10 Bee Movie Crafts and Activities for Your Kids

Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee Movie got a top rating in our house this weekend when it managed to keep my three-year old so enthralled that I could barely get him out of his seat for a potty break while my four-year old just plain wouldn’t go at all. The movie is fast-paced and although the logistics are sometimes sketchy for the fact savvy adult, the story line flows like honey for kids between 36 and 48 inches tall. Parents should be aware that there are some typical Seinfeld-style fast-paced adult innuendos throughout the movie and one violent stinging episode in the courtroom that may upset little people. In our case the humor was secondary to the fantastic animation and flew over the kids heads, but a stinging scene left Barry’s best friend (played by Matthew Broderick) in the hospital on a honey drip. My little guy had lots of questions about why he was so sick and what was going to happen to him. The makers did their best to turn this into a feel good movie with a happy ending, however, and a half-hour later it was all forgotten. My boys spent the rest of the afternoon buzzing around the yard and taking a closer look at all the flowers that have been around all summer long, virtually unnoticed.

If you’ve been to see the movie and you are looking for something a little extra to keep your little worker bees thinking about the subject for a few more days, here’s a list of 10 things you could do to really stretch that cinema dollar:

1. Visit the Bee Movie’s official website to play a few games. Older kids will get a kick out of New Hive City, a game where they are the CEO, ahem, I mean BEO of the hive. Younger kids will love the Adopt a Bee as your Pet widget and the Spelling Bee game that is a funny spin-off of Wheel-of-Fortune. We checked out the Pimp-my-Hive game but it was not one of the favorites. The site also offers activity sheets as well.

2. Make some Barry and Adam Action Figures for playtime, exclusive to HEALTHY-FAMILY.ORG/ Our boys had a fabulous time building and playing with their 8 inch action figures. We took a box and filled it with small homemade pieces of furniture, a few egg cups to act as our nectar collectors, and some small wash clothes for bedding. The boys spent quite a bit of time flying in and out of the our house, landing on my flowers in the yard to collect their pollen, then delivering it to the hive on our kitchen table.

3. Complete a 6 piece online Bee jigsaw puzzle (Perfect for 2-3 year olds).
4. Read Where Have all the Bees Gone? (This is a nice news report for older children 7-10).
5. Visit Enter a Bee Hive to Learn All About Honey Bees (This is a great interactive program for all ages).
6. Visit Welcome to Our Bee Page to learn more about bees. (A very cute website that is written simply enough to read orally to little kids . The website is nicely organized and includes pencil drawing illustrations by a child.)
7. Make some edible Bees with this recipe: 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 1/4 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of nonfat powdered milk, 1/3 cup of cocoa, some chocolate chips, and a few sliced almonds. In a small mixing bowl combine honey and peanut butter. Stir in the powdered milk and cocoa until well mixed. Place one teaspoon of dough for each bee on waxed paper. Let the kids shape the dough into a bee. Have them place chocolate chips for the eyes (bees have 5, but two will do) and almond slices for the wings. When they are done playing they can eat and enjoy.
8. Make some simple beeswax votive candles with the kids for the holidays using a sheet of beeswax and some simple cookie cutters.
   
9. Teach your kids how to draw bees with an ink pad and their own finger prints. This is a cute craft that can be done with what you’ve got on hand. The link provides step by step instructions with images.
10. Print out a diagram of a Bee to color and discuss with your child from Enchanted Learning.

That’s all, it’s time for me to buzz off and for your little bees to get busy with their projects!

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Caryn Talty

The editor of this website has a master's degree in English from Northern Illinois University and a bachelor of science degree in special education. She has taught students from early elementary school through college freshman level. Today she enjoys reading and writing about both hot topics and those not so commonly discussed on other websites. Most of her days are spent playing all kinds of make-believe with her three very young and active sons. | All articles by Caryn Talty.

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