Mount Kisco Elementary Kindergarteners Buzz with Excitement During Beekeeping Presentation

“She laid an egg! The queen bee laid an egg!” a Mount Kisco Elementary School kindergartner called out in excitement. She and her friends were examining an observation hive brought in by local beekeeper Karen Sabath, who spoke to students about bees and beekeeping. The engaging lesson tied into the ARC (American Reading Program) reading and writing unit that students are doing on insects as well as the regular work they do in the school’s garden.

The excitement in the space was high. Students were eager to share their knowledge of bees, get a close look at some and taste their honey.

“Did you know that bees go back and forth to flowers hundreds of times before they die?” a student asked Sabath.

“The queen bee makes a lot of eggs,” another told her.

But they were also curious and had many questions for Sabath.

“How do the bees not sting you?” a student asked.

“Well, who here is made out of pollen and nectar?” she asked the group.

Amid a smattering of giggles a couple of students called out, “not me!”

“Bees only want to eat pollen and nectar,” Sabath said. “And they don’t want to sting you because they all work together. They all need each other. The hive only works when they all work together.”

This seemed to satisfy the students who were nervous about getting up close to the observation hive.

“That is a lot of bees,” a student said in awe as they stepped closer.

“Oooooh, look at the larvae!” another kindergartner said.

That excitement carried through as they tried on beekeeping equipment and got to taste honey from Sabath’s hive.

“The honey always tastes different,” she told them. “The bees go to different flowers, and it makes the honey taste different.”

Sabath also spoke to students about the importance of honeybees and how much of an effect they have on our food.

“Did you know that without honeybees, we wouldn’t have our favorite fruits and nuts?” she asked the group. “Even eating a hamburger is helped along by honeybees. They pollinate the alfalfa the cows eat.”

Students left the presentation a little less scared and a lot more in awe of honeybees.