out in Creation,” read this article from Science Department Chair Gretchen Feury.